The Salvatore Siblings: The Cursed Ones
by PowerHero432
Summary: Katherine is back, Caroline is a vampire and Scarlett has discovered there are others out there like her. But what else is going on now that the doppelgängers have been united. A mysterious vampire that can't die? A curse involving the Sun and Moon? And as always, Sarah and her brothers are right in the middle of it, and it's all thanks to Elena. (Pairing: Scarlett/Jeremy)
1. It Ends Tonight

_Review responses:_

mafia king: _I don't know about a broken nose, but she's definitely an enemy of Sarah now, after that little stunt. And that's no somewhere you want to be._

 _YES! Season 2! We're here. Soooo much cool and awesome stuff coming up. Just like with the show, I'm picking right up from where we left off in the last story. I've got more OCs coming up later in the story, a few more dives into Sarah's detailed past and some struggles for both her and Scarlett. Oh yeah, they're going to suffer so much in this story. Sorry in advance._ _And I feel the ending of this chapter is gloriously evil. It's probably my favourite ending to a chapter that I've written in a long time. And in contrast to that I love the opening for Scarlett in this chapter. It was just so blissfully easy to write. Gosh I can't wait for you all to read it!_

 _So really quick, thank you to all that have continued on from the first story and hello to anyone who's new. If your confused about anything, just ask me in a review or PM me, I'll do my best to respond. And Happy New Year to anyone who's currently in 2019!_

 _Also just a quick point on the cover image for this story, I've designed three for the three arcs of Season two. The one up just now will be for the first arc and once we enter the second I'll switch it to the second image and so on, just so you know._

 _Hope you enjoy the start to the new story and I'll see you all later!_

* * *

 **Chapter 1: It Ends Tonight**

* * *

 _My name is Sarah Salvatore. I am 161 years old. I am a vampire. A few months ago I returned to my home town of Mystic Falls. My brothers also returned home. Stefan, and Damon Salvatore. Having returned home, we all came to know Elena Gilbert. Doppelgänger to Katherine Pierce, the living incarnation of the devil, who turned me and my brothers into vampires back in 1864. Before that though, she abused us, manipulated us and forced us to love her. Elena, is not like her. She is a good person, and someone I'm proud to call my friend. And she wasn't the only new face we met. I adopted an orphan named Scarlett, who also turned out to be a werewolf, and she's started a relationship with Jeremy Gilbert, Elena's little brother._

 _My reason for coming back was to reunite my family, and finally, we are one again. We've built a life in Mystic Falls. We each have friends and relationships and each other. There were, of course, a few bumps along the way. Damon originally came back to free Katherine, who we all believe to be dead, but in fact was trapped in a tomb with a group of vampires. Only when we finally got inside, it turned out Katherine had never been there at all. Then we were left with a tomb full of anger vampires to deal with. But we killed them all, with a few more bumps here and there._

 _I'd thought everything would be fine after that. But it turns out, I was dead wrong. Our problems, were only just beginning…_

* * *

"Sarah!" Damon called from down the hall. At that, she finally snapped from the trace she'd been in. She'd just been staring at the letter for a while now, heavily breathing as she thought over what it meant. It obviously meant that Katherine was back, but why just tell her? Why wasn't she making her presence known to her brothers or to anyone else and why now after all this time? Sarah didn't have time to think over those particularly questions right now. She had to get herself together before Damon arrived. She couldn't have him asking questions and finding out about Katherine. Sarah would have to deal with this before her brothers found out, there was no telling how they'd take it and she couldn't risk either of them doing something stupid.

Quickly rubbing at her tear stained cheeks, Sarah tried to hide the wet trails as she stood up, grabbing the letter as she did. Sealing it back up she tucked it in between her pants and back and counselled it beneath her jacket. She swung to face the door, rubbing away the last of her tears before slapping her cheeks to bring more colour to them and then plastered on as causal a look as she could. She was ready when Damon opened the door and stepped into her room.

"What's up, Damon?" Sarah asked with an everyday smile as Damon frowned at her. For a brief moment Sarah was worried he'd seen through her disguise and was on to her.

"Caroline's in hospital." Sarah relaxed before then immediately tensing up as she knew she was supposed to. She was just relieved Damon wasn't onto her or asking questions she didn't want to answer.

"What happened?" Sarah asked with a concerned frown forming.

"Car accident. Didn't get all the details. Dumb ass Tyler was behind the wheel apparently," Damon said with a shake of the head. Then again none of them particularly liked Tyler. Sarah barely knew the guy but what she knew of him was that he was a jerk. Considering what he'd done to Vicki when she first met him and what he'd done to Matt, Sarah could careless if he died. She cared about Caroline though, she was a good person. Had her issues obviously, but Sarah could see she was a good person and got along with her. Though the compulsion had helped break her in at first.

"I'm heading over to the hospital to see Liz. You want a lift?" Damon asked, nodding towards the door behind him.

"I've…got some stuff to take care of. I'll meet you there in a bit," Sarah said slowly, thinking over her words before she said them. Again she was sure Damon would catch her out but her only nodded before heading for the door.

"Alright, I'll see you there," he said as he pulled the door shut behind him. Sarah held her breath though, until she heard the front door close and then let out the breath she'd been holding in. She dropped back onto her bed, placing her hand on her chest as she felt it heave up and down. Retrieving the letter from her back, Sarah unfolded it and read it once more.

 _Guess who's back?_

 _K._

 _xxx_

Sarah felt her breathing increase and her blood boil before she tore up the letter. She wouldn't lose everything she'd worked so hard to get over the past few months. She wouldn't let Katherine walk in her and tear her world down again. She was going to end this now, before her brothers could find out and get involved. No, this was going to be between her and Katherine. And once Sarah was done with her, Katherine was going to regret ever coming back to Mystic Falls.

* * *

Still reeling from what they'd just done, Scarlett lay breathlessly with a smile on her face. One arm was rested across her chest, the other was tucked above her head. And beneath her head, was Jeremy's arm, who lay next to her with just as happy a smile. "Wow…" Jeremy said in awe as he blinked, his smile somehow growing as he stared up at the ceiling along with Scarlett. Scarlett chuckled, smiling at her boyfriend before rolling up on to this chest, rising her arms along side his head as she began to play with his hair.

"'Wow'? That's what I get after all the work I just put in?" Scarlett asked teasingly.

"What work?" Jeremy scoffed in her face with a playful grin.

"I think you'll find I was doing most of the heavy lifting there," Scarlett said as she pocked the side of Jeremy's head with enough force to bring her point home. He laughed at that and she joined in, happy to hear that laugh. After everything that had gone down, this was the last thing she'd expected to happen. A few hours ago her friend was murdered right in front of her and she'd been left to die in a burning building. Now she was in bed with the nephew of the guy who'd tried to kill her, after sleeping with him for the first time. But even with all that in mind, Scarlett was still glad it happened.

"Hey, you're the one with supernatural strength," Jeremy pointed out.

"Excuses, excuses," Scarlett chuckled, smiling down at him as he smiled back up at her. Their bodies both wrapped in a cocoon of Jeremy's bed sheets, their bodies pressing together happily as they both just lay there. It was nice, peaceful, and just what they both wanted.

"I'd get used to it if I were you," Jeremy said and Scarlett burst out laughing at his self hating joke. "Beside," Jeremy began, calming his own laughter down along with his girlfriend's. "If I had supernatural strength, then I totally would have-" Despite having her entire focused on Jeremy in that moment, Scarlett still heard a yelp from below. She frowned at that, looking towards Jeremy's closed door before then hearing the front door slam shut.

"Scarlett?" Jeremy said, brining her hearing back into his bedroom.

"Somethings wrong," Scarlett said as she rose from her laid down position on Jeremy, eyes remaining on his door. She could sense it, smell the blood in the air as well as the odour of anxiety.

"What?" Jeremy asked with a light laugh following his words. But all humour left him when Scarlett rolled off him and climbed out the bed, leaving Jeremy's bottom half covered while she stood fully naked in the room. She looked back at him, motion for him to stay in the bed while she went to check it out. He ignored her and swung his feet out of bed, keeping the sheets over his waist just to be safe. The main thing was he was still behind her, so Scarlett carefully made her way his door.

Someone was running up the stairs now, Scarlett didn't need her hearing for that, Jeremy would know that too. Scarlett readied herself, fingers flexing at her side as her claws grew and her eyes began to glow a golden amber. She felt her canines form and she hunched over, ready to leap the second the door opened. The thudding foot steps reached Jeremy's door and Scarlett growled as the door flew up to reveal Elena.

All at once Scarlett's werewolf feature vanished, sucked up inside her as hot red embarrassment filled her checks. Elena yelped at the sudden change of Scarlett's features then got a look at her. All of her, and her eyes widened. The bloodied knife in her hand dropped to the floor and she staggered back a step as she took in the sight before her. Without a doubt this was the most embarrassing moment of Scarlett's life. As if suddenly remembering she was naked, she threw her arms around her chest to conceal the girls, and then turned back to Jeremy with a pleading sheepish look. Like he could fix all this just because it was his sister who'd caught them both. When Jeremy just stared back with his jaw open and embarrassingly horrified eyes, Scarlett had little choice but to turn back to Elena. At least now her attention was on her brother and not on Scarlett. She'd obviously already pieced it all together.

"Jeremy?" Elena stammered out.

"Hey, Elena," was all Jeremy could think to say.

"Wha…what where you…?" Elena began to ask. Scarlett opened her mouth but then swung her head towards Jeremy to find he was doing the same. The start of whatever they were about to say was floating out their mouths in uncertainty when they both turned back to a shocked Elena. "You know what," Elena then cut in before either of them could begin. "I don't want to know." She then looked back to Scarlett and cringed before lifting her hands to cover her face, crying something into the palms of her hands.

Scarlett bit her lip, contemplating how best to move forwards from this. She could grab her cloths and get changed but whatever had been going on downstairs was clearly important, as implied by the bloody knife lying at Elena's feet. "Elena," Scarlett began as the older girl, parted her finger so she could see through her hands. "What happened?" Scarlett asked. She saw horror flash through Elena's eyes, horror at the thought of having to keep talking about this awkward encounter. Then the realisation hit and a new type of horror filled her eyes as her hands lowered. "What's with the bloody knife?" Scarlett prompted, when Elena remained silent.

"Eh…em…" Elena began, still recovering from the situation she'd found herself walking in on.

"Is everything alright, Elena?" A stupid question for sure, considering what had just happened, but Scarlett knew Jeremy meant in regards to what was troubling his sister. Or at least troubling her before she walked in on the two of them. Scarlett could only imagine the emotional and mental whiplash going on inside Elena's head right now.

"J-John was stabbed," Elena finally said.

"What?" Both Scarlett and Jeremy said in shock, Jeremy now standing up, thankfully holding the sheets up around his waist as to avoid further scaring his sister.

"I think it was a tomb vampire," Elena said with a fearful look to Scarlett. Unlikely, as Scarlett understood it all the tomb vampires died in the fire at the old Gilbert building. Then again she couldn't be one-hundred precent sure on that, she and Damon hadn't exactly had time to conduct a census while fighting for their lives. And although she wouldn't put it past Sarah or Damon to stab John, they would've had made themselves know, not like what ever vampire had attacked him.

Knowing what Elena wanted her to do, Scarlett sniffed the air, tilting her head back as she took in a good whiff. No vampires. Just her, Jeremy, Elena and the bleeding to death John downstairs. She didn't really care about the last one. He'd killed her friend and left her to die because of his hatred towards the supernatural. As far as she was concerned, he deserved to die. But seeing as he was Jeremy's uncle she wouldn't go down the stairs and rip out his throat right now. But she wasn't going to do anything to help save his life either. She didn't need that on her conscious.

"It's just us," Scarlett declared after a good sniff. "We're alone." Elena sighed in relief.

"Alright. Can you call Stefan for me. I need to check on John," Elena said as she began backing away towards the stairs, feeling more secure now.

"Of course," Jeremy said before Scarlett could answer.

Elena smiled at them both before her frown reformed. "And for God sake put some cloths on," she added with a cringe before jogging down the stairs. Scarlett let her head drop shamefully and she turned back to Jeremy. Normally she would have closed the door, but with a tomb vampire on the loose, and with access to the house, it was probably better to keep the doors open for the time being.

"We're never going to live this down are we?" Jeremy asked as he dropped back down onto the bed.

"Probably not," Scarlett admitted as she turned back around with a small sheepish smile to her boyfriend. "Now help me find my cloths," Scarlett said as she bent over to pick up her jeans while searching for the rest of her attire with Jeremy.

Once they eventually pulled their cloths on, Scarlett and Jeremy joined Elena down stairs in the kitchen. Jeremy helped where he could with John but by this point, Elena more or less had done all she could for her brith father. While that was going on, Scarlett called Stefan, like she said she would. She provided him with a quick brief over what had happened before he promised to be right over. But otherwise she did very little, other than keep her nose on alert for any vampires that might decide to return. And since both Elena and Jeremy knew her secret, and John was pretty much unconscious, it was open season on any vampire that set foot in the Gilbert house.

As it turned out the vampire that attacked John never returned. The ambulance eventually arrived and the paramedics assessed the situation before carefully removing John from the kitchen. While doing that they had suggested the younger teens wait upstairs while they talked to Elena about what she'd done to help John. Scarlett didn't have any issue with it so she went willingly. Jeremy didn't go quite as easily, wanting to know what was going on with his uncle. But eventually after the paramedics and Elena urged him to, Jeremy took Scarlett's hand and let her lead him upstairs. They were only in his room for a few minutes before Elena then came up the stairs with Stefan right behind her. Scarlett looked for Sarah but no one else came up after Stefan. She briefly wondered where she was as Elena and Stefan entered the room, but was snapped from her thoughts when Stefan started to speak.

"So what happened exactly? Scarlett just gave me the short version over the phone," Stefan explained, hands on his hips as he looked between Elena and Scarlett, giving Jeremy a slight glance out of respect. Scarlett could understand that. He wasn't as well versed in all this compared to her and Elena but he still deserved respect, which was what Stefan gave him. But he knew Elena and Scarlett were the ones to ask, trusting that if Jeremy knew anything of importance, then he'd speak up.

"I-I came in and I called up to Jeremy." Scarlett could already feel her cheeks heating up as she remembered Elena walking in on her and Jeremy. Even more embarrassed now as when Elena originally walked into the house she and Jeremy were more than likely finishing off. She really was never going to live this down. "Then I heard a noise in the kitchen…and then I found John," Elena sighed.

"And it was just a stab wound?" Stefan asked, his usual frown in place along his forehead. "Nothing else."

"Multiple stab wounds. His fingers had been chopped off too."

"Which hand?" Stefan asked rather quickly.

Elena thought about it for a second before releasing what he was getting at. "His ring hand," she answered.

"So however was here really was trying to kill him," Stefan said as he ran his hand across his chin in thought.

"I would have thought that was obvious by the stabbing part," Scarlett stated, folding her arms when Stefan and Elena looked her way.

"No, but, whoever was trying to kill him new about the ring, meaning they probably knew him closely," Stefan explained.

"Or tried to kill him before," Jeremy threw out, a fair point too. If someone had killed him and saw him walking around town the next day, they could have possibly worked it out and then tried again.

"But if not, then how could a tomb vampire know about the ring?" Elena asked with a frown on her face.

"I don't know," Stefan admitted as he turned back to his girlfriend.

"Ms. Gilbert?" The four ceased in their conversation and looked over to see a policeman standing by the open door. Scarlett had overheard the paramedics talking about when the police would arrive. She supposed it must be standard practise for when they found a stab victim, call the police and bring them in to question people.

"I'll be right there," Elena said and the officer nodded respectfully before stepping back outside to wait for her.

"You need to be at the hospital," Stefan said with a look to Elena. That was Stefan's news when Scarlett called him. Turns out Caroline had been in a car accident and was now at the hospital, not looking so great. While this wasn't a big deal for Scarlett, she understood how serious it was for Elena, knowing she was close with Caroline and all.

"But," Elena began to protest, looking to her little brother.

"No, no, no, I'll stay here with them," Stefan quickly said with a small helpful smile to Elena.

"We don't need a babysitter," Jeremy snapped defensively with a glare to his sister. Despite her walking in on him and Scarlett, he was still mad at his sister for keeping the truth from him. He wouldn't admit it, but Scarlett knew he was starting to get over it, at least when Elena was around or speaking to him. When she was around though, he was still mad. It was just a matter of time though, and Scarlett would help them both. She knew Jeremy was better off with Elena in his life – and as his sister – than without her.

"Yeah, I can look after Jeremy," Scarlett said with a grin to her boyfriend who then turned his glare onto her.

"That's not what I meant. I can take care of myself," Jeremy pouted.

"Not against a vampire you can't," Elena pointed out to which Jeremy scoffed before dropping down onto his bed in a mood. Scarlett could see why he was annoyed, but that said she wasn't about to leave him unprotected when a vampire could walk in at any moment and kill him. And if Stefan was here with her then that was even better. She liked doing things on her own but the fact was Stefan had probably killed several vampires in his life, Scarlett had killed a total of zero. She'd fought a few and had been getting better with training from Sarah, but even so she still hadn't killed one herself yet. And Jeremy definitely hadn't killed one either. So having Stefan stick around was probably for the best.

Jeremy didn't say anything, he just groaned again and fell backwards onto his bed as Scarlett let out a light hearted sigh, smiling softly at her boyfriend while the other couple said goodbye before Elena stepped out to speak to the officer. After that she left to go to the hospital and the police and paramedics cleared out leaving Scarlett, Jeremy and Stefan alone in the house. Just waiting for whatever would happen next.

* * *

Pulling back the string on the crossbow, Sarah loaded a fresh stake into place before lifting up the weapon for inspection. She'd already gone through all their stakes, taking what she considered the best three. She had one strapped to her leg, one tucked behind her back and the other she'd be carrying along with the crossbow. She'd managed to snatch a vervain grande off Alaric a while back and had that in her jacket pocket There were other weapons she could and wanted to take, but then she'd need a bag and that would only slow her down. The crossbow was a little much as it was, but Sarah needed to make a point of this. She was going to finish Katherine off tonight.

As she finished checking over the crossbow, her phone buzzed from her back pocket. With a silent groan, Sarah lay the crossbow down and retrieved her phone. Across her screen was a message from Damon. "Katherine's back. Meeting up at Elena's. Now!" So now her brothers knew about her too. She had even less time than she thought. But unlike her brothers she had somewhere to start looking. The remains of their old house. Not as a hideout, but if Katherine wanted to meet, then she'd go there for Sarah. She had to know what that place meant to her and the scars it represented in her mind. That was were her world had changed forever, it was were she and Katherine had first met. And when starting the same game over again. You had to start at the beginning.

Turning off her phone, Sarah returned it to her back pocket before picking up the crossbow. She couldn't risk her brothers calling her while she was tracking Katherine and she didn't want to talk to them anyway. One final check of the crossbow, and she grabbed her sharpest stake before heading out the door.

* * *

With nothing better to do, Jeremy had popped in a movie down in the living room. Both he and Scarlett would have rather gone out and done something but Stefan wasn't budging. As far as he was concerned they were all staying put. Scarlett could see why. If Jenna or Elena came home there'd be no one here to protect them if the tomb vampire came back. So it made sense for one supernatural to stay here. Unfortunately Stefan wasn't letting Scarlett and Jeremy leave without him and Scarlett wasn't going to wait here by herself to die of boredom. So the three sat on the couch in silence more or less, the only chatter occurring between Scarlett and Jeremy in regards to the movie. Stefan just sat on the other side of the couch taping his foot impatiently.

Then came the jingle of keys and Stefan was up on his feet before the door was unlocked. Scarlett shared a smile with Jeremy both standing as he paused the move. They stepped into the next room, watching from there as Stefan walked to the opening door which Elena then stepped through.

"Hey," Stefan greeted her instantly. "How was Caroline?"

"Not good," Elena said with a deep look to Stefan. Clearly whatever had happened at the hospital, it hadn't been good. Stefan smiled softly at his girlfriend and then brought her into a tight hug. "Just what I needed," Elena said with a smile as she rested her head on Stefan's shoulder, her arms wrapped underneath Stefan's. It was then Scarlett began to frown. Something was off. Something in the air. It wasn't right. She looked to Jeremy and he frowned, seeing her look.

"Everything alright?" Jeremy whispered, noticing the uncertainty in Scarlett's eyes.

"I'm not sure…" Scarlett murmured back. Her eyes moved back to the hugging Stefan and Elena. Whatever it was it had to do with the two of them. She'd only felt this odd feeling when she saw them hug. Like it was unnatural. But she'd seen Stefan and Elena hug all the time. It had to be something else. The couple parted, Elena's smile now gone as she looked up into Stefan's eyes. Even now that they'd separated, something still felt amiss.

Elena reached up to kiss Stefan and he went down to do the same. Scarlett's nose flared, as she sniffed the air and that was when she caught it. She hadn't been certain until then but now that she'd properly done it, she knew it for sure. That wasn't Elena's scent. And no one could chance their scent to that degree.

"That's not Elena!" Scarlett shouted before the fake Elena could kiss Stefan. Reacting quickly, Stefan hissed at the fake before grabbing hold and throwing her across the couch and into the living room where Scarlett and Jeremy were. Before any of them could blink, the imposter was back on her feet, brushing her hair out her face.

"Katherine," Stefan snarled, his vampire features coming out as Scarlett pushed Jeremy behind her. If even half of what she'd heard about Katherine was true, that meant they were all in serious trouble, and even more so Jeremy, since he couldn't possibly defend himself against someone like her.

"One out of three ani't bad," Katherine said with a shrug before her cat like eyes moved across to Scarlett and Jeremy. Her mere look made the hairs on the back of Scarlett's neck rise and she flashed her golden eyes at the vampire. That seemed to amuse her as she chuckled lightly and smirked. "Down girl," Katherine warned with a delicate finger point to the wolf, but Scarlett could sense the threat that was hidden behind that cute facade.

Seeing his chance, Stefan ran in, leaping over the couch in one move before grabbing Katherine by the throat and forcing against the far wall. Now putting himself between Scarlett, Jeremy and Katherine. Scarlett could hear his laboured breathing all the way across the room, and that was without her supernatural abilities. He was angry, properly full on angry. Scarlett had heard the stories and knew how mad Sarah could get when talking about it. But Stefan was even madder than Sarah was when just thinking about Katherine. What was she going to be like when she came face to face with Katherine.

"Feel better?" Katherine asked as Stefan growled at her. Scarlett wasn't too sure what to do. Stefan had Katherine pinned, what could she do. She wanted to help but she wasn't about to go over there and leave Jeremy defenceless. Another set of jingling keys filled the air and all eyes moved to the front door. Elena or Jenna were home now. The sound of a sharp twist followed by Stefan's groan of pain, and when Scarlett looked back, Katherine had the upper hand. She'd broken free and had twisted Stefan's arm behind his back, now having shoved him against the wall. Scarlett ran across the room, her teeth and claws growing as she lunged for the back of Katherine. She was halfway through her flight when she suddenly found herself on the floor, the smug Elena look alike towner over her. Then she was gone in a blur of movements and Jeremy dropped down to her side.

Hearing the front door open, Scarlett pulled back her werewolf features and let Jeremy help her up, looking to the door to find Elena and Damon as she did. "Guys?" Elena asked with a frown after seeing her boyfriend, up against the wall holding his arm, and Jeremy helping Scarlett up off the floor.

"Elena," Stefan replied as he stared back at her, almost like he wasn't sure it was really her. Scarlett wasn't even sure of it. Two seconds ago that very face had been above her looking like she was about to kill her. But a whiff of her scent calmed the wolf inside Scarlett, realising this was in fact Elena and that Katherine was now gone.

"What happened?" Elena asked as Damon took in the situation from beside her, the answer already coming to mind.

"Katherine happened," the eldest Salvatore said simply as the group shared varying levels of worried looks.

"Who the hell is Katherine?" Jeremy asked, looking between the three supernaturals and his sister. Elena's mouth opened but nothing but uncertain noises came out as she looked to Stefan for him. "Come on, Elena. Just tell me the truth for once," Jeremy begged as he stepped towards his sister, leaving Scarlett now that she was securely on her feet.

"He needs to know, Elena," Scarlett added with a pointed look. They couldn't very well have an Elena look alike running around and not tell Jeremy. He was already involved in the supernatural world anyway, and she wasn't about to let any of them play with his head again, seeing as that ended so well last time. The truth was the only option, but this time Elena was going to tell him herself.

"She's right," agreed Stefan from the corner of the room as he approached his girlfriend and brother.

"Right then, you catch him up to speed," Damon ordered Elena as he motioned between her and her brother before then turning to his own brother. "You, me and Scrappy. In the kitchen," Damon said, not bothering to wait for responses as he marched off into the next room from the hallway. Stefan rolled his eyes before following and Scarlett did the same, leaving Elena and Jeremy to talk in privet.

"So what happened?" Damon asked as he rounded the island in the kitchen which Stefan and Scarlett joined him at.

"Katherine came in pretending to be Elena. She hugged me and then went to kiss me," Stefan explained, hands on his hips as he spoke.

"How'd you know it was Katherine?" Damon asked quickly, leaning down on the counter top as he eyed his brother. Stefan looked to Scarlett who looked to the vampire. She wasn't about to say anything, not seeing as Damon already suspected her and she assumed Stefan wasn't going to say anything either. The look was to confirm nothing had changed on that front.

"I only spotted it when she went in for the kiss," Stefan answered as he and Scarlett looked back to Damon. The eldest vampire's blue eyes danced between the two, suspicion obvious, but nothing more than he'd already had after the fire. And he was a little preoccupied with the Katherine issue to start interrogating Scarlett about whatever he suspected.

"Then what?" Damon asked as his eyes settled on Stefan.

"I pinned her against the wall. She got free and then ran off," Stefan explained.

"Uh-uh, and you were on the floor, why?" Damon asked as he pointed to Scarlett.

Or maybe he wasn't to preoccupied to interrogate Scarlett.

"I ran over to help when I heard you guys coming in. But before I could get there she was free and had knocked me down," Scarlett explained shamefully as she fiddled with her necklace, pretending to feel like an idiot. She didn't have to pretend that hard, she did feel like an idiot. She'd been trying to help and when she finally did she got taken out like she was nothing, and that was with her werewolf strength. If Katherine was that strong, then had Anna must have been holding back all those times, or was she just naturally weak. Or was Katherine super supernaturally strong?

"Classic, Scrappy," Damon said with a smug look to the teenager before his attention moved back to Stefan once more, done with his questioning for now. "Did she say what she wanted?"

"No," Stefan answered, now pacing around the kitchen while Scarlett leaned back against the dinning table and Damon continued to lean on the island countertop.

"Woman certainly knows how to make an entrance," Damon muttered with an irritated look on his face.

"She said she fooled one of us at least. What does that mean?" Stefan asked as he ceased in his pacing and looked to both Scarlett and Damon.

"You don't think she got to Sarah do you?" Scarlett asked, worry consuming her face at the thought of her poor friend falling back into Katherine's clutches. After hearing briefly about what she'd gone through the first time with Katherine, there was no telling what that bitch would do to her this time, especially now that compulsion was out of the question.

"No, no, Sarah's fine…for now," Damon said, sounding a little worried at the end as he sheepishly glanced at Stefan, bitting his lower lip. Something told Scarlett it wasn't his sister's safety that had Damon looking so worried. "She pretended to be Elena too when I saw her earlier tonight," Damon explained as Scarlett eyebrows lifted up. She looked to Stefan and saw all she needed to in his frown. He was definitely thinking the same thing she was. What had Katherine done with Damon when she was pretending to be Elena?

"So, Katherine's you're doppleganger?" Jeremy asked as he and Elena walked into the room, still wrapping his head around the concept apparently. It had taken Scarlett a few days to understand it too, and that had been without the visual aid of Katherine herself. "And you're ancestor…and that's why she looks identical to you?"

"To sum it up, yeah," Elena said with a nod as her lips rolled in. One look and it was clear that while Jeremy was confused, Elena was riddled with fear. Jeremy's confusion of the situation was apparently enough to conceal his concern of the situation. Elena didn't have that luxury as she'd known about Katherine for even longer than Scarlett. All she had was fear left in her now.

"Are you alright?" Stefan asked as he approached his his girlfriend who was by the table. Jeremy remained by the archway to the hallway so Scarlett moved over to his side, leaning against the wall with folded arms as she sent him a comforting smile. She was just glad he was okay, too lost in his thoughts to waste time worrying about the very real threat of Katherine.

"No, I'm not alright," Elena exclaimed. "I thought that with all the tomb vampires gone things would get better," she sighed.

"I know. We all did," Stefan agreed with a comforting look to his girlfriend as he gently rubbed her arm.

"Katherine was in this house, that means she's been invited in. What are we gonna do?" Elena asked, realising that Katherine could now enter at will and kill any of them in their sleep. That thought terrified Scarlett, there was no way she was leaving Jeremy alone in this house, when Katherine could come in at any moment and snap his neck while he slept. She wouldn't lose him like she lost Anna, unable to do anything to save her.

"Move," Damon suggested bluntly.

"Very helpful, thank you," Elena said with a glare to Damon as she pulled out a chair at the dinning table and sat down. Stefan's hand resting on the back of her chair as they all watched Damon.

"If Katherine wanted you dead then there's zero you can do about it, you would be dead, but you're not. So clearly she has other plans," Damon explained, making it all seem so obvious.

"Like what?" Scarlett asked with a frown, waiting for Damon to give her an answer to that question. No surprise he had nothing, but he did offer Scarlett the conciliation prize of a glare.

"We don't know," Stefan admitted. "But we're going to find out what she's up too, and not provoke her in the process," Stefan said with a pointed look to his brother.

"Don't know why you're looking at me. Sarah's the one you should be worried about, Brother," Damon said as he straightened up with a smug look back to Stefan. He waited for Stefan, or even Scarlett, to return with a witty comeback but he both remained silent, glaring at him.

Finally Stefan spoke up, asking, "What happened tonight, when you thought she was Elena?" Damon hesitated in his answer as Elena straightened up from where she was sat. Everyone now eyeing Damon as he squirmed a little. He wasn't desperate or nervous, just putting on a show to rub Stefan the wrong way.

"To risk another frown line encroaching on a very crowded forehead. We…kissed," Damon answered with a thin smile as Stefan's glaring intensified. Scarlett could feel the tension building, and this would normally be the point when Sarah jumped in to stop the two from fighting. Maybe she should call her, let her know what was going on before the two brothers started an all out fight in the Gilbert's kitchen.

"And you thought it was me?" Elena asked, now frowning along with her boyfriend as she stared up at Damon.

"What do you mean you kissed?" Stefan cut in before Damon had a chance to answer Elena, his emotional state very clear from that sentence alone. _Come on, Sarah. Feel free to come through the door now?_ Scarlett said in her head, praying that Sarah would show up now before the fight broke out. And Scarlett was hardly surprised by what Damon did next. She'd known him long enough by now to see something like this coming. Anyone that spent five minutes with the guy knew he would do this next.

"Well, you know, when two lips pucker and they go…" as Damon spoke he pursed his lips and began making kissing noises. Scarlett got a single step away from the wall before the Salvatore brothers switched positions. Stefan having run at Damon while Damon ran around the island and to Elena's side, a smug smile on his lips. "Don't be obvious, Stefan," Damon teased as Stefan advanced on his brother, this time at human speed. Making it much easier for Scarlett and Elena to get between them.

"Enough!" Scarlett said firmly, like Sarah normally did when her two brothers got into a fight like this.

"Stefan, he kissed Katherine, not me" Elena added, reminding her boyfriend of what really happened and not what he thought happened. Elena then looked back over to Damon with a pointed look. "I wouldn't do that." She then lowered her arms seeing the two were no longer about to kill each other. Scarlett however remained along side Elena, ready to shove them apart at a moments notice. "We don't have time for this guys. Now where's Sarah?"

"I texted her, telling her to come here," Damon answered, but his eyes remained on Stefan who was continuing to glare at his brother. Still itching for a fight after what his brother had tried to do.

"So where is she then?" Elena asked with a pointed look to the eldest Salvatore.

"I'll call her," Scarlett said as she pulled out her phone, remaining still though as she called the vampire. It went straight to voice mail. Not a good sigh at all. "She's got her phone turned off," Scarlett said to the group.

"Crap," Damon sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"She'll be going after Katherine, alone," Stefan said, his eyes finally breaking from Damon's as he looked to Elena and Scarlett.

"We've got to go and find her then," Elena said with clear worry in her voice as she looked back at Stefan.

"No. We've got to look for Our sister," Damon said waving a hand finger between himself and Stefan. "You're staying here with Scrappy and Mopey, in the same room with the lights turned on," Damon said to Elena with looks to Scarlett and Jeremy. No room for argument judging by his tone. "We'll be back once we find Sarah," Damon said before looking to Stefan, his smug smile returning. "Or would you rather hash this out before we find her?"

"Later," Stefan answered with a glare to Damon who merely shrugged as he walked away, turning into the hallway as he headed for the front door. "We'll be back soon," Stefan said, planting a kiss on Elena's forehead. They shared a quick smile before Stefan moved onto Scarlett, fixing her with a pointed and serious look. "Keep an eye on them." Scarlett nodded back before Stefan then made his way past her and Jeremy and into the hall. Damon led him outside, closing the door behind them and leaving the three mortals alone in the house.

* * *

It didn't take Sarah long to reach the ruins of her old family home. The one she'd been born in, the one she'd been raised in. Part of her was sad, staring at the rubble that remained of her childhood home. Part of her was glad, considering everything that had happened here, not just in regard to Katherine. And then she was angry, that was all because of Katherine. The woman might as well have taken this place down herself. If this house represented the Salvatore family, then it's remains where what Katherine had left behind. She'd taken it all from Sarah. And now she was going to take the only thing she could from that devil. Her life.

Tightening her grip on the crossbow, Sarah searched the grounds for any sign of Katherine. She paced around the perimeter twice, exploring the outline that remind of her home. There was no sigh of her. It had been a hunch more than anything else, coming back to her home where they all first met. Maybe Katherine wasn't as sentimental as she thought or she'd already been here and gone off to start playing with her brothers once again. But Sarah couldn't afford to give up like that. If she did then she'd have to go back to her brothers who more than likely were now aware of what she was up too. She'd needed some other lead, somewhere else to search and fast. She could head to the fancy foreclosed houses on the other side of town. That would probably be the kind of place Katherine took over, assuming she was here for a while. Either that or she will have taken over a rich house and compelled its residents to cater to her every whim. Just like she did with the Salvatores.

A foot step from behind caused Sarah to swiftly turn, her vampire reflexes kicking in as she took aim with her crossbow. Nothing was there…now. It had to be her. Sarah was certain. "I'm not playing around, Katherine!" Sarah shouted out into the woods as she began to turn, keeping the crossbow steady and ready in her hands. "Come out here and face me!"

Then came that laugh. That girlish, demonic laugh that made Sarah's insides turn. She bit down on her lip in a futile attempt to stop it from trembling. She waited for Katherine to reveal herself but she didn't. She kept laughing, her laughter echoing all around Sarah and making it impossible to know where she was. "Stop it!" Sarah shouted when it became to much. Then no sooner had the words left her mouth, the cross bow was knocked from her hands. Sent flying off into the darkness and out of sight. Sarah couldn't even be sure were it went. She lost sight of it the second she saw Katherine standing before her. Looking just like she had all those years ago. With that sick twisted smile and those innocently devilish eyes. Her outfit had evolved with the time, but everything else was exactly as Sarah remembered in her nightmares.

"Hello, Sarah," Katherine said gleefully, clearly happy to finally be face to face with Sarah once again. The Salvatore sister however, did not share the older vampire's view. Pulling out her sharpest stake, Sarah lunged for Katherine's heart. The vampire smirked before raising her own arm to block Sarah's stake. With ease she then grabbed Sarah and flipped her over onto her back, kicking away the stake as it fell from Sarah's grasp. Then with a stylish cartwheel, Katherine landed on Sarah, straddling her like she had back in Sarah's room. Only this time with cloths on.

Sarah reached for her second stake but Katherine was one step ahead, pulling out a syringe and stabbing it into Sarah's neck. A gasp flew from Sarah's lips at the pain of the pricking needle in her neck. Then she felt the liquid fill her body. Vervain. "That's better," Katherine said as she began to smile at the now defenceless vampire beneath her. Sarah felt her body limp and collapse onto the ground, her head rolling back before Katherine placed her elegant hand beneath to lift her back up. Deja vu struck hard as Sarah looked up into the eyes of a woman who had been able to control her with just a single look. Once again she was beneath Katherine, helpless as she did what she pleased with her. That pleasant and creepy smile once again hovering over her, like she was the devil himself. Her nightmares finally coming true.

"It's not enough to knock you out," Katherine said, matter-of-factly. "Just enough to keep you down." The elder vampire then produced another syringe, having discarded the empty one. "This one will knock you out for a good few hours."

"Wh…wha…what do you…" Sarah was struggling to speak. She was halfway between passing out and staying awake, making it hard to form a sentence. Her vision was on the edge of blurriness, but Katherine's perfect features were still as clear as day. She could fill in the blurry bits from her nightmares alone.

"Hush," Katherine said, placing her finger to Sarah's lips and keeping her from speaking. "You can ask your questions later. Right now, I just need you to relax." Katherine's hand then left Sarah's lips, moving down to Sarah's cleavage as she began to pull down the collar of her shirt. With her smirk growing, Katherine began to trace circles across Sarah's chest, sending unwanted tingles through her.

"No…" Sarah tried to protest, but she didn't have the strength to fight.

"Okay, Sarah," Katherine said pitifully as she leaned down, brushing Sarah's hair from her face. "We can play later. I can see you want to get some sleep. It's been a long night for you. First those tomb vampires and now you're out looking for me." A giggle fluttered out of her throat. A demonic giggle that made Sarah want to cry. "You couldn't wait until morning, could you. How sweet," Katherine said, tilting her head as she smiled down at the vampire she'd created. "But you need your rest before we start playing. Now." A fresh needle pricked into Sarah's neck, only this time she didn't have the strength to gasp. Katherine then pushed down on the plunger and a fresh wave of vervain filled her body. "Night, night, Sarah," Katherine said with a satisfied smile on her face. Watching as Sarah's eyes rolled back into her head before she passed out peacefully.


	2. The Return

_Review responses:_

Only reviewer: _We're about to find out! And it'll be the same reason she never killed Damon or Stefan. ;)_

 _And now for the second part of the Return episode. Another fun one here, first time I give a Damon and Stefan perspective. Needed to flesh the chapter out a bit, but I do feel it gives an insight as to where the stand in this story, plus it gives me more time to play with Katherine. And the Scarlett stuff is setting up some important ideas for later._

 _And thanks to everyone who's favourited and followed the story, and thanks again for all those that have continued over from the first story. Don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts if you have time. Hope the second chapter keeps up the momentum and I'll see you later! Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The Return**

* * *

Walking towards the Lockwood mansion, Scarlett couldn't help but groan. She'd never been fond of the Lockwoods. True the only one she'd ever spent time with was Tyler but he was an ass and his dad seemed like one too and Mrs Lockwood just seemed stuck up. So the last thing she wanted to do was head over to the Lockwoods to 'grieve' about the death of the Mayor. The one that she'd seen die down in the burned down Gilbert place. She'd rather be out looking for Sarah who still hadn't been found. Scarlett had spent the night with the Gilberts while Stefan and Damon had been out searching. When she woke up the next morning and still hadn't heard anything from them, she called Stefan. There had been no sigh of her anywhere. All they'd found was a raided weapons chest at the house, suggesting Sarah had gone after Katherine.

When Stefan had then told her he and Damon where going to pause the search to go the the mayors wake, Scarlett had been ready to go and continue it on her own. And without Damon around to see her, she could turn into a wolf and sniff her out far faster than the two vampires. Unfortunately, Jenna had grabbed her before she could leave and dragged her to the stupid gathering. On the bases that if they were going, then so was she. She would have put up more of a fight if she hadn't seen Jeremy giving her the puppy dog look, practically begging her to come. She really was going to have to rebuild her immunity to his looks.

"Looks like the whole town has turned out," Jenna said as the four made their way towards the grand house. Scarlett fought the urge to mumble a rude comment. She liked Jenna, she was cool. And while she hated the authoritative thing, she understood it was something Jenna had to do. But she still didn't like it. She preferred friend Jenna to parent Jenna.

"Yeah. Well, he is…he was the mayor," Elena sighed, changing her tenses when she remembered he was now dead.

"Why don't they save it for the funeral?" Jeremy asked as they approached the stairs to the mansion.

"That's what people do," Jenna explained as they ascended the stairs. "The Lockwoods were here for us when we went through this."

"They were there for some of us," Scarlett muttered bitterly. As she remembered it, hardly anyone showed up to her own mother's wake. Then again her father had been in jail and her uncle was never going to spend a penny on a wake and the bare minimum on a funeral. Even so, it would have been nice of someone to at least say something to her. People had just avoided her for weeks, giving her pathetic looks. So why the hell should she be here for the Lockwoods, the greatest assholes of them all?

"You alright?" Jeremy asked, his arm hugging Scarlett's waist as her shoulders tensed and she folded her arms.

"I just don't like being here is all," she answered with a shrug, not looking any of the Gilberts in the eye.

"Well it'll be quick. We'll drop off the food and pay our respects and go," Jenna said, lifting the tray of home made food as to make her point. Seeing Jenna attempt to smile, Scarlett offered her an attempt in return before looking down. She just wanted to get back to looking for Sarah. The sooner they found her the better, every second they didn't was another were she could be in danger.

"In and out, sounds like a plan," Jeremy agreed as he led Scarlett inside, shuddering as she passed over the threshold.

"You guys go ahead, I'll be right there, okay?" Elena said. Scarlett looked back and saw she was mostly talking to Jenna who didn't look too happy as she stared at her niece. Then Scarlett spotted Damon off to the side, leaning on the railing with a drink in hand. Part of Scarlett wanted to go and ask about Sarah, but he'd just give her attitude and tell her what Stefan had already given her. Better to let Elena deal with him while she went in, showed face, and then left. The sooner she got out into the woods to shift, the better. Feeling Jeremy tugging at her to keep moving, Scarlett let him guide her through the Lockwood mansion with Jenna behind them. She just needed this to be quick.

* * *

Stefan kept close as he followed Katherine through the Lockwood gardens, now circling around the large pond behind the mansion. He was doing his best to play along with her game. It was the best way to get an insight into what she was up too. Why she was coming after Elena and toying with them all. He just had to keep his cool like he'd been doing and he'd be fine. It wasn't easy, remembering everything this woman had done to him and his siblings. And thinking about his sister wasn't helping. He'd bee up all night searching for her and had gotten nothing. All that had turned up was a partially emptied weapons chest from the basement and a note from Katherine that was in Sarah's room. He was dying to ask her about that, but that would give her a good look at his hand, and he needed to play things close to the chest for now. At least until he had a better grasp on the vampire he'd once loved.

"The Lockwoods have a lot more land than they used to. The possessions from all the tomb vampires built them quite a fortune," Katherine said as she glanced across the pond, Stefan falling into line with his sire as he clasped his hands behind his back.

"Yeah, why did you want them dead? You're the one who turned most of them." It had been a question tickling his mind for a while now. She'd used John and Isobel to get rid of the tomb vampires, they knew that, but the reason why was still a mystery to him. He had his theories, number one being because almost each and every one had wanted her dead. Not terribly surprising consider she left them all locked in a tomb for almost one-hundred-and-fifty years.

"There's nothing more annoying than a vengeful vampire, Stefan. Just ask John Gilbert," Katherine said with a grin as she strode forward a few steps, turning around to face Stefan with a curious look. Eyeing Stefan up and down like she used too, admiring his body. It mad Stefan uncomfortable. He never had enjoyed other people looking him over, women undressing him with their minds. But with Katherine it was even worse.

"You haven't changed at all, have you?" Stefan asked, hands moving into his pockets as he stared back at the vampire who grinned away at him. Obviously loving the attention and soaking it up like a sponge.

"But you have. You're stronger. Meaner. It's sexy," Katherine said with a quirked eyebrow.

"Don't flirt with me, Katherine. I'm not Damon," Stefan said with a shake of the head, refusing to play this part of her game. He wasn't going to go down that rabbit hole again. He'd done so once back in 1864. Now he was in love with Elena, he wasn't about to hurt her by even thinking about Katherine in that way, never mind flirting with her. "I haven't spent one-hundred-and-forty-five years obsessed with you."

"Based on your choice of women, I'd say otherwise," Katherine said with a delighted grin as she stepped around Stefan who dropped his head. He'd seen that card coming from a mile away. It was the obvious play, a desperate one to rattle him up. It wasn't going to work. He just needed a second to gather himself was all. "Although I'll admit it does bother me that you've falling in love with someone else," Katherine admitted. Stefan turned, almost mistaking her voice for genuine sadness that matched the look on her face. But Stefan knew that face and knew the many masks that Katherine could wear. If Stefan was to name anyone that had compete control over their facial muscles, it would be Katherine.

"I was never in love with you, Katherine. You compelled me. So none of my feelings were real," Stefan stated pointedly as Katherine stepped back over towards him, grinning away as she spoke her next words.

"Believe what you want, Stefan, but I know the truth and deep down, so do you," she smiled at him, stepping up into his personal space with a gleeful smile as she looked up into his forest green eyes, almost like she was trying to compel him all over again. Well it wasn't going to work now. He was a vampire too and she had no more power over him than he had over her. Though if he was being honest he hated how her smile got to him, the one she kept using. A twisted smile unlike anything he ever saw on Elena.

"The truth?" Stefan asked as Katherine ran her fingers across his chest. He maintained his looks, refusing to let the physical contact throw him, especially with Katherine's cat like eyes watching him for any sign that he was enjoying it. "Well the truth is, you're the same, lying, selfish, manipulative bitch, that you've always been," Stefan said, his voice growing anger as he advanced on her, and all while Katherine's face dropped from glee to mild anger mixed with irritation. "The truth, is that Sarah was always right about you, and I wish I'd listened to her sooner." He knew his mistake the second Katherine's lips rose into a smirk, but even knowing that he feel into her trap. His anger flared and before he could stop himself the words were flying from his mouth. "Now, tell me where she is. Or I'll rip your heart out!"

"Sorry, Stefan," Katherine said as took a step back, grinning as Stefan remained still, watching everything from her eyes, to her face to her body language, trying to find something that would lead him to his sister. He couldn't have this all be for nothing. "But I owe Sarah some one on one time. I mean, it's hardly fair, me spending all my time with you, now is it?" Katherine said, bitting her lower lip as she stepped back up to Stefan, running her finger slowly across his collar bone, trying to arouse him. He refused to bite, he fought the urge inside him. He wouldn't give her anything.

"If you do anything to her…" Stefan warned, leaning towards Katherine with a deadly glare, making sure she got his point clearly.

"You'll what?" Katherine chuckled as she stepped back once more, practically laughing in Stefan's face with her smile. "You can't kill me Stefan. I've got Sarah. You kill me and you'll never find her. But don't worry," Katherine said, tilting her head as Stefan's glare intensified. "I'll give her back once I'm done with her. After all, you and Damon have had over a century to appreciate her. It's not my fault you both ignored her." She knew how to hit his nerves, there was no denying that. He hated how she could play him like a violin. And before he could think it through, he charged at the vampire with his supernatural speed only to have his legs swept out from under him. He caught a glimpse of Katherine's smug blurry face before he hit the ground, only to then groan aloud when she stabbed him with an iron spike. Pain shot through his chest, only to then double when Katherine twisted the spike. He felt the blood seep out, covering his chest and cloths as he groaned in pain.

"Don't worry. I'll tell Sarah you were asking for her," Katherine said as she pulled the spike from Stefan, throwing it aside before vanishing as Stefan rolled onto his side, hands wrapping over the slowly healing wound.

When Elena finally arrived, having been looking for him, the wound had mostly healed. He was still covered in blood and while it was unnecessary, Elena had insisted she clean him. Stefan had argued a little but when he saw she wasn't going to back off he sat down on the available bench and let her clean the blood beneath his shirt. He understood she was just trying to be helpful, considering there wasn't much she could do against Katherine or any vampire at the moment. And he knew full well she wasn't happy about him putting himself in danger for her, but he just couldn't help himself. He loved her and that was what compelled him to do anything for her, even sacrifice his own life if he had too.

"You gonna be okay?" Elena asked as she looked up from her cleaning of the blood.

"Yeah, it will heal," Stefan murmured back, avoiding eye contact. It was still strange. Going from looking at Katherine to looking at Elena. He could see the difference in their cloths and hair styles, but when he was just looking at her face, he was ashamed to say he couldn't quite tell the difference. He should be able to, they had to be different in someway. They were just completely different, personality wise. There had to be a way to tell them apart. He just needed to find it before Katherine tried to pull another Elena impersonation.

"That's not what I meant," Elena said as Stefan finally looked up into his girlfriend's eyes. Hearing what she was really asking. He had the first time, he just didn't want to show her how weak he felt. He wouldn't say he was overly masculine. He just didn't want her to worry because he felt like an idiot. Things were already bad enough for his girlfriend, no needed to give her more to handle.

"I was trying to figure her out. I was playing along, thinking she might slip up and lead me to Sarah…I let her get to me," Stefan admitted as he looked down shamefully, feeling Elena's sympathetic smile on him. He knew she understood. She was worried about Sarah too. They were friends after all. But he was her brother. He wasn't meant to let anything like this happen. He should have known better, but he'd been so focused on Elena he hadn't even thought about how his sister would react to Katherine coming back into town. And by the time he had, it was too late.

"I tried tracking her, but she's gone," Damon announced as he walked over to the two. He'd arrived along with Elena and had immediately gone off to try and find Katherine, clearly having failed. Stefan would have rather sent Scarlett to do that. But she hadn't shown up with them and he couldn't expose her secret to Damon just to possibly find Katherine. She'd probably planned for that anyway. She clearly knew about Sarah's ward from the moment she walked into the Gilbert house, knowing she was supernatural. How else would she have been able to react to Scarlett like that. Taking her out without even batting an eye. She might even know for certain what she is. He and his sister were working off the premise she was a werewolf, but Katherine could probably provide an accurate answer to that question. Assuming they trusted her enough to tell the truth, which they didn't.

"You better watch out, Elena. Looks like Katherine's out to steal your guy," Damon said with a teasingly look that only alarmed Elena as she turned back to Stefan. He quickly started to shake his head, letting her know that was not the case. It couldn't be, there had to be another angel to this. He could not believe the soul reason Katherine was back, was because of him and his siblings. If it was, she would have shown face a long time ago. Something else had brought her back to Mystic Falls.

"That's not what's happening," Stefan said to Elena.

"Isn't it?" Damon cut in. "I mean it's only fair since I went after your girl." Stefan clenched his jaw. He hated how his brother kept bringing it up, teasing him about it relentlessly. He hated how it made him feel, jealous. He tried to push the emotion down, but every time Damon brought the subject back up, he found his anger grew each time. Sarah had been doing a good job of running interference. In another time she'd probably have joined in on the torturing. But she wasn't about to let their family crumble because of another love triangle. Stefan just wished she was here now, to help keep Damon in line. If he spoke up it would look like he was jealous and he didn't want Elena thinking he was because he trusted her. He just didn't trust Damon as much as he'd like too.

"I'm gonna go and check on Jenna and Jeremy. I'll see if I can find Scarlett too, fill her in," Elena said as she stood to leave. Stefan nodded his thanks, watching as Elena made her way from the bench and back towards the house. He could see Damon watching her leave too. It irritated him, but judging by how long he was watching, he was probably just waiting for her to get out of ear shot, like him. The second she was, both brothers looked to one another.

"So what's it gonna be huh? Fight to the death?" Damon asked as he raised his fists in a boxing fashion, jumping from one foot to the other as he grinned at his brother. Stefan just scoffed, looking away as he tried to push his jealousy down where it belonged. He had to be sensible, even if Damon was going to be immature. Sarah wasn't around to shut him up so he was just going to have to let him get it all out. No matter how much it irritated him. "Go ahead, make your threats, stake your claim," Damon teased, slapping his brother's chest as he continued to bounce around.

"I'm not going to fight you," Stefan said firmly as he looked back to Damon.

"Why?" Damon cried in outrage, sounding pretty annoyed too. "I'd fight me."

"Katherine has our sister. You realise that right?" Stefan asked with an angry look up to his nonchalant brother. He knew Damon cared but when he was cracking jokes every second and trying to get him mad every other second, it was hard to remember. "So now is her best chance to play us against each other. Because she knows that Sarah's not here to keep us focused."

"Brother, don't you worry, our bond is unbreakable. Just like our super-duper vampire family…you know, when Sarah's around," Damon said, flashing a sarcastic uncertain look before his face smoothed out once more.

"That's my point, Damon," Stefan said angrily as he stood up, heatedly staring at his brother as he tried to get himself under control and get his point across without shouting. "This is all part of Katherine's plan. Divide and conquer. She's got Sarah, the most venerable when it comes to her mere presence, and now we're stood here, arguing. Our sister is in her own personal hell right now. We don't have time to fight about this. And as much as I want to kill you, I won't, for her. Because she needs both of us." Frustration finally won out and Stefan sighed, turning and walking off a few paces as he ran his hands through his hair. He just needed to cool down, get his head together and work out how to stop Katherine so he could get his sister back.

"I kissed Elena," Damon said again, like that fact alone should be enough to force Stefan into fighting him. Well it wasn't. He had bigger things to deal with than his older brother. Like his little sister.

"Because you feel something for her, because you actually care and because you are finally starting to open back up," Stefan yelled as he turned back to his brother, walking over to him as he did. "I'm not gonna let Katherine come in here and destroy that part of you that is finally willing to feel something." He paused, taking a breath before continuing in a lower voice. "She is going to try and break you. Just like she's gonna do to me and Sarah. But we can't letter her, not yet. We need to get our sister back. Our sister, who despite everything, still loves us both. And I know you care about her too, just like me. We owe her, after everything we've both put her through these last few months. We owe here at least that."

"So no. I'm not gonna fight you." That was all he had to say. He made his point, highlighted to his brother why they had to work together. For their sister. And even though he might never openingly admit it, Stefan knew he loved her just as much as he did. He wouldn't risk her well-being just to tease him. Seeing that his brother was now in deep thought, Stefan decided to give him some space and walked past him towards the Lockwood house. He'd come around soon enough. He believed in his brother that much at least.

* * *

Scarlett couldn't believe it when Stefan told her to leave finding Sarah to him and Damon. She'd made her feeling on the matter very verbal, to which Stefan then had to drag her into the bathroom so people would stop staring. He then explained how it was better for her to not get involved, because if she did then Damon might notice her supernatural abilities. Abilities no one fully understood, and that would make Damon fear her. And Damon didn't like being scared so he'd more than likely kill her. This was all stuff Scarlett already knew, but getting put on the side lines while her friend was in the clutches of Katherine was far worse than Damon finding out. She was losing her mind.

Stefan didn't seem to care though, despite telling her he did. He reminded her that Sarah wouldn't want her dead and that she should stay with Jeremy again and watch the Gilberts while he and Damon went back out to find Sarah tonight. The argument went back and forth like that for a good few minutes until finally Scarlett gave in a huff and stormed out the bathroom. Luckily The Gilbert's had been waiting for her, she could see them across the Lockwood lawn. The stupidly over sized lawn that made the walk to the car stupidly long because the Lockwoods were stupid. She was actually surprised to be leaving madder than when she arrived.

She was halfway across the lawn when she stopped, looking up from her feet as she felt something. Something she hadn't felt before, and yet, strangely enough, felt familiar at the same time. Before her was an older man, good looking with a nice tan line and a charming smile. He'd stopped too, looking down at Scarlett as she looked up with a glaring frown, making sure to reflect her sour mood.

"You alright there?" the man asked with a chuckle.

"It's a wake," Scarlett said matter-of-factly. "Of course I'm not alright." He didn't need to know that her mood had nothing to do with the death of the mayor. Who the hell was he to ask anyway.

"Fair point," the man replied with another chuckle. "I'm Mason," he said, smiling as he held out his hand.

"And I should care because?" Scarlett asked bluntly, still frowning at the odd man who refused to drop his smile.

"Well, not to brag or anything, but I am the former mayor's brother," Mason said with a mild shrug, still smiling as Scarlett relaxed a little.

"Oh…sorry," she said, feeling slightly rude now.

"It's not your fault." _Not entirely true_ , Scarlett thought as she offered the older man a sympathetic smile.

"I'm Scarlett," she said softly, losing the edge to her voice as she went quiet. Mason smiled and reached forward to shake her hand. Then it hit her again, harder this time. The sensation of completely new but familiar. Like she knew this man more than she actually did. There was something about him that was for sure. His scent alone felt so…warm…and safe.

"Nice necklace you got there, Scarlett," Mason said as he nodded to the black crystal that rested around Scarlett's neck. She glance down, making sure it was still there. One of the few possessions her mother had handed down that her uncle hadn't managed to sell. It was precious to her, not just because it helped to control the wolf inside her and gave her extra strength. It was her mother's and it made her feel close to her, even though she was long gone.

"Thanks, it belonged to my mother," Scarlett explained as she took the necklace in between her thumb and index finger, beginning to roll it back and forth. A habit she'd picked up since first putting it on, it relaxed her, and reassured her it was still around her neck. Mason nodded in understanding as Scarlett looked back up to him. "Anyway. I was just going."

"Right, sorry. I'll, catch you later," Mason said with a friendly grin as he stepped around Scarlett, allowing her to leave.

"Maybe," Scarlett said with a soft smile and a nod to Mason before she made her way over to join Jeremy and the others.

* * *

"Very brave of you to come here," Damon grumbled, standing in the living room of his home. He'd just stopped by to change his cloths and grab a drink before heading out to join Stefan in the search for their sister. Of course there was little point now, seeing as the woman who'd kidnapped her was lying on his couch.

"I wanted to say goodbye," Katherine said simply, almost sadly as Damon turned to face her.

"Leaving so soon?" Damon replied coldly. After all this woman had put him through, she deserved a little cold. That and he'd already been having a really crappy day. The last twenty-four hours had not been something he was terribly found off. It felt like he'd been getting one slap across the face all day, and even now he couldn't help but feel another one coming.

"I know where I'm not wanted," Katherine replied with a shrug, an odd neutrality about her. Not what Damon had been expecting, or wanted for that matter. He wanted to hurt her, like she'd hurt him when he went down into that tomb to find she wasn't even there and had never bothered to find him.

"Don't pout. It's not attractive on a woman your age." Now she frowned, his words finally getting to her. It was a start.

"Ouch." Damon didn't bother with a response. He'd gotten in all he wanted to for now. Downing the drink in his hand, he threw down the glass on the mini bar by the couch and then made his way into the hallway. He made it three steps before Katherine vamp speeded in front of him.

"What no kiss goodbye?" Katherine asked plainly.

"Why don't I kill you instead?" Damon replied with a glare. Katherine didn't budge, shrugging as she waited for Damon to make the next move. He knew he shouldn't. He should go out and find his sister like he knew he should. But he couldn't resist, couldn't waste the opportunity to get answers that had pledged his mind ever since he found the empty tomb. "What are you doing here?"

"Nostalgia, curiosity, et cetera," Katherine said, narrowing her eyes as she watched Damon. Just like how he was watching her, both suspicious and curious.

"I'm better at the enigmatic one-liner, Katherine. What are you up to?" Damon repeated.

"Trust me Damon, when I'm up to something, you'll know it," Katherine said, edging closer towards him and entering his personal space. "Come on. Kiss me. Or kill me. Which will it be, Damon?" Katherine asked, their lips now practically touching. He could feel the urge inside him. The urge to lean forwards that little extra bit and take Katherine's lips for himself. "We both know that you're only capable of one." He wouldn't. Not while she had his sister. It wasn't right and it wasn't fair on her, not after everything Katherine had done to them all.

He turned to walk off but Katherine was there waiting for him and swiftly shoved him to the ground. He landed, arms at his side and she straddled him a second later, hands running over his chest as she leaned down onto him. The urges came back, stronger than before now, especially as Katherine leaned closer and closer. One of her arms stretched above his head while the other continued to tickle his collar bone, running around and around his chest. "My sweet, innocent, Damon," Katherine murmured flirtatiously as she went down on him, lips so close now he couldn't stand it.

In one fluid move he grabbed her throat with ease, rolling over and pushing her beneath him as he now straddled her, hand tightly gripping Katherine's throat. And while her breath was temporarily caught, the second she regained it she began to smile. He couldn't do it any more. She had him. She always had him, even now. He felt ashamed but his love for Katherine was more than for his sister. He leant down and finally after so long took Katherine's lips, now knowing it was her.

"Now that's more like it," Katherine murmured as Damon realised her. The triumphant smile back on her lips. He hated himself for smiling back, but he couldn't stop. This was his dream girl after all, the woman he'd been waiting for for almost a century and a half. Before he knew it he and Katherine were back on their feet and she had him shoved against the wall. That seductive grin of hers showing again, the one he'd dreamt about and would have gladly died all over again to see just once. She leaned in, passionately kissing him before then pulling away to rip open his shirt. Rubbing her hands across his chest, he felt his urges grow. He wanted her. He needed her. His body wouldn't take no for an answer.

After another heated kiss, Damon took control back, ripping open Katherine's tank top to reveal her thin laced bra beneath. Then shoving aside the books on the countertop next to them, he pushed Katherine against it, towering over before leaning down to take her once more, their lips clashing in a powerful whirlwind of raw heat. She leaned out of his reach, forcing him to kiss her neck instead. Kissing it all over while Katherine let out laboured breaths.

"Damon…Damon…" He tried to ignore the voice in his head. To push on and keep making love to his one true love. But the more he tried to ignore it the louder the voice got. The voice of his sister. His sister who was trapped somewhere by the very woman he was kissing. He had to stop this. His sister needed him but he wanted this so badly. No. He had to try. For Sarah.

"Okay, wait, brief pause," Damon said, his lips hanging over Katherine's neck, tempted to drop back down and continue the kissing. An irritated grunt sounded before Katherine pushed him off, sending him stagger back a few paces before he steadied himself, straightening up as Katherine did the same. "I have a question. Answer it and it's back to firework and rockets red glare. Answer it right and I'll forget the last one-hundred-and-fort-five years that I've spent missing you. I'll forget how much I loved you, I'll forget everything and we can start over. This could be our defining moment because we have the time. That's the beauty of eternity," Damon said, putting his heart out there because he just couldn't hold it in anymore. He stepped back towards Katherine who was staring back at him, seemingly lost in his words. He took her face, cupping it and stroking her hair as he leaned in, plea consuming his face. "I just need the truth, just once."

"Stop," Katherine said, holding up her hand to his face. Then as she began to speak again, her hand dropped. "I already know the question, and its answer." She paused, staring back at him and his pleading face. He just needed her to say it. If she really did care then she knew what he needed to know. "The truth is…I've never loved you." Damon could feel his heart breaking as she said those words and yet he couldn't look away. "It was always Stefan and Sarah." He could see she was enjoying this. Her face had the look of sudden realisation, like she was just saying it out loud for the first time. But he could see it in her eyes. Those eyes had always told him everything he needed to know. She loved breaking him. She loved breaking them all, he'd just never seen it before. Now he did.

"I've got bad news for you Katherine," Damon said slowly, staring back at his love with crushed eyes, his hands still holding her face. Her gentle, smooth, beautiful face. Then his pleading look dropped to a hateful scowl. His hand moved down to grab Katherine's throat and he shoved her back against the wall, her head hitting it with a thud. "That wasn't the question I was going to ask," he snarled, vengeance filling his eyes. "What I was going to ask was… Where the hell is my sister!" Damon growled as he pulled Katherine towards him only to shove her against the wall again.

Katherine began to laugh, coughing as her laughter got stuck in her throat. Sensing she had something to say, Damon loosened his grip on her throat, still keeping hold but letting go just enough so she could speak. "Oh, Damon," Katherine chuckled, eyebrows raising as she grinned at him. "I'll admit. I'm disappointed. Never would have thought you'd pick your own sister over me. You and Stefan really have grown up." Before Damon could react, Katherine's knee came up into his chest, winding him. His hands dropped from her throat and with a simple shove she sent him flying across the room over the first couch before he crashed through the coffee table. He tried to get up but then felt Katherine's heel digging into his chest, pushing him back down into the remains of the coffee table. "Shame neither of you learnt to appreciate her until now. Now it's my turn to play with her again."

"If you hurt her-" Damon groaned from the ground.

"-You'll what?" Katherine sighed, tilting her head. "Kiss me again?" She began to laugh, removing her heel from Damon and allowing him to breath properly again as he lay there in defeat. "I plan on doing a lot worse to that sister of yours," Katherine said over her shoulder as she made her way out the door and off into the night.

* * *

Sat on the end of Jeremy's bed, Scarlett stared down at her hands, resting in between her legs. Jeremy was next to her, arm around her shoulder, watching her. Waiting for her continue with what she'd been telling him. She'd started to tell him about Mason, telling him about the familiar scent he had but then had stopped, as if trying to remember it exactly as it had been. Thinking of how she could describe it to him when it had been unlike anything she'd ever smelt before. Such a strange and different smell, but one that told her she could trust Mason, even though she had no idea who he really was. He was a Lockwood. Maybe he was like the Mayor, a supernatural, but not a vampire.

"What you thinking?" Jeremy asked quietly, not wishing to startle his girlfriend.

"Just that…" Scarlett lost her words, turning to look Jeremy in the eye. Before she would have trusted him with anything and everything. But one whiff of that scent and now everything she'd ever known was being called into question. She couldn't understand. "I felt like I could trust him almost instantly."

"Is that a bad thing?" Jeremy asked.

"You know I don't trust easily," Scarlett pointed out, annoyed that he might have forgotten.

"I know," Jeremy said, nodding his head. "But maybe this is just you growing. Maybe it's a new power thing. You can sense when to trust people?" Jeremy suggested.

"But I'm not getting it from you now?" Scarlett pointed out in disappointment. That wasn't because she didn't trust Jeremy. She knew she could and ever since he found Elena's diary they'd been completely open with each other. So it couldn't be that, plus she'd only gotten the smell off of Mason. It was unique to him. This whole thing was driving her crazy. "I just want to understand this!" Scarlett groaned in frustration as she stood up, beginning to pace around the room.

"Hey," Jeremy said getting up and intercepting Scarlett's path. Holding onto her shoulders as to stop her for moving, and so that he could guide her into his eyes. "Maybe it's something else then. Like he's another supernatural or something. Like the Mayor was. You said he was effected by the Gilbert device."

"But I didn't get the same type of scent off of him," Scarlett pointed out with a depressed frown. She couldn't see them working this out tonight. She'd been running through similar ideas ever since she first spoke to Mason.

"Well then…I guess you and I will just have to try and find out as much as we can about him," Jeremy said with a comforting smile which calmed Scarlett down. At least he still had that effect on her. No matter how she was feeling she could count on Jeremy to ground her and pull her back. It was during those moments she knew she really cared about him. And before she knew it she had her arms around his neck, pulling him down to meet her lips. "What was that for?" Jeremy asked as they parted.

"For being you," Scarlett said happily. And for a good minute, that was how she felt, just standing there with him, looking into his gentle brown eyes, knowing no matter what he'd always love her. Then came the noises from the next room. They both looked over, hearing an argument, distinctively Elena's voice. Jeremy looked to Scarlett who had the same look of concern that he did. Once he saw that, he was through the adjoining bathroom and in Elena's room, Scarlett right behind him.

"Elena, what's going on in here?" Jeremy asked stepping into the room with Scarlett peering over his shoulder to see what was going on. She saw Damon, glaring back at them both, not looking very happy. Not that he ever looked happy but this was worse. Much worse, possibly the maddest she'd ever seen him. And right now she felt like that anger seemed to be taking aim at her.

"Nothing, Jeremy. It's okay, just go back to bed," Elena said, standing her ground though looking visibly worried. Scarlett wasn't sure how Jeremy felt about that but she couldn't leave while she was in this state. Especially seeing as it was most likely caused by Damon and his drunken ass. She could smell the drink on him before even entering the room.

"No, it's not okay, Elena," Damon said darkly, now fully turning to face both Scarlett and Jeremy. She could feel her senses spiking, the wolf inside feeling the threat he was sending her way. She had to keep it down, stop her eyes from flashing her claws from forming. He couldn't find out, not in this state. He should be out looking for Sarah anyway, what was he doing here in Elena's room, and after having a lot of booze apparently.

Scarlett saw Damon make his move but made no attempt to stop him. If anything she had to actively stop her instincts from kicking in to counter him. He was on her at supernatural speed and if she'd reacted to that then he'd have caught her red handed. So she let him grab her by the throat forcing her against the wall as he glared up at her, holding her high above him. Even now she was fighting the urge to let the wolf out. She couldn't, not with the spot light on her. "What are you?" Damon demanded in a low voice. His eyes boring the question into Scarlett's mind. If only she had a real answer to give him.

"Damon," Scarlett croaked before he cut off her words with a tightened grip. She wasn't going to fight back, it wasn't what Sarah would want. But the survival instinct was beginning to over power her and she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold it in.

"Damon!" Elena cried as real time resumed before their eyes.

"What the hell are you doing!" Jeremy cried as he ran at Damon, trying to push him away from Scarlett and failing.

"Why did the Gilbert device effect you too? How did you heal from that fire?" Damon demanded, but even if she wanted to, Scarlett couldn't answer. His drunkenness was making him sloppy and he was squeezing too tightly to allow her to speak. She tried to get that across to him, making vein noises of distress but he just slammed her against the wall again, demanding an answer. "Tell me!"

"Damon, stop it!" Elena shouted from across the room.

"Let her go you jack ass!" Jeremy shouted before punching Damon across the face. His grip loosened and Scarlett slid down the wall landing on the floor with a thud, hands rushing to her throat as to cover up the marks that were already healing. She couldn't afford to give him more than he already had, not right now, not when he was this drunk and violent. She could see Elena calling Stefan on her phone, hopefully he would be close by and be able to get here before Damon really lost it.

"Wrong move kid," Damon snarled as he advanced on Jeremy. The young boy stepped back but Damon was faster and grabbed him by the head. "You know what happens to heroes in the real world?"

"Damon, don't," Elena cried out, moving towards him now, but not fast enough. Scarlett felt the wolf thrashing around inside of her, seeing that Jeremy was in danger. Her hands dropped from her throat and she moved to get up, eyes beginning to glow in warning. The urge to care about her secret was fading, especially with Jeremy in danger. The instinct to protect him was overpowering everything else. But before she could even get to her feet, Damon utter his next sentence.

"They die." Then the neck snap. Jeremy's neck snap. His neck snapped. His body went limp. It fell. And it hit the floor.

The wolf inside Scarlett shut down along with her. The glow to her eyes faded and she screamed in painful horror as she pushed past Damon kneeling next to Jeremy's body. She cried out his name as Elena fell to her brother's other side, screaming also. Tears were already flying from both of them as they stared in frantic horror at his lifeless body.

Scarlett could feel Damon backing up, moving out the room as he stared back at what he'd done. She didn't care though, she didn't care about anything anymore. She'd just lost Jeremy. Her whole world was crumbling around her now, how could it not. He'd given her so much and helped her and now he was just gone. The ringing in her ears wouldn't stop. The silence of his heart as she tried to hear it beat. She shook him, begging him to wake up and stop playing around. Elena was doing the same, neither of them could believe this. He hadn't dissevered this. He'd been a good person. He hadn't deserved to die!

"The ring," Elena suddenly breathed out, catching Scarlett's attention. Her head shot towards Elena, tears running down her cheeks just like they were across her own. She was staring and then she reached over, lifting Jeremy's arm that was on Scarlett's side. Part of her wanted to shove Elena away, feeling as if she was the only one entitled to grieve. But she didn't and then she saw the ring on his hand. The ring Elena was staring at. The ring John had, the one Sarah had told her about, the one that protected non-supernaturals from supernaturals.

Scarlett let out a breath of hope as she leaned down, burying her face in his chest. Taking in what was the last of his scent. Human. It was human. And Damon was supernatural. He would come back. He would. He had too. She just had to wait. And she'd wait for as long as it took. He just had to come back to her, she needed him. Keeping her face pressed against his chest, she kept taking in his scent. Feeling it getting weaker and weaker. It would return soon. Just like Jeremy. But until then Scarlett was going to savour every sniff of it. Every second.

Stefan arrived eventually, but Damon was long gone by then. Elena told him what had happened. She didn't leave Jeremy's side and neither did Scarlett who was practically lying on him, head lying on his chest as she waited for either the beat of his heart or for his scent to fill her nostrils once more.

"He saw the ring, that's why he did it. He knew," Stefan said, standing over them all. Hands on his hips and staring off in deep thought. There was no way he believed that. He was grasping at straws and they all knew it, trying to stop them from being mad at Damon. For his sake he'd better be out looking for Sarah and he'd better find her. Cause if either she or Jeremy weren't back by the morning then he was going to be dead next. She'd sink her canines into his neck and tear him apart piece by piece.

"He didn't see the ring," Elena weeped, holding Jeremy's head on her lap as she continued to cry quietly. She'd been doing that since Stefan arrived. Scarlett hadn't quieted in her crying, weeping loudly as she lay next to her love. Begging him to wake up. If she didn't know better, she'd bet he was waiting for her to kiss him and that he was just faking. But he wouldn't do that to her, not when she was crying like this. Any second now he was going to get up and apologises for staying dead for so long, and she'd forgive him and kiss him and hug him and never let go.

"It's Katherine," Stefan sighed. "She got under his skin. She undid everything that was good about him."

"There's nothing good about him. Stefan, not anymore. He's decided what he wants. He doesn't want to feel, he wants to be hated, it's just easier that way. He got his wish. I hate him, Stefan," Elena said as she looked up to her boyfriend who knelt down next to her, nothing but sorrow in his eyes.

"I know. I know and I'm sorry," Stefan said as he held Elena in his arms.

"He's a dead man," Scarlett murmured, tears welling up in her eyes as hatred held them in. She could feel Stefan and Elena looking at her. "He killed Jeremy. And the first chance I get…I'm going to rip him apart. He wants to know what I can do. I'll give him a first hand experience." She could feel the rage spreading through her, her whole body trembling with it. She could feel the transformation itching to happen. She wanted to turn, to track Damon down and end him. She no longer cared what Sarah thought, what anyone thought. She just needed to make Damon suffer for what he'd done. She needed retribution.

 _Thump, thump. Thump, thump._

Heartbeat. His heartbeat. Jeremy's heartbeat. Scarlett's head shot up the second Jeremy gasped and Elena yelped in relief. Before she had the chance to do anything though, Scarlett was on Jeremy, her arms wrapping around his chest as she pressed her face against his, her chin resting on his shoulder while Elena held onto his head. "Jeremy!" Scarlett screamed in joy as she clung on for dear life. She could feel Stefan trying to move her but she wasn't budging. She would never let go again. Never. "You're okay. You're okay. I've got you and I'm never letting go and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't stop him, but I will never let him hurt you again. I'll never let anyone hurt you again," Scarlett cried out all at once as she felt Jeremy's arms surround her, letting her know he truly was alive and not letting go either. "I love you," she whispered into his shoulder, and she felt him squeeze harder as he said the same thing back to her.


	3. Captive

_Review responses:_

Only reviewer: _S_ _carlett is indeed on the warpath, and now we find out what happened to Sarah!_

PennyBird: _It's typical, I know. And I too am super excited to get to that part of this story, but I won't say anything as of yet..._

 _So now it's time for some Sarah / Katherine. Someone cue the evil, sinister music. This one is entirely about the two of them and what they're up to between 'The Return' and 'Brave New World'. It's all original stuff and will hopefully give you all a deeper insight into the relationship between Sarah and Katherine, as well as setting up their new dynamic. I'll throw a **warning** in here just for the sake of it, as some of it might be uncomfortable to read depending on your own personal experiences, so if you want to skip it, that's fine, I'll have a few lines in the next chapter explaining more or less everything you need to know from this chapter._

 _I'd also like to give you all a humongous thank you as the first story has just hit 100 favourites! Which is Fucking awesome! Thank you so much you guys, even those that haven't made it this far yet. Can't wait for all of you to catch up and join everyone else on the story as it progresses. Thanks also to those who have favourited and followed both stories since last time, and I hope you enjoy the first meeting, in over one hundred years, between Sarah and Katherine._

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Captive**

* * *

The world was still a blur, but Sarah had a good idea of where she was. Still in Katherine's clutches. She had hoped it all been a bad dream, wished for it, begged for it. But it was true. She'd ran off half cocked and gotten herself trapped, which was exactly what Katherine had counted on. Yet again she'd fallen into Katherine's little game and moved precisely as she'd anticipated.

"Are you awake?" Sarah would have jumped if she'd had the strength, but she was completely drained. She could still feel the slices on her limbs healing from where Katherine had sliced her open, draining her of blood. Sarah did however have the strength to move her head but Katherine did that for her anyway, turning her head until she found herself face to face with the devil herself. And right there, was that smile. That wicked sinister, pure evil smile that turned Sarah's entire world into a vortex of pure hell.

"Miss me?" Katherine asked with a light giggle. "Who am I kidding, of course you did." Sarah tried to pull her head away but Katherine's grip was too firm and she was far too strong for Sarah to fight in her weakened state. She reached for something and Sarah half expected to feel the sharp sting of a knife in her side again. Instead Katherine held up a blood bag, a somewhat concerned look in her eyes. But Sarah knew better than to trust those eyes. Katherine was a master of deception, even with her eyes. There was nothing you could trust about her. Nothing.

"Here," she said in that sweet voice she'd once used on Sarah and her brothers a life time ago. Sarah's eyes moved down to the blood Katherine was offering her, the top of the bag ripped open and tilted towards her mouth. The smell filled her nostrils, making her tongue water. Only she couldn't reach for it. Her body was too close to decomposing and as long as Katherine had a hold on her, she wasn't going anywhere.

"Don't worry. I'll help you," Katherine said with a flutter of her eyelashes as she gently pushed the blood bag into the gap between Sarah's lips. With no warning, her tongue found itself, worming its way into the bag, allowing the blood to flow into her mouth. The taste was extraordinary, exhilarating, it was just what Sarah had been craving for what felt like days now. "There you go. Feel better now?" Sarah nodded as she drank, feeling the hot blood make its way down her throat and filling her with life once more.

"See, Sarah. I'm not all bad," Katherine said softly as she brushed Sarah's dirty hair out of her face, her hand lingering on Sarah's cheek. Sarah hardly even noticed, so focused on the blood she so desperately needed. But then the sensation left her mouth as Katherine slowly pulled the blood bag from her mouth. Oddly enough though, Sarah didn't mind. In fact she let Katherine pull the bag away and place it on the floor between them.

She found her eyes moving from the blood to Katherine and then up to her eyes. Those soft, comforting brown eyes that made her want to spill her guts out. _No!_ What was she thinking? This wasn't her. Sarah hated Katherine, hated everything about her, especially those eyes. Those chocolaty brown eyes that made her remember what it had been like when she first met Katherine. The love they had had, the passion they had shared. But it was all a lie, it was Katherine's compulsion that had brought out those feelings. She was sure of it. Only…

Looking into those eyes now, maybe it wasn't so hard to believe that those feelings had been genuine. She knew this wasn't compulsion, vampires couldn't compel other vampires. _Could these feeling be real?_ _Had she been so wrong about Katherine this whole time?_ Before Sarah could answer any of her questions she found herself leaning towards Katherine, who leaned over to her. Sarah pulled her eyes from Katherine's and looked down to her lips, seeing them part as they got closer and closer to her own. She closed her eyes and let their lips connect, sparks flying inside of her. _How had she ever been so wrong?_

Suddenly shooting up right, Sarah's eyes shot open as she looked around the cave she was being held in. It took her all but a second to spot Katherine across the dark cave, her face lit up in pure glee with that sinister smirk that made Sarah feel so small. "What the hell?" Sarah gasped, having not felt so violated since she first met Katherine back before she and her family were vampires.

"Sweet dreams?" Katherine sniggered as she pushed off the cave wall and made her way over to Sarah, her heels clicking against the floor as she moved.

"More like a nightmare," Sarah muttered as she pushed herself against the wall, now sitting up and feeling her body tremble. She wasn't as hungry as she had been in the dream, but she was still hungry and in need of blood. She pulled her knees in and wrapped her arms around her legs, finding chains clamped around her wrists. Unfortunately the imprisonment part hadn't been fake.

"Come on, Sarah. We both know how you really feel," Katherine said with a smile as she knelt down, conveniently out of Sarah's reach.

"I hate you," Sarah snarled as she looked up.

"Now that's no way to talk to the woman who made you," Katherine said as she straightened up.

"You never made me," Sarah snarled as she stood up, shaking her shackles angrily as she tried to reach for Katherine only to be pulled back towards the cave wall. Katherine chuckled at her outburst, only making Sarah madder as she glared up at the she-devil.

"Fair enough," Katherine said with shrug as she pulled out a blood bag from behind her back. "But I could be the woman who feeds you. I just need one thing in return," Katherine said as she ripped open the blood bag before sucking out the contents inside. With longing eyes, Sarah watched the blood sway from inside the bag, her lips drying as she leaned forwards, mouth watering just like it had in the dream.

Pulling the bag away, Katherine then smirked as she tilted the bag over, letting half of what was left dribble onto the floor. Sarah shot forwards across the floor trying to grab some of the red puddle that was forming. But as usual, Katherine had somehow managed to calculate everything down to the letter and the puddle was just out of Sarah's reach, even when she stuck her tongue out like a dog desperate for water.

"Oh, poor, Sarah," Katherine said mocking as she knelt back down, smirking away as Sarah fought every fibre of her being and shoved herself back against the wall. No matter how hungry she was she wouldn't give Katherine the satisfaction of acting like a starving animal.

"What do you want?' Sarah whispered, breathing heavily as she fought her urges, ironically now getting a taste of what it was like to be Stefan.

"From you?" Katherine asked as she pointed the blood bag at Sarah. "Simple. I want you to turn your humanity off." Sarah's eyes widened. She was honestly surprised, she hadn't thought Katherine would ever want her to do something like that.

"Why?" Sarah asked in slow confusion as she frowned at the older vampire.

"I've seen what you're like without your humanity. I know that side of you would be a lot more willing to see things my." Sarah should have known. After everything Katherine had put them all through, of course she would have been keeping tabs on them. Nevertheless it still felt horrible to know that while she was running around without her humanity, Katherine had been admiring her. She knew why of course. When her humanity was off she didn't blame Katherine for anything, she thanked her for setting her free. She hated someone else entirely when her humanity was off and she could see why Katherine would prefer that version of her.

"Well I'm not turning my humanity off, no matter what you do to me," Sarah said spitefully as she looked away.

"Not that you could even if you wanted too." Sarah's head shot back to Katherine, eyes widening once more. "Gosh, Lexi really did lock away that side of you, didn't she," Katherine said with a gleeful smile as she sipped on the blood bag while Sarah continued to stare in shock.

"How could you… How could you possibly know about that?' Sarah asked.

"Like I said. I've been watching you. Though I must say, I'm glad that Lexi whore is dead." Sarah's shocked expression turned to an angry glare as her jaw clenched. "Too be honest, I was thinking of killing her myself anyway. Get her out of the way before she did the same to Stefan. But then I realised she was the only one other than you who knew how to unlock that side of you." Katherine leaned forwards, smirk present once more. "Not that it matters. You'll give me what I want sooner or later." Her mere confidence irritated Sarah to no end.

"You know Katherine, it must kill you to know that Lexi was more important to us than you ever were." Seeing Katherine's face drop, Sarah knew she'd hit a nerve and kept going without any intention of stopping. "She saved us, showed us more love than you ever did. She pulled us out of the dark pit you left us in and no matter what you do, what you say, nothing is ever going to change that. Lexi was our best friend and she will always mean more to me than you ever will, you good for nothing Bitch!"

At Sarah's cry Katherine lunged forwards, her hands clapping around Sarah's head as she dug her fingers deep into her scalp. Before Sarah knew what was happening she was falling backwards with Katherine on top of her, her mind flying into a whole other world. In the blink of an eye Sarah found herself in the same cave, only she was no longer chained up. She was free. A sharpened stake in hand. And knelt over the pined down Lexi who was beneath her.

Her breath caught in her lungs as she took in the situation. She knew it was wrong. This was Lexi. Someone who had always been there for her and her brother and even Damon on occasion. She'd done what she could to help bring the Salvatores back together and when she had died it had broken Sarah's heart. This situation was all wrong. It was another of Katherine's mind games. That was all it was, Sarah just had to force her out. She shut her eyes and tried to focus, but her mind wouldn't clear, thoughts racing around while her veins itched for blood, the need to scratch all over raising up as she tried to clam herself. It was no good, she was too hungry to focus.

"Come on, Sarah," Katherine whispered in her ear. Sarah's eyes flew open, air rushing into her. Her head didn't move from the horrified Lexi that was trapped beneath her. But out her peripheral she could see Katherine's demonic grin. "Do it for me," Katherine said in the same hushed tickling tone as she moved round to the other side. Sarah could feel her hands on her shoulders, as if she were a puppeteer. "Kill her."

It was like she was being compelled all over again. She tried to stop but she couldn't. She gripped the stake with both hands and lifted it up. Her body trembled with effort, trying to stop herself but Katherine was in control now. Like she'd always been. "Good," Katherine said slyly, pleased as she slithered over to the other side once more. "Now bring the stake down. Stab it into her heart. And kill her." Sarah kept trying to hold on but she couldn't. Her body wasn't listening to her and no matter how hard she tried the stake continued to lower. All she could do was stare into Lexi's trembling eyes as she silently begged for Sarah to stop.

"Please," Sarah whispered. She couldn't do this, couldn't lose one of her closest friends all over again. Couldn't kill her. Couldn't save her. Couldn't care less…NO! That was Katherine, in her head again, playing with her mind like she always did. She hated her. Hated that demon. With her stupid blonde hair and - "Stop it!" Sarah shouted in her mind, eyes close once more as she tried to stop.

"She turned you against me, Sarah. Remember how it was before she came along. You loved me," Katherine said, her lips so close to her ear she was practically kissing her. "She poisoned you, turned you into her play thing and stopped me from saving you. But that's over now. You're going to kill her and we can be together again. You, me, and those handsome brothers of yours."

"Yes," Sarah sighed, not understanding why but knowing it was right. That Katherine was right. Lexi had to die, it was the only way. Giving in, Sarah let her hands fall and watched as the stake plunged into Lexi's heart. She gasped in one last breath of pain, and then the life left her eyes, as her once youthful looks turned dark and cold.

"That's my girl," Katherine said proudly as Sarah caught her breath. "Now…come here." Feeling Katherine tugging at her shoulders, Sarah turned willingly to face Katherine. The ancient vampire smiled sweetly back at her, brushing Sarah's long raven hair from her face before touching her check tenderly. A smirk formed on her lips as she leaned in. Sarah didn't fight it. She just waited patiently as Katherine's lips pressed against hers.

"Stop it!" Sarah cried out as she flung forwards, finding herself back in the cave once more. The chains digging into her skin as she used that pain like a tether to pull herself back from the nightmare. Once again, Katherine was in front of her, just out of reach, smiling away pleasantly. With the raise of her chest, she let out a dramatic sigh and then chuckle of amusement.

"You're definitely more fun than your brothers," Katherine said, brushing a lock of her brunette hair from her face as she continued to smile away at her prisoner. "But I guess I shouldn't play favourites," she said as she stood, a disappointed sigh floating from her lips before a smirk formed. "Here you go." A 'clang' followed as Sarah's eyes shot to the floor where a key lay nearby. "It's for your chains. Figured I've spent as much time with you as I did with your brothers. Don't want them getting angry now do we?" Sarah didn't bother with a response. She lunged for the key, trapping it beneath her in case Katherine suddenly tried to take it back. When the vampire's heels shoes didn't move, Sarah retrieved the key from beneath her and quickly undid the locks.

But even after all the chains were gone, she still remained sat against the wall. Rubbing her bruised wrists in an attempt to get the healing process started. She looked up nervously at the woman who'd turned her and waited for her to say something. She didn't. Very un-Katherine like. Instead she just stood, smiling away as she gestured to the caves exit. The white light at the end of a tunnel.

Sarah stood suddenly, but made no move to run. She just waited for Katherine to react. But still she didn't budge. Smiling that tactical little smile of hers, like she already had the next ten moves planned out. Sarah looked over to the exit, no trap insight, but that was the first sigh of a good trap. Her eyes moved back to Katherine. She advanced, coming to a stop before the older vampire. If she was free to go then there was no harm in asking some questions. She needed to know what was going on, make all this worth something inside her head, so she didn't feel like a complete idiot for getting captured by Katherine.

"Why?" Sarah demanded.

"'Why', what?" Katherine replied, playing dumb.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you messing with my head and keeping me here?"

"You're free to go," Katherine said, waving a manicured hand at the cave's exit.

"Stop with the games and just answer the question!" Sarah snapped, her fists clenching. She couldn't afford to lose it. She needed to stay in control. She was weak and needed blood and a fight with Katherine in this state was only going to end one way. With her back in Katherine's hands. "Why did you do all this to me?" Sarah asked, feeling a like a small child in the presence of Katherine.

"Because I still care about you Sarah," Katherine said as she reached forward with a finger, running it along Sarah's collar bone. She flinched, stepping back and Katherine smirked, holding her finger up like it was all she needed in the world. "You and I, we had something special. Something your brothers and I never got, something you can't have with either of them." She placed her hands on her hips and began walking towards Sarah, and with each step Sarah matched it by taking one back. "Sure. I love Stefan. And you love them both. But what you and I have-" Suddenly Katherine's arm swung forward and her hand got behind Sarah's neck, pulling her towards her. Sarah yelped but remained still as Katherine held her face inches from her own. All Sarah could see were Katherine's brown eyes and the soft delicate features that surrounded them. "-Something so much better."

"I…I…I don't know what you-you're talking about," Sarah stammered out, feeling her body tremble beneath Katherine's heated stare.

"Don't lie to yourself, Sarah," Katherine said as she ran her hand down Sarah's cheek. "You can't deny that feeling inside of you. That craving you have. I have it too. That need for something other, than a man." A sincere timid smile formed on her lips as her doe eyes captured her soul. "I'm on your side. I know you better than anyone, even those brothers of yours. You want family, you'll get nothing better than me." She gently lay Sarah's back against the cave wall and leaned in ever so slightly as she held her with one hand while other caressed the young vampire's cheek. "Don't run from it anymore, Sarah. Embrace it. Embrace it with me."

She didn't force herself on Sarah this time. She merely closed her eyes and waited. Sarah was ready to leave. But she couldn't deny what Katherine was saying. There was a part of her that had always feared being intimate with the same sex, ever since Katherine had her way with her. But now that Katherine was laying it all out on the table, Sarah couldn't deny there was part of her that wanted this. Then before she knew it, her lips were on Katherine's for a second before she leaned back. Katherine's eyes opened and she looked stunned that Sarah had kissed her. Sarah felt her cheeks heat with blush as she waited for Katherine to react.

She laughed. Not that devilish laugh Sarah knew, but a light hearted caring laugh. "Wow," Katherine said in genuine amazement. "That was…"

"Nice," Sarah finished, with a timid smile.

"Yeah…nice," Katherine agreed, before Sarah leaned in to do it again. Only this time when Katherine tried to pull back, Sarah grabbed her head and pulled her back in for more. Katherine's laugh sent shivers through Sarah as she smiled into the kiss. Before she knew it she and her mortal enemy were full on making out and their hands were all over each other. "Wow, it's almost too easy," Katherine chuckled suddenly. Only it hadn't been Katherine that spoke, Sarah was too busy kissing to let her speak. But the voice had come from somewhere. Then it clicked and Sarah opened her eyes once more to find Katherine leaning against the cave wall across from her. That ever present smirk on her lips. "You were really getting into that time," Katherine teased as she twirled her hair around her finger in delight.

"Why are you doing this to me?! What do you want?!" Sarah cried out, pulling at her chains as a familiar burning sensation hit her wrists and ankles. The chains once again digging into her flesh. She cringed in pain and before she knew it she was crying. Apparently she had been for a while now. She could feel her cheeks burning with each tear that passed over them, leaving a sting before they dropped to the cave's floor.

"Well, besides you and your brother," Katherine said pointedly before recomposing herself. "I'd also like your help with something."

"No!" Sarah snapped. "Whatever you want, it's no. I will never help you after everything you've done to me and my family!"

"Yeah, kinda figured you'd say that," Katherine admitted dryly with a tilt of the head. Then she began to smirk, her plan now playing out as she undoubtedly planned. "That's why I'm going to give you a good old fashioned ultimatum," Katherine said as she took a few steps towards her captive, while remaining out of reach. "Do as I say. Or I kill Damon," Katherine said, crazed excitement flashing through her eyes.

"You're lying," Sarah declared as she sat back against the wall, letting her hands rest on her lap. "You loved all of us you psychotic-"

"Nuh-uh," Katherine cut in before Sarah could finish, wagging her finger back and forth with a thoughtful smile. "I never said I loved you all. I love you and Stefan. I could careless about Damon. He was just another of my plays things, which I quickly grew bored off after I realised how much of a problem he was," Katherine explained with a roll of the eyes. Sarah frowned at her last remark. In what way was her eldest brother a problem for her. "Thus," Katherine said more cheerfully, "I can, and will, kill Damon, if you don't do as I say." From behind her, Katherine the brought out a stake she'd been hiding. Sarah backed up at that, curling in on herself as she pressed her back into the jagged wall. "Relax, Sarah," Katherine said with an innocent look as she began twirling the stake back and forth in her hand. "It's not for you, it's for Damon. But whether I use it or not is all up to you."

Sarah lowered her gaze. "What do you want me to do?" Katherine smiled at that.

"Not much," the she-devil answered with a shrug. "Just a second opinion on my Elena acting. Figured you'd be good for that consider you went into the theatre for a couple of years. You were great in the Sound of Music by the way." A pause as Katherine grinned at Sarah who only glared back. "And I could also use someone to spy on those friends of yours. Keep me up to date on all the drama and anything else I might need to know," Katherine said with chuckle. "So…?"

"Like I said," Sarah began as she met Katherine's questioning look. "I will never help you."

Katherine's face dropped to a moody frown and she sighed. Then with a shrug she titled her head to the side. "Oh, well. Don't say I didn't try and warn you," Katherine said as she raised her hands before then heading for the cave exit. Stake in hand. Sarah hated it, but all she could do was watch her go, leaving her trapped in the cave. A few seconds after Katherine had vanished into the night, Sarah began pulling at her chains, trying to find a weakness that she could exploit to escape and get back to her brothers.

A few minutes of tugging at her restraints passed and then cried out in frustration, realising her chances of getting out were none existent. "Sarah?" The vampire lifted her head at the familiar voice that called out her name. "Sarah, you in there?" It was Damon.

"Damon! Damon, in here!" Sarah cried out in joy as her brother came running into the cave. He took one look at Sarah and then ran over, dropping down next to her.

"Sarah, thank god," Damon said as he quickly checked her over.

"How did you find me?" Sarah asked as Damon moved onto her chains, pulling at them in an attempt to break them with his own vampire strength. He'd have a much better chance anyway, seeing as he was full of blood unlike Sarah.

"We've been looking all over town. I got lucky. Saw Katherine leaving this hole and figured you might be in here," Damon said as he pulled at the chains, desperately trying to get his sister free. "And don't think I'm not mad at you. Running off to kill Katherine without me, that hurts, Sis," Damon said with a smirk. "We'll be having a serious talk once I get you out of…" Suddenly his voice got caught in his throat, as if he was choking and his eyes widened in horror. Sarah didn't understand.

"Damon?" she asked before she spotted the grey views growing out for beneath his shirt collar. "No…" Sarah trembled as her brother's skin began to decay, turning a lifeless grey as he collapsed next to her, stake in his back…and right through his heart. His cold blue eyes turning the same lifeless grey as his skin. "NOOOO!" Sarah screamed as she fell down next to her brother, shaking his shoulders as she tried to get him to respond. He couldn't be dead. She refused to accept it. Not after everything they'd been through. He couldn't just die like this.

She looked up to see Katherine standing over her and her brother's body. That sinister gleeful smile of hers present once more. She shrugged, as if it was all out of her hands and Sarah cried. She turned back to hold her brother's body but found it was now gone. She was still crying, too far along in the process to stop but she was still sane enough to question what had happened. Then she looked back and found Katherine no longer stood up but sat down next to her. Back against the wall with a victorious grin on her face. It had all be another dream devised by Katherine. All of it, everything had been Katherine playing with her. She was hungry, but not as hungry or as weak as Katherine had made her feel. Sarah couldn't even tell if this was real, right now. She was losing her mind all over again and it was all because of the devil sat next to her. Katherine might have lost the ability to compile her, but she could still enter her mind and play with that. Just how strong was she?

"Let's try this again," Katherine said sweetly, tilting her head as her brunette locks drifted to the side. "Are you going to help me, yes or no?" Sarah stared back at her in terror. After all this, everything she'd just been put through it was still about her, about doing whatever Katherine wanted. All that talk of love it had been a lie, just buttering her up before getting down to the cold hard business of it all. She wanted to use Sarah, just like she had before. And even now, even when Sarah was a vampire, Katherine still had the advantage, she still held all the cards.

"I want an answer, Sarah," Katherine sang out as she ran her finger across Sarah's leg, drumming them against her skin. "Better answer quickly or I'll have to kill Damon, all, over, again." It was like water of a ducks back for her. Damon's life meant nothing. All that matter was what she wanted, and Sarah had no choice but to give it to her. It was just like before. Put up with her and do as she was told until Katherine got bored of her and her family and left, leaving nothing but destruction in her wake. But Sarah had no chance against her. After everything Katherine had just put her through she knew that. She couldn't win against the devil.

"Alright…you win," Sarah said in defeat as her head dropped forwards. "I'll do whatever you want."

"That's what I like to hear," Katherine said with a growing smile as she leaned over towards Sarah.

"Just, please, don't kill my family," Sarah begged as she lifted her trembling forest green eyes to meet the doe like brown ones of Katherine.

"Oh, Sarah," the vampire chuckled. "I don't want to kill your family. Oh, no." Sarah's heart stopped when she saw the cunning smirk that sent her all the way back to 1864, when she was human and Katherine was her master. The words still sounded the same, even after all those years. Still had the same demonic meaning behind them and still gripped Sarah's very soul with terrifying claws. "The plans I have for you and your family." And just like before Sarah was captivated, unable to look away from Katherine as she smiled. She'd already won again.


	4. Brave New World

_Review responses:_

Only reviewer: _Hell yeah she is! And Lexi would definitely approve of you using that term to describe the Bitch._

PennyBird: _I feel she loves the Salvatores, but her own survival and amusement comes before that love, especially after how the years have broken and twisted her, as you said. And I'm glad the chapter give you a good insight into Sarah, especially in relation to her and when she first met Elena, even now to be honest. And yeah, I love Katherine ships too, but it's not looking like we'll have that here. I too am looking forward to no humanity Sarah._

 _And for the first time in a while, I've managed to get one whole episode into one whole chapter. And it's one of my favourite episodes in the show too, so glad to finally get to this one! So much happens here, the obvious being Caroline! Can't wait for you to see what I've done with her in this chapter. And some exciting stuff with Scarlett too, in regards to both Damon and Mason. I just really loved this chapter, hopefully you'll all enjoy it too. Let me know what your favourite moment was and why._

And quick thanks to everyone who's favourited and followed both this story and the first one. If you have the time, please do leave a review and let me know what you think, or PM if that's better for you. I just love hearing what you guys all have to say.

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Brave New World**

* * *

The walk home had been filled with nothing but dread for Sarah. Once Katherine let her go, she'd thought she'd feel better. But how could she when she was being strong armed into spying on her family and friends. With each step she contemplated turning back around and running away, leaving it all behind and waiting two or three years before coming home to see what had happened. Katherine knew her too well though. She knew Sarah couldn't do that, couldn't leave her family. She had to stay with them. They were safer with her around, even if she was going to be lying to them for Katherine.

She tried not to think about. To just think about her brothers and seeing them again and how good it would feel to be back. But Katherine always found her way back into her thoughts. Even in her own damn head she couldn't keep Katherine away for long. She hated it, hated how easily she could get under her skin, play her like a violin and force her to do her bidding, even without compulsion. But she couldn't fight back. She'd tried and lost, and now she had to be a good little girl or her brother would pay for it.

The house came into view as she walked up the drive way, holding herself in case she had another break down. She wiped down her tear stained cheeks, rubbing her eyes when she felt new tears begin to prick. She couldn't let them see her like this. She had to stay strong, had to make it look like Katherine hadn't gotten to her. She had to play the role she'd been casted her as. The normal every day Salvatore sister. She couldn't let her brothers get suspicious of her, she couldn't risk their lives or anyone else's. She just had to buckle down and wait for Katherine to leave town again once she got whatever it was she was after.

The house now beginning to loom over her, Sarah could hear the familiar voices of her brothers from inside. It brought a smile to her face, even though they were arguing. "We've searched all the foreclosed houses and there's been no sign of her. So she's got to be hiding somewhere else," Stefan said from inside the old boarding house as Sarah approached the door.

"Doubtful. She's almost defiantly in a house somewhere. But we're looking for our sister, Stefan, not Katherine. Once we get her back we put this whole business behind us and move on."

"Alright then, so where would she keep Sarah?"

"My guess would be somewhere near our old house," Damon suggested. "Katherine likes to be poetic like that."

"Except we've already looked all around the ruins of our house and found nothing," Stefan argued, starting to get annoyed as he stood over the coffee table, which had a map laid out across it. Stefan on one side while Damon stood on the other with a bourbon in hand. Of course. His little sister was in danger, and what's he doing? What he always does. Drink. At least they were both actually trying to find her.

"Well you can cancel the search and rescue. I'm back," Sarah declared as she walked into the house, her brothers' heads shooting towards her as their faces filled with relief.

"Sarah," Damon said simply, though his heartfelt eyes said all he needed too.

"Are you alright?" Stefan asked as he strode over to her, pulling her into a tight embrace. It had been a long time since Sarah was this grateful for a hug.

"Yeah," she said as she held onto her brother, relief filling her as she reminded herself that this was reality and not another of Katherine's cruel tricks.

"What happened, where's Katherine?" Stefan asked as he pulled away, keeping his hands on his sister as he brushed her dirty hair from her face.

"I don't know. She messed with my mind. Made me relive some…bad memories. Kept me in a cave for a few days I guess. Then just let me go," Sarah explained as she looked up into her brother's forest green eyes.

"She just let you go?" Damon scoffed as his brow lowered, studying his sister closely. She could hardly blame him, it was suspicious. But she wasn't going to lie threw her teeth to please Katherine. She'd tell them the truth and do what Katherine wanted her too, but only the bare minimum. She wasn't going to lose this family all over again because of Katherine. She'd only just got it back.

"Yeah," Sarah replied to Damon, looking at him without anything in her eyes before looking back up to Stefan who had nothing but relief and concern in his. Where as Damon was being full on suspicious, and rightly so, Stefan was just glad to have Sarah back.

"Is there anything she said about why she's here. Did she give any indication what she's after?" Stefan asked carefully.

"No," Sarah said shaking her head before dropping it into her palm. "Look, I'm tired. Can we deal with twenty questions later, please," Sarah asked, letting out a groan as Stefan quickly began to nod.

"Yeah, of course. Do you need anything or-"

"Just my bed thanks, Stefan," Sarah said with a weak smile as she cut in. He smiled back and nodded, stepping aside and allowing Sarah to walk past him as she headed towards the stairs. She smiled that same smile at Damon, and he smiled softly back, before she climbed up the stairs to her room. Her room hadn't changed. The only thing she noticed was the note Katherine had left was gone. Probably found by her brothers after they realised she'd gone missing. Taken as evidence in their failed investigation to find her. She couldn't blame them, Katherine was smarter than all of them put together. She probably had them following fake leads the whole time, pointing them in the wrong direction while she played with Sarah. Thankfully that was behind her now.

Brushing her tangled her hair form her face, Sarah made her way into the bathroom. All she wanted now was what she'd wanted the night the Gilbert building caught on fire. To have a nice hot shower then crawl into bed for the rest of the day. She pulled her jacket off first, dropping it down onto the countertop surface. She spread her arms, one resting on either side of the sink. Looking at her reflection she could help but sigh. She tried not to think about how much worse it could get as she turned on the tap, letting hot water fall out. Leaning down she splashed her face, running her warm softened hands across her face, clearing away some of the dirt. It felt nice, relaxing. Almost allowing her to escape everything that was going on. Hopefully the combination of the shower and bed would be enough to put all this behind her.

She stood back up, looking at her clear face once more, only to jump when she saw who was standing beside her. She whirled, praying it was just her eyes playing tricks but it wasn't. Katherine was in her bathroom. Sarah backed up against the wall brining Katherine's devilish smirk out as her eyes honed in on her. She glanced over, seeing that the sink was still running before turning back to Sarah. "Don't worry, Sarah. I would never damage that pretty little face of yours," Katherine said reaching up until Sarah flinched away. Katherine sent her a mock look of hurt, before continuing regardless. Her grin returning as she slowly and carefully ran her hand against Sarah's softened cheek. Sending horrible sensations through out body.

"Wh-What do you want?" Sarah asked, after a nervous stutter gave away just how scared she was of the woman. She didn't want to risk going through another of Katherine's mind games. She wasn't sure her fragile mind could take much more. But at the same time she hated being so utterly afraid.

"Just coming to check up on you," Katherine said as she turned her back into the countertop, leaning back as her eyes remained on Sarah with an innocent smile. A smile Sarah knew all too well not to trust. "I heard some mean old vampire put you through quiet the ordeal." Sarah wanted to reply with a witty comment but she was frozen, terrified so badly that she couldn't even think while Katherine's eyes were on her. She tried to speak, to say anything but nothing would come out. Her throat was sealed, frozen as ice.

A light chuckle came from Katherine. "You're so cute when you're scared," Katherine teased as she began to play with her hair, twirling one of her long brown locks around her finger. Suddenly she grew serious, pushing off the counter and turning to face Sarah as she folded her arms. The amusement in her face faded away and a stone hard look of seriousness came into existence. "You remember our deal?" Despite how much she tried not too, Sarah nodded frantically in response. Her eyes silently begging Katherine not to hurt her or her family. "Good," Katherine said, a small grin returning. "Now, you better get ready for school. We wouldn't want you to miss out on anything juice, would we." Even if Sarah could object, she felt helpless as Katherine took her hand and lead her back into her bedroom. An outfit already layout on her bed for her.

* * *

Despite having already heard it all, Jeremy stood patiently, leaning against his locker as Stefan went over the basics of the supernatural world. Scarlett had gone through most of them with him already. When she'd revealed herself to him, she'd explained everything about her and he'd learnt the rest about vampires from Elena's diary. Still, it never hurt to go over the basics of how to protect yourself from a vampire. Especially with pure evil psychopaths like Damon out there. He was lucky Sarah had come home, otherwise Scarlett would have sank her teeth into him first chance she got.

"It's the same as the bracelet Elena gave you," Stefan explained as he handed over the small vial. One whiff told Scarlett it was vervain, a smell she'd gotten used to after being around Jeremy and Elena, both of who had vervain on there person. At least with the herb in liquid form, Jeremy's blood would taste horrible to vampires and they'd be unable to compel him.

"So what else does it do, bar protect me from compulsion?" Jeremy asked as he popped open the vial. Downing the contents in one gulp before looking back to Stefan.

"It's toxic to vampires," Scarlett chimed in as Jeremy looked to her. She was stood next to him, arms folded across her chest as she'd heard the same thing she'd already heard multiple times. At first the repetition of the rules had been helpful for learning them, but now hearing them over and over was beginning to drive Scarlett mad. But she had to make sure Jeremy knew them otherwise she'd never be able to leave him alone. Especially with Katherine and Damon out there, both of whom could get at him while he slept.

"Like poison?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, it's very poisonous, I can't even touch it. It'll also keeps them out of your head," Stefan added, watching Jeremy to make sure he was paying attention. Scarlett had been doing the same, but he had been listening, taking it all in again to make sure he knew how to protect himself against the supernatural.

"But why vervain?" Jeremy asked. Scarlett looked to Stefan at that question. She'd never thought to ask why herself. She'd just taken it as a fact and had seen the evidence herself when she helped save Stefan from the tomb vampires. She'd never bother to question it, but now that Jeremy had, she did find her curiosity growing.

"Don't know," Stefan said with a shrug. "Certain natural herbs and roots and other elements are just harmful to vampires."

"But not werewolves?" Jeremy asked as he pointed to Scarlett. She frowned at him before knocking his finger down playfully as he chuckled.

"Vervain does't effect her. And as far as we know there's isn't any herbs that weaken her," Stefan explained.

"It might have something to do with my mother's necklace," Scarlett suggested, looking down at the crystal around her neck as she begun to play with it.

"Maybe," Stefan said with a slow nod, before looking back to Jeremy. "So you think you've got it all?"

"Yeah," Jeremy said, eyes looking down as he murmured his response. Then he looked up to Stefan, a little smugness in his eyes. "You're pretty confident in yourself, telling me all the different ways I could kill you." Scarlett sent him a warning look and knocked his elbow with her own. The smugness quickly left his eyes when he saw the serious look she was giving him. Stefan was a good guy, unlike his brother. Proven by his friendly smile in the face of Jeremy's threat.

"Jeremy, if I thought you wanted to kill me, we would be having a much different conversation," Stefan said with a chuckle that Jeremy joined in on.

"Yeah," Jeremy admitted as he looked down. "And Damon is the one that deserves it."

"You got that right," Scarlett grumbled in agreement. She could see Stefan giving them both the concerned worried look, but she refused to look at his eyes. She was mad and she was going to stay that way, no matter what he had to say.

"I want you both to forget about Damon, all right? He's a hundred times stronger than you and right now he's not stable," Stefan explained as he leaned over to the two. His age showing as he spoke down to them both despite the fact that he appeared to be only a year older than them.

"I could take him," Scarlett growled, feeling the wolf inside her do the same as she looked up to meet Stefan's eyes.

"Maybe," Stefan said with a pointed look to the teenager. "But if you go looking for a fight with Damon, he'll find out what you are and that will put you in even more danger." He then turned on Jeremy, pointing at him as he spoke. "And if you go after him then she'll defiantly go after him, so don't," Stefan warned in his authoritative manor. Scarlett saw Jeremy deflate at that, the thought of his actions putting her in danger quickly putting out the fire inside of him. Scarlett wasn't as easily swayed. She was smart enough not to go right up to Damon and attack him, if she was going to take him out she'd be smart about it.

When Stefan's eyes moved back to Scarlett's, he knew that she hadn't deterred. He opened his mouth to warn Scarlett like he had Jeremy but she spoke first and shut him up. "He killed Jeremy. Don't ask me to forget that 'cause it ain't going to happen," Scarlett said with a glare to back up her words.

Stefan nodded in understanding. "I get that, I do. But you both just need to just move on from this and ignore Damon," Stefan said, eyes flicking between the two angry teens.

"And how do we do that?" Jeremy asked.

"Well, today we have a nice little distraction courtesy of the salve driver Elena. Hello, Elena," Stefan said as Elena came up to his side. He'd obvious sensed her coming as he turned just at the right time and managed to wrap his arm around her shoulders as she came into his side, eyes going to her brother. Scarlett should have smelt her coming, but she'd been to focused on her anger to notice. She was going to have to get control of that otherwise Katherine could walk right up to her as Elena and she might not even notice. To be safe though, she sniffed Elena now, confirming it was her before relaxing as Jeremy turned back to his locker.

"Hey, did you-" Elena began before Jeremy cut in, slamming his locker door shut as he hit his sister with a sarcastic glare.

"Yeah, yeah, I set up the gold fish toss - all three hundred gold fish. It's gonna be epic." And with that he slid out from in between Scarlett and Elena and proceeded to practically storm off down the hallway and around the corner. As he did Elena sighed, watching him go as she leaned back against the lockers and Stefan scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Once he was out of sight, Elena then turned to Scarlett.

"How's he doing? After…you know…" Elena asked with an uncomfortable look to her brother's girlfriend.

Scarlett shrugged before saying, "I'm not sure. He doesn't really want to talk about. I think he's still in shock, sort of," Scarlett explained as Elena nodded. As Elena processed that, Scarlett moved on to Stefan who was facing the girl's once more. "How's Sarah doing?" Scarlett hadn't seen her since she got back. She'd been at the Gilbert's and had gone straight to school from there so hadn't been at home when Sarah returned. And so far she hadn't seen her around school, but she wanted to know how she was doing. Stefan had called her before he left for school, letting her know that Sarah was back and okay. Although considering what he told her, Scarlett doubted that Sarah was okay. Being trapped in a cave with the person she hated, and feared, the most was going to leave scars and open old ones.

Stefan looked down as he sighed before looking back up at the two who were waiting for him to answer. "She's more shaken up than she wants us to think. She doesn't want to talk about what happened and despite my objections, she's here when she should be home resting." Stefan sighed again, clearly upset about what had happened to his sister and wishing he'd done something to prevent it. But none of them had been able too. Katherine had known what she was doing and had anticipated everyones reactions to her arrival. But none of them were going to let her get the jump on them again.

"You're worried about her," Elena said knowingly and Stefan nodded.

"She was doing well, but now that Katherine's back she's just as dangerous as Damon." Stefan then looked over Scarlett pointedly. "That's why I really need you to just avoid Damon." Scarlett groaned, rolling her eyes as Stefan continued. "Do what ever you have to keep out of his way and just try not to aggravate him. I'm going to need you're help with Sarah and I can't have you losing it because of Damon–"

"Alright!" Scarlett snapped before calming down with a breath. "I get it. I'll keep myself in check around Damon… But only for Sarah."

"Thank you," Stefan said with a sincere smile before Scarlett walked off in the same direction as Jeremy.

* * *

Sarah had gone through a number of bad days at school. Everyone had them, it was just life. But this was different to all the rest. The feeling of constantly being watching, knowing that Katherine could be around any corner pretending to be Elena. Waiting to pull her out of sight and get back inside her head all over again. Playing another of her favourite games, torturing Sarah. Katherine never showed though, but Sarah could feel the vampire's cat like eyes on her the whole time. She kept away from her friends and Stefan for most of the day. She just needed a day were she didn't feel like the worst person on the planet for spying on them. Katherine would more than likely have something to say about that, but Sarah couldn't bring herself to do it. She couldn't even look at Stefan without running off in a blur and when Scarlett had tried to catch her at the end of the day she'd made a quick escape.

She'd gone through the town, making sure move between public places and side alleys, making it harder for Scarlett to follow if she was trying to. She knew Stefan wouldn't be tailing her. For one thing he knew Sarah could look after herself and hated to be babied when she didn't need it. Plus he had Elena to keep an eye on, protecting her from whatever Katherine was planning. Neither found her in any case, but Sarah found a lone girl taking the trash out to the side alley of one of the smaller shops. Her mood got the better of her and when the girl simply said 'hi,' Sarah snapped. She was on the girl faster before she could blink, fangs in her neck as she drank. She left behind a fair mess but the girl was still breathing and Sarah gave her some of her blood before compelling her to clean everything up and to forget her.

That's why when she walked in through the front door to the Salvatore house, both her brothers did a double take from the living room when they saw the amount of blood that stained her cloths. Another plus of the feed, she'd ruined the outfit Katherine had laid out for her. Her skin had been itching all day, knowing that Katherine had been through her cloths. She was going to have to burn them all and get something new. But for now she just wanted to get out the stupid slutty dress and back into her jeans and leather jacket.

"Trying a new look?" Damon asked with amusement as he raised his brow. Sarah shot him a sneery look, ignoring Stefan's concern as she walked into the room like she wasn't covered in blood. She wasn't about to tell them what had happened and risk getting Damon killed for spilling the beans on Katherine. As for the blood…

"What happened?" Stefan asked quickly, stepping towards Sarah as she sighed at his dramatic response.

"Relax, Stefan. It's just a little leftover from some girl," Sarah said. Stefan's concern quickly turned to irritation as he placed his hands on his hips. Sarah just ignored him though, looking down at her dress before running her finger across a blood smear and then sticking it in her mouth. "Hmm, B plus. Not bad," Sarah hummed in contempt, Damon smirking away as he sipped at his blood filled glass while Stefan glared at their sister.

"Why? Why would you do that?' Stefan asked, gesturing with one hand to the blood stains across his sister's front.

"Oh, God, Stefan. Don't give her the same speech you just give me," Damon said with a roll of the eyes as Sarah frown at him.

"What speech?" Sarah asked.

"Just that he's worried about us because of the whole Katherine thing. You know, how I was madly in love with her and she tortured you and all," Damon said with a shrug before taking another sip of the blood. Sarah knew that her brother was trying to start something, he was looking for amusement after what had happened with Katherine, how she'd broken his heart. She'd felt bad for him but was glad he was finally moving on from her. But when he hurt he tended to want others to hurt with him, he was an ass like that.

Turning to her other brother, Sarah saw him visibly tense as her eyes connected with his. He was worried that Damon was succeeding in making her angry. And while she wasn't happy, it wasn't because of Stefan. She knew he was only worried about them all, but she could do with out the criticism. "I'm fine, Stefan," Sarah said pointedly.

"See, Stefan, she's fine," Damon said with a dramatic gesture to his sister. "I'm fine," Damon said pointing to himself as both his siblings stared back at him. "We're all fine. So our little sister got a little peckish and grabbed some nobody to feed on. Who cares?"

"I care, Damon," Stefan said forcefully as he stepped towards his brother, pointing to his own chest as he did. "I care that our sister has been kidnapped and tortured by the person she fears most in this world. I care that you're hurting right now, despite the fact that you won't admit it." He slapped Damon on the chest as he said the last line but the older brother didn't waver, continuing to smile as Stefan spoke. "I care that when we're all finally getting along again, after all this time, Katherine is able to ruin it all in one night by pushing you and Sarah back into your old habits."

Damon waited a moment, eyes never leaving Stefan's as he passed on the most underwhelmed look he could form to his brother. "You done?" Stefan sighed angrily, shaking his head as he stalked back across the living room to his sister.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm done," Stefan sighed.

"Good. 'Cause I think the Lockwoods have a family secret," Damon began to explain as he leaned down on the back of the couch, crossing his arms as he eyed both his siblings. "Because the Gilbert device affected them, but vervain didn't, so they're not vampires, they're something else. Same goes for your little pet, Sis," Damon added as he rose a finger towards Sarah who felt her shoulders tense. Her eyes moved to Stefan who she shared a look with before looking back to Damon. She'd known he was onto Scarlett before Katherine showed back up. She'd hoped it would have passed but apparently with Katherine out the picture he had a new obsession in mind.

"So anything you'd like to share with us?" Damon asked, eyes narrowing on Sarah who felt the weight of his icy eyes settle in. Normally she could have shrugged it off with ease, but considering everything else she was dealing with at the moment, she wasn't sure if her brother's piercing look alone wouldn't break her. Thankfully, Stefan stepped up to her side and took on Damon's gaze, protecting Sarah from those cool blue eyes.

"Is this your new obsession? Or are you just trying mess with Sarah?" Stefan asked critically, a warning look to back up his words. Damon quickly held his hands up in defence, and rose up, stepping back from the couch.

"Hey, I'm just making sure nothing else happens to our delicate, little sister. Last thing I want is for our Scrappy to turn around and bite us on the-"

"We get it, Damon," Sarah cut in before her eldest brother could finish his rude remark, brining his eyes back over to her. "And no. There's nothing supernatural about Scarlett. She's human," Sarah said cooly, finding her stride in lying once more. "Remember, I compelled her before she started taking vervain. So she can't be a witch and if she was a vampire we would know by now. And if she's not one of them then she's got to be human."

"Unless she's something else," Damon said, chewing on his lower lip as his finger tapped against his glass.

"She's not," Stefan said sternly. "Now drop this so we can focus on the real problem. Katherine."

Damon rolled his eyes and began to head towards the archway that lead into the hall. "That's for you two to deal with. She's in love with both of you apparently and couldn't care less about me, meaning I'm safe," Damon said smugly as he left, drinking his blood as he did. Sarah watched him go, concern lining her brow as she did. He had no idea how wrong he was. If anything he was in more danger because Katherine didn't care about him. But she couldn't risk warning him and having Katherine pop out and kill him right then and there.

Once Damon was gone, Sarah turned to her other brother, seeing the same look of concern on his face too. Only his was because Damon might lose it again and kill someone. Sarah's was because her brother might be the one to die next.

* * *

Slamming the hammer down, Scarlett watched smugly as the puck flew up the poll colliding with the bell at the top, letting out a loud ' _ding_ '. Louder than normal too thanks to Scarlett's enhanced strength. Perhaps a little to hard judging by the violent shaking of the structure. Any harder and she might have actually knocked the bell off. And she'd been holding back too. The charfavil worker made a comment about her strength for a short lady, but shut up when Scarlett turned his way. Her eyes alone enough to shut him up. She didn't bother taking the prize. What use did she have a for a gold fish anyway? She'd never wanted a pet. She got a long with animals just fine, particularly dogs, though since her first change she had a pretty good idea why.

Looking around she tried to find Jeremy who'd gone off to get popcorn for the two. She'd offered to go with him, splitting the price, but since Jeremy wanted to play "date" he said he'd pay and left Scarlett by the 'ring the bell' game. She'd been looking forward to doing it since she arrived and clearly he'd noticed. It was really just an excuse for her to show of her strength but she did have a soft spot for the game as it was one of her favourites when she was younger.

Jeremy wasn't in sight though. Scarlett spun around a few times, stepping away from the game to let another teen have a go. When she still couldn't spot him she took a subtle whiff of the air. She caught his scent easily enough and followed it through the crowd until she spotted him walking her way. He hadn't seen her yet but she wasn't surprised, considering who he was with. Damon. Who had his hand no the back of Jeremy's neck, physically holding him as they walked along. Scarlett frown, advancing towards the two as Damon lead her boyfriend off to the side before swiftly wrapping his arm around Jeremy's neck, holding him tightly as the boy struggled against him.

"This is what we're not gonna do," Damon hissed at Jeremy as Scarlett came up behind the two, their backs to her. "We're not gonna walk around like we are invincible when it's this easy for me to end you."

"Let him go," Scarlett growled warningly. Damon turned, pulling Jeremy with him as both men looked to her. Damon with a puzzled look and Jeremy with one that told her to leave. She couldn't understand why. If anything they had a better chance of kicking his ass together than apart.

Scarlett kept her glare level as she locked eyes with Damon, her arms folded like Sarah's in the 'I'm not taking any of your crap' way that Damon knew not to mess with. But seeing as this was the first time Scarlett had given it to him, she wasn't surprised when he began look her up and down skeptically. Despite that though, she held the look and stood firmly, waiting for the vampire to release Jeremy. Her patience would only last so long though, before she brought out her claws and pried Jeremy from him by force. Eventually though, he began to smirk and pushed Jeremy away like he was nothing. So there was no need to risk her secret.

"Looks like Scrappy's got balls," Damon teased as he advanced on the teen, his muscular figure looming over her.

"Looks like the wanna be bad ass vampire needs to bully kids to make himself feel better," Scarlett shot back with a mocking look. She felt her lips turn up smugly when she saw Damon's face drop to an irritated frown. "You already killed him once. Now leave him along or I'll do the same to you," Scarlett warned, doing her best to seem big despite his height over her. Intimidation wise it didn't do anything. Instead she got something she didn't want, a questioning look as Damon stared back.

"Whatever you say, Scrappy," Damon said as his grin returned, his eyes still scanning her and making the hairs on her neck rise up. Thankfully he didn't push her any further and walked off, not once looking back as Scarlett let out a breath, a single shake passing through her as she did. He was on to her, and he knew she knew it. She was going to have to have words with Sarah about this, Damon was starting to get to close for comfort and after what happened to Jeremy, Scarlett might not be able to hold back if he attacked.

"You alright," Scarlett asked, walking over to Jeremy once Damon vanished. She reached over, placing her hand on his shoulder before Jeremy sharply shook it off to her surprise. His eyes flicked up to hers, a glare in them as he half turned towards her.

"I had it under control. You didn't need to do that," Jeremy snapped.

"Sorry?' Scarlett replied in sarcastic astonishment, her arms once again folding as she stared back at her clearly mad boyfriend.

"I didn't need you to step in and save me. I've got this remember," Jeremy said as he held up his hand, the Gilbert ring around his finger. The ring that brought him back to life if he was killed by a supernatural. "Even if he did kill me I would just come back." At that careless statement, Scarlett whacked him on the arm with her fist. He winced, rubbing his shoulder as he staggered back slightly.

"This isn't a game, Jeremy. I saw Anna die, remember. Then, just twenty four hours later, I saw you die too. You have no idea what I was feeling and the fact that you came back was a miracle! Jeremy, I was this close for completely losing it," Scarlett explained angrily as she held up her hand, her fingers a millimetre or so away to emphasise her point. It apparently didn't get across as Jeremy just glared back at her, unmoved.

"I'm the one that died, Scarlett," Jeremy shot back as he stormed past her and back into the crowd. She was speechless. He had a point, he had been the one to die. But right there it seemed like he didn't even care about how it had made her feel. How it piled up with the loss of Anna, how her emotions where already running high after the night they'd shared together for the first time. To lose him after that had broke her. The only reason she'd been able to pull herself back up was because he too came back. It'd been traumatising for her too, and Elena, but Jeremy refused to acknowledge his sister's feeling even now, and now he was apparently doing the same to Scarlett. Because of his stupid masculinity.

Anger boiled inside her and Scarlett marched back into the crowd looking for Jeremy to give him a piece of her mind. Causing a scene no longer matter. She had anger in her system and needed to get it out, somehow. She caught hints of Jeremy's scent here and there but was in no mood to focus and track him. Her anger fuelled search took her into the main school building. There was no indication that Jeremy was in there but she went in all the same, storming through the hallways until she came across a crowd. With ease she shoved her way through the crowd finding at the centre a miniature ring set up around a table with two chairs. In one chair, sat Stefan, his arm propped up on the table and holding the hand of the man across from him. A man Scarlett recognised and quickly placed after seeing his charming smile. Mason Lockwood. A little old for a high school carnival, but then again, so was Stefan.

She made her way around the inside of the crowd, watching as the two pushed their hands against each other, arm wrestling for control. No surprise to Scarlett, she could see the effort Mason was using, fighting of the supernatural vampire strength Stefan had. Which is why it was even more surprising when Scarlett spotted the same effected on Stefan's face. She knew that he wasn't as strong as Damon and Sarah because of his diet but this was just bad. Even she could smack this guy silly, so why was Stefan struggling so much. Then suddenly ' _whack!_ ', the sound echoing around as Mason lifted his arms up in victory and Stefan held is defeated arm in his hand, rubbing his apparently sour muscles. The crowd began to cheer and Stefan slipped away, briefly making eye contact with Scarlett before he made his way through the crowd.

"Alright! Who's next?!" Mason called out with a competitive chuckle as the crowd continued to cheer him on. He looked around, panning the room until his eyes landed on Scarlett. Something in his eye changed on contact with hers. Before he'd held only mirth in those light brown eyes, but now there was an edge of seriousness to them as he stared back at Scarlett. "What about you?" he asked as the cheering crowd quieted, eyes landing on Scarlett.

Glancing around, Scarlett saw she wasn't going to be able to leave without causing a scene now. Several pairs of eyes where on her including Mason who didn't look like he wanted to hear the word "no". But seeing as she had some built up anger to get out and she was feeling competitive after the bell ringing game, she shrugged with a confident grin.

"Why not," Scarlett said as she stepped up to the homemade like wrestling ring and the crowd cheered. Even Mason was cheering enthusiastically as Scarlett hoped over the ring and stood opposite Mason, the table in between them. "I'll warn you now though, I'm strong for a girl," Scarlett said as she leaned her arm down on the table, ready to wrestle as Mason did the same, grasping her hand in his.

This time it wasn't his scent that set her mind whirling, but his touch. It was like when she'd first caught his scent but stronger. A sense of loyalty, that there was something she could relate to in him. That together when he was near she felt more secure, stronger and confident. Frowning slightly, Scarlett watched as Mason stared back, nothing but enjoyment and competitiveness in his face. _Was he not feeling this too? Was it just her?_

"I know plenty of strong women," Mason said with a smirk.

The bell then rang to start the match and all thoughts vanished from Scarlett as the instinct to win took over. Her lack of focus at the start cost her some ground as her arm jerked to one side under Mason's strength. But then her own strength kicked in and Mason's arm came to a stop. Surprise flickered across his face as he watched the movement before his eyes then flicked back to Scarlett as the crowd roared from all around them. Scarlett held his arm in place, refusing to lose ground but not pushing him down just yet. This was a chance for her to see what he was capable of, and considering he beat Stefan he had to have some strength. The pressure on her arm then increased as Mason put more effort into pushing her arm. In turn she increased her own effort to hold him back, now tapping into the supernatural. There was defiantly something up with Mason, but he wasn't like her, it wasn't the same level of strength.

"You weren't kidding were you…" Mason groaned, the effort clear in his voice as he tried to push his weight on her arm. "You really are strong…"

"Stronger than those other women?" Scarlett asked, her voice as casual as it would be even if they weren't arm wrestling. Mason chuckled at that, his eyes flicking between their arms and her eyes.

"Possibly," Mason said as his focus went back to the match. "But they would have beaten me by now."

"Oh, we're still arm wrestling, my bad," Scarlett said in mock shock as if she just remember. Then, kicking it up a gear, Scarlett let her strength flow out, no longer holding back as she forced Mason's arm back and down onto the table in one fluid motion. The crowd shouted and cheered as an astonished Mason stared at his defeated hand. Scarlett just grinned in victory as she pulled away from the table, letting her arms spread out as she took in the feeling of winning and the crowd's praise. Mason then looked up for his arm, staring at Scarlett for a moment before smiling back at her, the mirth once again in his eyes.

"Not bad…not bad," Mason said with a grin as he backed up in humble defeat. Scarlett chuckled back and shared a smile before she spotted who was standing behind Mason, beyond the crowd. Her face fell slightly when she saw Stefan and Damon staring back at her and Mason. Stefan would have been fine but she could see the gears turning in Damon's head as he watched her. Probably wondering how Stefan lost to Mason but Scarlett won. He turned to Stefan muttering something before then walking off. Stefan lingered though, sending Scarlett a disappointed look before turning and following Damon out the room.

After that Scarlett was encouraged to take on a few more competitors but her her heart just wasn't in it after being scolded with one look by Stefan. She could only imagine how annoyed Sarah was going to be when she found out, using her supernatural strength not only in front of everyone but in front of Damon who was already onto her as they all knew.

She won a few of the matches before lazily letting her final challenger win just so she could leave. Mason had stuck around and watched for a while, seeming more interested in her than Scarlett was comfortable with. Even after he left though, his strange and unique scent lingered in the air, enough so that Scarlett could follow. She had to know more about this guy. He presumably was like the Mayor, seeing as they were brothers, and had to be something as he was effected by the Gilbert device. So the real question on her mind was if Mason and the Mayor were like her, or something completely different.

Eventually she caught up to Mason, finding him in the parking lot outside the school. But before she'd even spotted him she caught the smell of adrenaline in the air. Then when she came into view she saw Tyler and Mason fighting some guy. He seemed to be primarily going for Tyler, shoving Mason aside as he tried to fight Tyler.

Scarlett thought about interfering but then she saw Mason get back up and leap onto the hood of nearby car. He flipped off the car and then jumped once more, flipping over the man attacking them before landing between him and Tyler. Tyler said something but Scarlett didn't catch it as she watched from the shadow of the school building. But then Mason turned and shoved the man away, knocking him to the ground. That was when Scarlett got a good look at his eyes. His golden eyes with black instead of white behind them. Eyes just like hers when she used her werewolf abilities or transformed. Eyes so unique he couldn't be anything else.

As all that sank in, Mason grabbed Tyler and dragged him over to his car before the two climbed in and raced off before the man attacking them could get back up. But Scarlett remained in the shadow of the building, staring off into space as she repayed the whole thing in her head again. Those same gold eyes shining in her mind. That was what she was getting off him, that was why the scent felt familiar and trust worthy and loyal. Because he was just like her. They were both werewolves.

* * *

Sarah was starting to think coming to the carnival hadn't been such a great idea. Stefan had talked her into it, claiming it would be good to get her mind off things. She'd seen his logic but upon arrival he'd quickly vanished off with Elena and Scarlett had arrived with Jeremy leaving Sarah all on her own. She'd seen Damon snooping around but hadn't bothered to talk to him. She wasn't really in the mood to deal with what ever he was up too at the moment. So she settled for roaming around, trying to keep her mind off everything that was going on.

It never happened. She couldn't turn a corner without jumping out her skin at the mere sight of someone with a similar hair style to Katherine. Even spotting Elena a few times made her turn and run the other way before the girl could spot her. She couldn't find it in her to participate in any of the games. It just didn't feel appropriate. She bought some snacks and ate but it only made her feel sick to the point that she didn't even want to have blood, fearing she'd just throw it back up.

She was on the edge of packing it in and going home but couldn't find anyone to tell. She figured she at least owed Stefan and Damon that, to tell them she was leaving so they didn't start panicking, not that they were paying much attention to her just now anyway. Sarah quickly shook off that thought. It was the lingering effect of Katherine, trying to pit her family against each other. It wouldn't work twice.

Eventually Sarah grew tired of wandering though and sat down on a bench, sighing as she leaned back. She could just wait here for her brothers to show up. One of them was bound to pass eventually and in the mean time she could try to relax. Let the surrounding noise distract her as she watched the people go by. Carefree and enjoying themselves, all oblivious to what was really going on in their town. They had no idea how lucky they were.

"You're so cute when you're thinking." Sarah shot to the other side of the bench and her head snapped to see Katherine sat beside her, arm perched on the back of the bench as she rested her head into the palm of her hand. Her amused grin present as always, she even chuckled when she saw Sarah's reaction. That wasn't going to change any time soon. "Maybe even cuter than when you're scared?"

"What do you want?" Sarah asked, her voice shaking much to her embarrassment. She knew Katherine had heard it, the sparkle in her eyes told her that.

"Just checking up on you," Katherine said with a casual shrug. "I felt bad for you, seeing you here. All on your lonesome."

"I'm not alone," Sarah bit back, folding her arms as she turned away from Katherine. Keeping her in the corner of her eye in case the older vampire made a move.

"Right," Katherine said sarcastically as she drew out the word. "That's why your brothers are…" Katherine made a show of looking around, frowning when she pretended to realise that neither Stefan or Damon were in sight. "Oh!" She then exclaimed, as if suddenly remembering. "That's right, they're off having their little meeting aren't they." That caught Sarah's attention as she turned back to Katherine, a line of confusing appearing on her forehead which once again amused Katherine.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh," Katherine said sadly as she pushed up her lower lip. "Was little Sarah not invited. So sad," Katherine teased as she reached over, brushing Sarah's check before she could pull away. "Good thing you've got me," she said, her smirk returning.

"Invited to what?" Sarah demanded as she turned full on to face Katherine, needing to know what her brothers were up to. She needed to know why she wasn't involved. Were they on to her, did they know she'd caved and agreed to help Katherine? Had Katherine told them, just to mess with all their heads?

"Well, since those mean old brothers of yours haven't told you, I will. You remember Caroline right? Sweet, innocent, loud mouth, Caroline."

"What did you do?" Sarah asked. Katherine continued to smirk teasingly, twirling her brunette locks around her finger before letting them spring out of her grasp.

"I turned her," Katherine said, soaking up Sarah's shock with such delight it brought a smile to the old vampire's face. "And I need you to help her. She's going to be helping me too, she just doesn't know it yet. So I need you to keep an eye on her and keep her out of trouble, you know, show her the basics," Katherine said with a shrug like it was no big deal. But Sarah knew that was just Katherine, she didn't care about anyone or anything. All she cared about was what would benefit her. Meaning she'd turned Caroline for a reason and needed her for something. It couldn't have been just to mess with Stefan and Elena, otherwise she wouldn't need her to keep Caroline alive as a vampire. There was something else going on.

"What possible use could Caroline be to you? In case you haven't noticed, she's not the brightest," Sarah said steadily and Katherine quickly fixed her with a cunning look.

"Oh, Sarah. You're so obvious," Katherine said as she pinched Sarah's cheek before her light playfulness became darkly serious. "Now, find her. And get her under control." A quick smile and then she was on her feet, vanishing into the crowd around Sarah. Now what was she going to do. The others obviously knew about Caroline and would be trying to help her anyway. Playing along would keep them all safe but it would be playing right into Katherine's hand. But the only way Sarah could see to avoid that was to kill Caroline. Hopefully since she'd be killing Elena's friend, Katherine wouldn't retaliate and just turn someone else. At least it would buy her some more time to figure out what was going on. Plus, Sarah couldn't see Caroline surviving as a vampire. Heck she barely survived as a human. Sarah was doing her a favour by ending her life now, rather than let her murder several people and turn into a monster like her and her brothers.

With her mind made up, Sarah got to her feet and marched through the crowd in search of Caroline. When she caught the smell of blood, she began to follow. It was fresh and when a new vampire was around it was obvious what had happened. But she couldn't rip out Caroline's heart, it would be too painful for the girl and she didn't deserve to suffer just because she'd been pulled into Katherine's cruel game. After everything she'd been through, the least she deserved was a quick and painless death. And thankfully Sarah found a stake near one of the stalls, used to keep some part of the stall in place. They could live without it, Sarah needed it more.

The trail lead Sarah to the car park where she found Stefan and Damon facing off like aways. She really couldn't leave these two alone at all. Even when they were all supposed to be getting along and be on the same page, they were still fighting. Elena was behind Stefan and behind her was Caroline. Sarah tightened her grip around the stake she'd picked up. If she could get behind them she could finish Caroline nice and quickly. It was for the best, for everyone, Caroline included.

"Stefan, we've got to get her inside," Elena said. Sarah cringed from her view point behind the fence, if they went inside it'd only be harder for her to get at Caroline, particularly if Stefan was hovering around her.

"It's okay, Caroline, come with me," Stefan said as he stepped back, eyes remaining on Damon as he reached back to take Caroline's hand.

"She will die, it's only a matter of time," Damon said with a pointed look to his brother. He agreed with Sarah, but he'd never been one for dealing with newbies. Vicki was a recent example of that. He hated responsibility of any kind, and teaching a new vampire was like raising a child, frustrating as all hell.

"Yeah, maybe so, but it's not gonna happen tonight," Stefan said as he finally reached Caroline and began to lead her away.

"Oh yeah it is," Damon shot back before he made his move, grabbing a stake from the floor and racing over to Caroline. Sarah saw Stefan try to move but he was to slow in reacting as he'd turned away. But to her surprise Elena jumped out in front of Caroline, using her body to protect her. Damon froze, arm raised and stake inches from Elena's heart, having been about to kill Caroline. With the whole situation frozen as Damon and Elena stared back at each other, Sarah took her chance. She left the fence and within a second she was over to group, pulling Caroline from Stefan's grasp and racing her into the building, passing Bonnie who'd seen everything.

They were halfway down a corridor when Caroline managed to pry herself free and Sarah came to a stop. With her hand still on Caroline's the young blonde knocked it of with a fierce slap before fixing her furious and terrified eyes on Sarah. She was hardly threatened, she had years on Caroline and she didn't even fully understand what was happen, which was made even more obvious by what she did next.

Keeping her eyes locked with Sarah's, Caroline leaned towards her and Sarah watched as her blue eyes dilated. "Leave me alone!" Sarah groaned rolling her eyes as she grabbed Caroline once more, the blonde yelping as she did.

"Vampire lesson one-o-one," Sarah said as she shoved Caroline towards the wall of lockers, the blonde yelping again as her back hit the lockers with a clang. "Compulsion, that little mind control thing you do with your eyes. It does't work on other vampires, like me," Sarah explained as she advanced on Caroline. Fright having taking over as the primary emotion in Caroline. The young vampire tried to run but Sarah caught her with ease and shoved her against the lockers once more. With Sarah's arm pressing against her throat, Caroline tried to push her off but to no avail. "Second rule," Sarah continued. "Older means stronger. I've been a vampire for over a century. You've been one for a couple of hours."

Sarah then reached back with her free arm, retrieving the stake from behind her and lift it up, ready to plug it into Caroline's heart. Seeing the weapon, Caroline begun to fight harder, but she was still no match for Sarah's strength. Her stance was strong and her arm was pressed against Caroline's throat in such a way that her weight was pressing into Caroline as well, keeping her pinned to the lockers.

"Sarah!" Stefan shouted and Sarah saw him heading towards her. Out of time Sarah had no choice. She had to do it now, she couldn't risk letting her live. If she did Katherine was one step closer to whatever she was planning. She needed Caroline for something and Sarah couldn't let her use the girl the way she and Damon had. It wasn't fair on her and Sarah was going to put things right by ending it right now. At least this way she'd be free. And with one sorry look, she brought her arm down, Stefan's shouts of protest vanishing the second the stake broke through Caroline's chest. She gasped in pain, life leaving her. Stefan stopped a few feet away, no point in continuing now that Caroline had been killed.

"Rule three," Sarah said through a clenched jaw as she stared into Caroline's tearful blue eyes, knowing it was all over for her. So young, so innocent. Even with all the blood smeared over her face. "Wooden stake to the heart…it will kill you." She pulled the stake for Caroline, letting it fall to the ground as the wound just beneath Caroline's heart began to heal.

Stepping back, Sarah released her grip on Caroline, letting the blubbering girl sink to the floor as her back slide down the lockers. "She's all yours," Sarah muttered as she marched past Stefan, refusing to meet his eyes as he tried to grab her attention. She had nothing to say, to anyone right now. Her mind was racing and she couldn't think about talking to anyone. She'd been so sure about what she was doing, up until she actually went to kill Caroline. To be honest, she wasn't even sure why she hadn't gone through with it.

* * *

Walking up the driveway to the old house, Scarlett was lost in thought. The same thoughts swirling around her head ever since she saw Mason's eyes. It was strange. She'd never thought that much about others like her. Sure she'd entertained the idea that she wasn't some unique supernatural creature and that there were others like her out in the world. She just never really thought about finding them or meeting them. And now there was someone, something like her in Mystic Falls. It was strange, almost as if she could feel something inside her changing at Mason's mere presence in town.

Reaching the front door, Scarlett began to hear voices before realising they were coming from inside. Her mind had been so scattered that her hearing hadn't been able to pick up who was talking. As a matter of fact, someone could have been walking right beside her and she probably would have never even noticed. It was only when she opened the door she recognised the voices. It was Damon, no surprise there, and Jeremy. Scarlett had completely forgotten about him. She felt guilty for not having told him or gone to him immediately after seeing Mason, but she was still processing the entire night herself. He'd understand once she told him, but for now it seemed he'd had something else on his mind. Getting revenge on Damon. Easily surmised by the stake in his hand and the smell of fresh vervain in the air. It wasn't hard to guess his plan, but since Damon was still on his feet and he and Jeremy were facing off, Scarlett walked in silently. Neither noticing as she moved towards them, ready to leap in should anything go wrong.

"You came here to kill me?" Damon asked, eyeing Jeremy, though he hardly seemed threatened. Then again why would he, he had the age, the experience and the strength to kill Jeremy all over again. All Jeremy had was a was a badly crafted stake and a ring that would bring him back as long as Damon didn't rip it from his hand first.

"It's only fair. You killed me first," Jeremy replied half hearted, as if he didn't want to do it. Damon nodded respectfully, still eyeing the teenager before him.

"What made you wisen up?" Damon asked curiously. Scarlett relaxed at that. Whatever she'd missed had apparently involved Jeremy backing down despite still holding the stake. And while she would love to see Jeremy get Damon back for what he'd done, she knew for a fact he couldn't handle the vampire. He just didn't have any advantage or skills to deal with them. His only saving grace was the Gilbert ring that brought him back to life if a supernatural killed him. Otherwise he was just as weak as any other human.

"My father hated vampires, my uncle too. They were absolute. They knew exactly what they stood for and I figure maybe I should too. I mean, stand for something," Jeremy explained, all while Scarlett made her way to the archway that lead into the living room. "But killing you, what's that gonna do?" Jeremy shrugged before turning and smiling when he saw Scarlett watching him. She offered him a smile back and his own grew as he turned back to Damon. "I've got a good thing going right now. I'd rather not risk that over something I don't really want to do. You're a dick, and I don't like you. But you're letting Scarlett stay here… So I guess I can let this go."

Scarlett had to admit, she was a little moved and maybe even proud of how Jeremy was willing to give up his revenge quest just for her. He really did love her and even when she thought he couldn't prove it anymore, he did something like that. It was times like this, that she felt she didn't deserve him, but she was going to do her best to make this work, for both of them. Because they did need each other.

"Please, stop. You're going to make me hurl," Damon groaned. Scarlett shot him a glare, folding her arms angrily but Jeremy chuckled, seemingly amused by the older vampire. "So just to get this straight, you're forgiving me?" Damon asked, curiously as he stepped towards Jeremy.

"This time," Jeremy warned, though it hardly carried much weight with Damon. Scarlett knew the vampire well enough now to know he did what he wanted when he wanted. "And only if you continue to be good to Scarlett."

"Well, me and Scrappy have a special kind of relationship, right Scrapper?" Damon asked with a sarcastic wink over to the glaring teenage girl.

"Go to hell," Scarlett bit back.

"You see what I mean," Damon said with a smirk, trying and failing to rile Jeremy up. He just chuckled and shook his head as he stepped back from Damon, who's blue eyes followed Jeremy with a hint of surprise and curiosity. Could he actually be beginning to respect him? Scarlett doubted it but then she didn't have any other reason for the look he was giving her boyfriend.

"I'm going to go so I'll see you later?" Jeremy asked as he approached Scarlett.

"You bet," Scarlett said before they kissed goodbye.

"Try to be nice to him," Jeremy said with a mild pleading look.

Scarlett shot a glare over to Damon before answering Jeremy with, "I'd have a better chance of drowning a fish." Jeremy chuckled once more before planting a kiss to her forehead and then walking out, leaving Scarlett's glare to intensify once the door slammed shut. Damon just smirked, as if it was nothing knew to him. If only he knew what fire he was dealing with, he really would be scared off her.

"You know, I see why the kid likes you," Damon said as he pointed a wagging finger at Scarlett, leaning back against the couch before folding his arms. Scarlett didn't take the bait. She just continued to glare heatedly, waiting to see what he tried next so that she could understand what he was after. As Sarah had explained to her, Damon was always after something. "I mean, not every girl can win an arm wrestle against Mason Lockwood. In fact, my own brother couldn't compete with his strength. And as we both know, Stefan is no mere mortal… Some might even say, he's supernatural." He watched Scarlett, waiting for her to give him any sigh of worry or concern. But her face was set in the continuous heated glare she sent him.

"I guess I'm just stronger than you give me credit for, Twilight," Scarlett said, smugness seeping into her voice. A further grin forming when she caught the irritation fall across Damon's face. "And just so we're clear." Scarlett continued as she stepped towards the vampire. "Jeremy may have forgiven you, but I haven't. And the only reason I haven't tried anything yet is because of Sarah. So if I were you I'd watch my back, because the second Sarah changes her mind about you, even for a second…I'll be coming for you," Scarlett growled before turning and leaving with Damon's glare eyes following her all the way out.

* * *

With a drink in her hand, Sarah watched as the flames preformed for her in the fireplace. She could be so easily entranced by them when she let go, allowing them to hypnotise her and let the world fall away. She needed it after a day like today. She'd come close to killing Caroline, someone she actually liked, and all to get back at Katherine. Thankfully common sense had broken through right before she killed her and she'd stopped herself. If she had killed her, Katherine would have just turned someone else anyway.

Sarah only finally snapped out her trance when she heard footsteps enter the study. She took a sip of her drink, letting whoever it was walk around the couch before sitting down next to her. She didn't turn her head, but from the lack of lip and side way view of a male figure, Sarah was able to work out who it was.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Stefan asked as he placed the tips of his fingers together. He turned to face his sister, who continued drinking. Once she'd had enough, Sarah lowered the glass, resting the base on her folded legs, eyes never leaving the fire.

"Free country," Sarah replied carelessly, swinging her leg back and forth slowly to keep her mind active. She was listening to him, but her outward expression and body language probably said something different. Or maybe it was conveying how she really felt, cold and hollow, just like the emotionless monster she was supposed to be. But then why hadn't she offed Caroline, if that was what she really was? Because she was a still human despite what she was, still had her humanity, still felt everything. And she would forever now, thanks to Lexi.

"Why did you want to kill Caroline?" Stefan asked, eyeing his sister. Still Sarah didn't look at him. She contemplated lying to him, saying she never planned on killing the now young vampire and it'd all been for show. But he knew her and probably had seen enough to know she'd only changed her mind at the last second. He'd seen her kill plenty as she had seen him.

"Katherine turned her. She more than likely has a reason for doing so. I wanted to stop her."

Sarah went for another drink as Stefan mulled over her words. Looking off out the window before his eyes flicked back over to Sarah and he asked, "Why didn't you kill her then?" He knew how much she hated Katherine, knew the lengths she'd go to to stop her. It was a fair question. And to be honest Sarah wasn't too sure about her answer herself. It kept changing in her head, but two particular reasons kept coming into her mind.

"I…saw something in her," Sarah said with a small smile as she finally looked into Stefan's eyes, the same eyes she had. Only his were currently confused and in need of answers while hers were serine and maybe even a little relieved. "I don't know if it was a reflection of me or…"

"Or what?" Stefan asked, leaning towards Sarah when she took to long in answer. Sarah's eyes briefly flickered down but then climbed back up to Stefan's as her smile grew slightly. Enough so that Stefan could notice with just a mild glance.

"She kind of reminds me of Lexi." Stefan smiled at that, letting out a little chuckle as he placed his hand on Sarah's knee. She couldn't be sure, not without asking, and right now she didn't want too, but Sarah was sensing Stefan felt the same. Maybe he'd seen it before Caroline turned or maybe he'd seen it like Sarah, after she turned. Or perhaps he hadn't seen it at all and he just liked hearing Lexi's name again. But there was something about Caroline Forbes that Sarah would have to look out for in the future.

"In that case. Maybe you would like to help me. Train her that is," Stefan suggested with a fond smile at the idea.

Sarah raised her brow in scepticism as she stared back at her brother. "You sure that's a good idea? Last time you and I tried to help a newbie vampire, it didn't end so well." Stefan bowed his head in acknowledgement, a grimace crossing his face before he rose back up.

"True. But this is Caroline, not Vicki. And I'm confident together we can help her get through this."

Staring back at her brother for a moment, Sarah took in his words before sighing with a hopeful smile and agreeing. "Alright, you've got yourself a deal, Brother."

"Thank you, Sarah," Stefan said before he stood up.

"Where are you off to then?" Sarah asked with a curious and playful look as she swirled the last of her drink around her glass.

"I'm meeting up with Elena. I'm…taking her back to the fair, to give her something normal."

"Good luck with that," Sarah said as she raised her glass. Stefan smiled back, shaking his head as he walked off.

"Don't wait up," he called over his shoulder before his footsteps began to fade and Sarah heard the front door open and close. Listening around the house, Sarah could hear Damon heading up to his room and Scarlett grumbling to herself about Damon being an ass. Peaceful for the Salvatore household. And just what Sarah needed after the last few days she'd had. Just one moment where she could push everything aside and relax, like Stefan and Elena were doing.

"Drinking alone really doesn't suit you." Sarah's daydreaming eyes flicked from half closed to fully awake as the voice of the devil sent shivers down her spine, freezing her in place until she could be sure it wasn't all just in her head. "Mind if I pour myself a drink?" Katherine didn't bother waiting for Sarah's answer, not that she would have given one. She was still trying to decide whether or not she was imagining the vampire, even though she could hear not only her voice but her movements. The clicking off her heels, the moving of the glass, the click as the empty glass connected with the bottle of liquor followed by the splashing of liquid as the alcohol was poured. It wasn't until Sarah saw Katherine enter her peripheral and sit down in the nearby armchair, that she finally acknowledged the superior vampire and turned to face her.

Katherine didn't seem to care much for Sarah reaction. Apparently she'd had enough fun from Sarah's reactions and was now acting like a bored child watching one of their favourite TV shows, just waiting for the opening credits to hurry up and end so they could get back to the show. Patiently Katherine drank from her glass before looking over and grinning when she saw Sarah had decided she was in reality.

Lowering the glass to her leg, the older vampire started to chuckle as she brushed aside her brunette locks with her free hand. Eyeing Sarah the way she always did. "I must say Sarah, I'm glad you didn't kill Caroline. Don't get me wrong, it wouldn't have stopped me in the slightest. But things are going to be so much more fun with her around." The light chuckle that followed made the hairs on Sarah's neck not only stand up, but want to jump right out and run like hell.

"Though I will admit," Katherine continued, swirling the drink around the glass as Sarah had. Watching the dark liquid swirl around and around forming a small vortex in the glass. It almost seemed like she was being entranced by it, but Sarah knew that Katherine never lost focus. She just gave a very good impression that she had. "I'm curious as to why you spared her." Her eyes shot towards Sarah, a knowing look following that got right under her skin. "Considering you're supposed to hate me and all. And since I'm using her, surely it would have made more sense to kill her than keep her alive?"

Sarah glared back at the devil for a moment before finally answering. "Like I told Stefan. I spared her because I saw something in her." Katherine hummed in consideration before a smirk formed and she began to shake her head in denial.

"No. I don't think so." She paused, taking a large sip of her drink before setting the glass down on the side table. "I think," Katherine continued as she stood up. Her heels acting like hammers as she slowly stepped towards Sarah, knocking in each point she made with an all mights smash. "You didn't see anything at all. I think you were going to kill Caroline until you realised something, deep inside of you." Sarah stared back, watching as Katherine began to loom over her, doing her best to keep her face neutral. "You knew I needed Caroline and it's for that reason you spared her."

"No," Sarah cut in, but Katherine continued regardless.

"Because despite everything that you say, and how you act, you still want me to succeed."

"No."

"That's why you spared Caroline. That's why you help me. And the reason for all this, is because you know that no matter how hard you try, and how much you wish it wasn't true, the fact is, you still have feelings for me."

"NO!" Sarah roared as she threw her glass towards Katherine. The remaining alcohol flew from the glass and Katherine caught it with ease. It had been an obvious attack, Sarah could tell that even in her enraged state. But it took up one of Katherine hands leaving her ever so slightly venerable. Then with her vampire speed, Sarah reached into the couch cushions and pulled out a stake. She rushed Katherine but once she got in rage she found the glass she'd thrown at Katherine, shoved into her face. Sarah groaned as glass shards tore and pricked against her skin. Dazed and off balance, there was nothing she could do as Katherine sped behind her and twisted her arm behind her back, the stake falling from her grasp. With her amused laughter filling Sarah's ears, Katherine swiftly brought her to her knees. Kicking both legs from behind before Sarah landed on her on them and her arm, glass once again pricking her hands and knees. Sarah bit down on her lip, forcing down the pain as she groaned.

"I know the truth hurts, Sarah. But believe me, it's only going to get worse from here on in." The joyfulness in Katherine's voice only mad Sarah groan in anger more. She hated how powerless she was and how she was nothing but a play thing to Katherine. After all this time she thought she'd gotten stronger that she'd be able to fight off her demons and win. If the last few days had proven anything, it was that she was dead wrong. She was just as helpless now as she was back in 1864, and Katherine was just as powerful.

"Now remember, keep an eye on Caroline for me," Katherine said as she leaned forward, her lips brushing Sarah's ear before she applied more pressure to Sarah's arm, twisting until Sarah final screamed in pain. "I'll be in touch," Katherine said in satisfaction before shoving Sarah forward. Feeling her arm being released from Katherine's grasp, Sarah didn't miss a beat. She threw her arm out and caught the fallen stake that had rolled forward. Then with her enhanced speed she shot back up, spinning around to face Katherine, only to find she was gone. Sarah's eyes shot form side to side and when Katherine was no where in sight she began to turn around and around, but still nothing. When it finally clicked that Katherine was gone, Sarah screamed in frustration before throwing the stake with furious force towards the wall where it was firmly embedded.


	5. Road Trip to Duke

_Review responses:_

Only reviewer: _Yeah, I know what you mean. She is a bitch, but an awesome bitch who you kinda love to hate. And yes, in show terms it would be great for building up Katie and Nina's chemistry before we get to Sarena. And I'm glad I caught you off guard with the Caroline bit! I tried really hard to make people think she might actually die._

PPLforeveremison: _Glad to see you've returned! Yeah, Katherine is a master manipulator, and knows exactly how to trick Sarah into doing what she wants. So glad you enjoyed Sarah and Katherine finally meeting. I might do some alternative one shots at some point down the line, re-doing scenes like that for those that really want Sarena (Sarah/Elena) moments to happen differently early on, such as the one you mentioned. I also really enjoyed the moment were Scarlett catches Katherine out! But yes, Katherine will in time go after everyone and even Scarlett will learn to fear her. I mean, come on, she's Katherine! Cute wasn't what I was going for with Scarlett's reaction to Jeremy's death, but as long as you enjoyed it, I'm happy. And now there's about to be a whole load of werewolves for Scarlett to interact with as you said, it's gonna be a lot of fun exploring that. And I too felt bad for Damon when Katherine told him she didn't love him, but I like the change in this were he fights back for his sister. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late._

 _Sorry that it's been two weeks without anything. College work went up a couple more gears than I expected it too and doesn't look like it'll be slowing down any time soon. So what I'll be doing in the near future is probably uploading for two Tuesdays in a row, then have two weeks without any uploads, and then another two weeks of uploads, and so on. Hopefully that'll work out. Fingers crossed._

 _Meanwhile we have the first half of episode three, and boy was this a fun. Took me a while to get the start figured out but after that I had so much fun with both Scarlett and Sarah in this part. I'm not sure which I preferred honestly. Let me know which plot you preferred. So get ready for Caroline's training, more about werewolves and everybody's favourite road trip companion, Damon!_

And quick thanks to everyone who's favourited and followed the story since last time.. If you have the time, please do leave a review and let me know what you think, or PM if that's better for you. I just love hearing what you guys all have to say.

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Road Trip to Duke**

* * *

Walking past the living room, Scarlett found herself suddenly stopping as the hairs on her neck shot up. She didn't need to turn around to know how many sets of eyes were on her. Five. Five sets of eyes, three of which lived in this house. She turned slowly, still in her pjs like some little kid. A tad embarrassing, but by now she was used to it, especially after all the grief she'd been getting about Elena finding her and Jeremy after there first time.

In the living room, staring back at her, was Sarah, Stefan, Damon, Elena and Alaric. Alaric was on a couch by himself and opposite him was Stefan, Elena and Sarah, all sharing a couch while Damon stood closest to her by the archway. "About time you woke up," Damon said with one of his curious glares. She'd been getting far too many of those recently from him. But there wasn't much she could do about it without drawing even more suspicion. All she could do was wait him out and hope the vampire just moved onto something else before he found out. "Grab a seat, this probably concerns you too."

Scarlett didn't say anything as she stepped into the living room. She kept her gaze low as she passed Damon, not because she was scared of him. More because she wanted to avoid him making comments about her attire. To her surprise he said nothing and remained silent as Scarlett scooted past three pairs of legs before sitting down at the end of the couch next to Sarah. Her vampire–mentor–type–person gave her a greeting smile before she and the others turned back to Alaric, along with Scarlett who was now ready to hear what was going on. It had to be something serious if Damon wasn't cracking jokes.

"So, you were telling us about the Lockwoods," Damon said with a pressing look to Alaric.

"I told you, I don't know anything about the Lockwoods," Alaric replied with a sigh, already tired despite what time it was.

"Well, you wouldn't. But your dead, not dead vampire wife might," Damon clarified with a smug knowing grin to his friend. _Damon having a friend?_ Still didn't feel right for Scarlett. The guy was a grade A jackass, how could he possibly have any friends. Especially someone like Alaric who was a pretty good guy, considering he was a vampire hunter and all.

"Isobel's research from when you guys were at Duke together," Elena began before Stefan continued on for her. That was one thing Scarlett never wanted to do, even with Jeremy. She loved him, but hated that corny stuff like finishing each others thoughts or sentences. Even seeing it with Stefan and Elena made Scarlett cringe as Stefan spoke.

"You said that she had spent years researching this town."

"Isobel's research here in, Mystic Falls is rooted in folklores and legends. At the time I thought much of which was fiction," Alaric began to explain.

"Like that amazing vampire story," Damon jumped in sarcastically.

"Aside from the vampires, what else?" Elena asked as she leaned forward from in between Stefan and Sarah.

"The Lycanthrope," Alaric answered and Scarlett quickly saw confusion sweep over the four faces next to her.

"Meaning?" Damon asked.

"Werewolf," Scarlett spoke up, all heads turning to her. Damon and Alaric had surprise on them but the three next to Scarlett had a mixture of shock and anger. It had to be said though, most of the anger was coming from Sarah. Scarlett wasn't really too surprised. There was a difference between playing it cool while Damon watched her and leaving him breadcrumbs to follow. Still, the only reason she even knew about the word was because of Jeremy and the research he'd done into werewolves after he found out about her. He'd been kind enough to share it with her, not that she really cared about any of it, otherwise she would have done it herself. But the gesture it's self was nice.

"Score one for Pj Scrappy and her pointless knowledge," Damon said with a grin at his own joke, ignoring Scarlett's glare before turning his attention back to Alaric. His brow instantly dropping from amusement to glaring seriousness. "And there's no way it's werewolves. That's way too Lon Chaney." Scarlett frowned, confused by the reference but quickly forgot it as the other Salvatores chipped in with their opinions on the matter.

"I'm with Damon. It's impossible for werewolves to exist," Sarah spoke up.

"Agreed," Stefan added. They were both lying obvious, and Elena was keeping her mouth shut. All three knew about Scarlett and what she presumably was. But they had a pretty good idea of how Damon would react if he found out what she was and they cared enough to lie for her. It was nice having people like that in her life again. She hadn't had anyone like that since her mom died.

"You sure about that?" Alaric asked with a raised brow to the group, obvious keeping a more open mind than Damon. Sarah didn't waste a second and before Scarlett knew it the vampire was leaning forward. Leaving behind her comfortable laid back position and now glaring at the history teacher, almost compelling him to shut up as she spoke.

"The three of us have been around for a sum of one-hundred-and-sixty-five years, give or take. We've seen just about everything you can see in that time, supernatural wise, and never once come across anything resembling a werewolf." _Until me,_ thought Scarlett, but she remained quiet. Another word from her and Sarah might well rip out her throat or at the very least cut out her tongue.

"Clearly you haven't seen it all, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?" Alaric pointed out rhetorically, not happy with the attitude he was getting from Sarah. Hardly surprising consider he'd been invited over to help and now she was practically spitting in his face for providing it. But he didn't know the whole story and normally Sarah would have probably appreciated the help, however unlikely it was, but this was putting Scarlett in danger and Sarah was protecting her. It was just unfortunate she had to be rude to do it. "And why do you suspect the Lockwoods anyway?" Alaric asked as he turned towards Damon.

"Because vervain didn't affect the mayor on Founders' Day but the Gilbert device did, and it affect his son Tyler." Damon's eyes flicked to Scarlett and she could tell he was about to mention her when Stefan cut in thankfully.

"And at the school carnival his uncle Mason exhibited some kind of supernatural strength when we arm wrestled."

"We were hoping that Isobel's research could help us figure out what it is," Elena then added, once more before Damon could get a word in about Scarlett.

"Well, all her things are still at Duke. I mean her office is still there. She's technically still missing," Alaric explained. At that Damon finally looked away from Scarlett, having lost interest in whatever he'd been planning to say about her. He was now more interested in what Alaric had to say about the potential of finding out what he needed to know.

"So can we get access to it?" Damon asked.

"I don't know," Alaric answered with an unsure look. Scarlett heard his heart rate pick up. She did feel for him. After hearing about the story about his wife she wasn't at all surprised he didn't want to go back to her office, filled with her work. It probably still hurt him a lot. That said she had no sympathy for Isobel. The woman had held her for ransom and would have thrown her off a roof had Elena not given her what she wanted.

"Ric, we need to know what we are dealing with. If this wolf man thing is true."

"It isn't," Sarah cut in with a pointed look to Damon, trying to get him to back down. He didn't though, and just kept going.

"Then I've seen enough movies to know it's not good if it is real. It means Mason Lockwood is a real-life Lon Chaney and that little Tyler punk may just very well be Lon Chaney junior, which means Bella Lugosi, meaning me, is totally screwed," Damon said, advancing on Alaric as he frantically pointed at himself with each word, trying to get his point across.

"Don't you think you're being a little over dramatic?" Stefan asked as he looked up at his brother who spun around to face him.

"Over dramatic. No, no, little brother, on the contrary. I think you, and our oblivious little sister, are far too casual about all this, or maybe I'm not being dramatic enough for all three of us," Damon said as he pounded his chest angrily, getting worked up over the lack of reaction from his siblings.

"Damon, just calm down," Elena said as she stood up, locking eyes with the blue eyed vampire. Scarlett instantly saw him visibly relax as well as catch the sound of his faint heartbeat slow down to a more calm beat. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's just go to Duke and see what we can find. And even if the Lockwoods are…Wolfmen. That doesn't mean they're a treat to us."

"Oh, they're definitely a threat. And the second I know what I need to, I'm taking out that entire family," Damon growled before turning towards Alaric, ignoring the looks from his siblings as he did. "Get a bag ready Ric, we're going on a road trip," Damon declared before glancing at the couch where the rest of the group were sat. "Who's in?"

"We can't leave right now. We need to plan this out," Stefan tried to reason with his brother but Damon was in no mood for that.

"Stefan's out. Elena?" he asked, quickly moving down the couch. The teenager glared back at him. Despite having spoke to him not a moment ago she now had nothing but anger in her eyes towards him. She was just like Scarlett, still mad at him for what he'd done to Jeremy. "And that's a stunned silence from Elena."

"Fine," Elena declared but after that said nothing more.

"Great," Damon said happily before pointing to his sister. "Sarah?"

"As much as I'd love to join you and Elena for the most God awful rod trip of all time, I've got things here I need to take care off," Sarah answered with a thin smile up to her brother.

"Like what?" Damon demanded, sounding offended by the fact that he wasn't the most important thing in his sister's life.

"Like Caroline. You know, the newbie vampire who Katherine turned," Sarah said pointedly with an obvious look to her brother who shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"Old news," Damon scoffed as he waved the topic off. "So, looks like me, Alaric and Elena are going on a road trip," Damon said happily before clapping his hands together in delight.

"I'm coming too," Scarlett spoke up. Again all heads swung towards her and she felt confused look from everyone bar Sarah who was now ready to cut out her tongue. But she held back since the room was filled with witnesses.

"No way," Damon said smugly as he glared at Scarlett, clearly wanting her nowhere near what he was looking into.

"She's coming, Damon," Elena said sternly with a steely glare in her eye. If the girl had any power whatsoever, then Scarlett might have actually felt threatened by her.

"Why do you care if she comes or not?" Damon demanded, gesturing to Scarlett as he locked eyes with Elena.

"Because she wants to," Elena replied, with no sign of backing down.

"So what? She bangs your brother and now suddenly you want to go on a road trip with her?"

"No. It's more like you killed my brother, so if you don't want her to come, then I want her to come." After that silence settled in as Damon considered his options. He didn't really have many, especially after Elena had shut him down. And if he continued to push Scarlett away then he'd have to deal with his siblings as well. It took him a minute, but eventually he backed down, groaning as he glanced over to Scarlett.

"I guess…you can come." He added on a lazy smile, trying to make it seem like it was all because of his own good graces. He wasn't fooling anyone. After that he left, telling Alaric to get a bag and that they'd meet him at the Gilbert's. He then told Scarlett to be ready in five minutes or he was leaving without her. Another pointless threat to put himself above her. She would have snapped back at him, but was busy sharing a silent thank you with Elena, considering they'd still be arguing about her going if it wasn't for her. Elena was kind enough about it, smiling back as she mouthed, 'you're welcome,' with a teasing grin.

However, before she could go and get her stuff, Sarah grabbed her shoulder and lead her towards the kitchen. Knowing how their privet conversations usually went, Scarlett let Sarah lead her over to the counter top where she swiftly turned on the sink before spinning Scarlett around to face her. A not so pleased look on her face.

"What do you think you were doing in there?"

"Getting myself a free lift to Duke," Scarlett answered casually, backing down quickly though when she saw Sarah's glare intensify. "I'm sorry. I know the Lycanthrope bit was a little too much. I should have kept my mouth shut. But you can't ask me to skip out on this trip, not when it could give me the chance to find out more about what I am."

"We already know what you are."

"No, we don't! We _think_ I'm a werewolf. We don't _know_ that." Scarlett could see Sarah softening at that. Because it was the truth. They had a lot of assumptions and what they did know they'd learnt on the job, sort of speak. Everything they knew had been from Scarlett's experiences but she needed more than that. And with the research she'd done with Jeremy it was hard to separate the fiction from the non-fiction.

"It's still to risky, what with Damon being there," Sarah began to argue, but Scarlett could see her giving up ground so all she had to do was keep pushing.

"Elena will be there, she'll look out for me and keep Damon off my back."

Sarah sighed, her features screwing up as she contemplated surrendering to Scarlett's wishes. "And I suppose he's more curious about the Lockwoods than you anyway."

"Yeah…about that…" Scarlett knew she was going to regret opening her mouth the second Sarah fixed her with a questioning glare. But she had to be honest with her, Sarah had been nothing but that with her for the most part, at least with what she ought to know. She owed Sarah the same respect. "I'm pretty sure whatever I am… Mason Lockwood is too."

"What?" Sarah snapped with a wide eyed glare. "When did you figure this out?"

"At the carnival," Scarlett answered sheepishly.

"That was days ago!"

"I know, but I've been…processing, and I know I should have told you and I meant to tell Jeremy too but then I just…" She looked up at Sarah with her confused blue eyes and watched as Sarah's anger seemed to deplete. "It was just shocking…to find out there was someone else like me out there. I needed some time." She wasn't happy, that was obvious to Scarlett. But when Sarah let out a heavy sigh, placing her hands on her hips she knew she had at least a chance. Sarah wasn't unreasonable and Scarlett had explained herself, to the best of her abilities. She would understand surely.

"Putting that aside for now," Sarah said slowly, though her look said she'd be bringing this back up later. "Are you absolutely certain he's like you?"

"Yes," Scarlett said firmly. "I saw his eyes when he was fighting this guy in the parking lot. Sarah, they were exactly like mine." Even now the memory was still clear in her head. The golden glow that come from his eyes, just like her own when she tapped into her supernatural side. He had to be like her to some capacity, or at the very least the same spices. Their eyes were just too similar.

Again Sarah sighed, staring into Scarlett's firm blue eyes as she thought. "Okay," she finally said as she ran her hand over her mouth. "Okay, you should go to Duke." Scarlett smiled at that but Sarah continued like she hadn't even noticed. "Go there and find out what you can about yourself and Mason. Make sure Elena knows what you're doing so she can help you, and then when you get back, we'll all sit down and discuss what to do about Mason."

"Thank you," Scarlett said sincerely, watching as Sarah smiled back at her.

"Don't know why you're thanking me. Now you have to spend the day with Damon." Scarlett felt her face drop at that. "Get ready to see my slice of hell," Sarah said smugly as she sauntered from the room.

* * *

Arriving at the Gilbert house, Jenna was more than a little surprised when Elena walked in followed by her boyfriend, Sarah, Scarlett and Damon. The look on her face was priceless though and Sarah couldn't help but laugh at her before doing her best to hide it when Jenna looked her way. She didn't have a stern look or anything, she was just a little taken aback by the herd of people that had just stampeded into her home. That said, Damon only waited inside for a few minutes before heading outside until Alaric showed up and Scarlett went up stairs with Elena and Stefan to tell Jeremy what was going on. That left Sarah and Jenna in the hallway for the briefest of moments before Sarah began to head for the kitchen.

"You mind if I grab something to eat?" Sarah asked over her shoulder as she stepped out the hallway.

"Help yourself, just don't touch the leftover pizza," Jenna called after her as she began to follow before the doorbell rang.

"Tonights dinner?" Sarah asked with a teasing grin over her shoulder. Jenna screwed her face to one side sarcastically before turning to answer the door as Sarah disappeared into the kitchen. She opened the fridge in time to Jenna opening the front door and grinned to herself when she heard the woman's heart rate increase.

"Hey, Ric," Jenna said with an awkward smile to her voice.

"Hi," Alaric replied as stepped in.

Still grinning, Sarah closed the fridge door and opened up the small cardboard box with spaghetti remains inside. Grabbing herself a fork, she quickly picked up the awkward silence coming the hallway. Twisting the spaghetti remain around the fork, Sarah made her way towards the archway and leaned against the wall to listen. From their heartbeats alone it was easy to tell they liked each other, a lot. But both had so much background noise that nether could easily admit it. Jenna had her bad history with men and Alaric had a dead vampire wife. Sad how all that could probably be solved if they just told Jenna the truth. But Elena and Jeremy both agreed they didn't want Jenna to know. She worried about them both enough as it was, no need to add supernatural panic into the equation.

"It's been a while," Jenna finally said when the awkwardness became too much.

"Well, the school has been keeping me busy," Alaric said sheepishly. Yet another obvious lie, though Jenna didn't seem to mind. It was just small talk after all.

"I want you to know it means a lot to me that Elena has a connection to her mother. I appreciate you bringing her along today," Jenna then added, just like the good guardian she was. Always looking out for her niece and nephew and always happy when something went their way.

"Yeah, I figured it was time to take care of my wife's things you know," Alaric said sheepishly before yet another awkward silence took over. Sarah continued eating, waiting patiently until Alaric finally continued, hope in his voice as he did. "Look Jenna, I know things between you and I have been a little start and stop and I'm sorry for that but maybe once I can-"

"Eh, no," Jenna swiftly cut in, certainty in her voice. Sarah perked up at that, surprised at how Jenna was turning down the man she clearly had an attraction for. Peering around the corner to see what was going on, Sarah watched as Jenna smiled softly at the confused Alaric. "Don't do that. Not the half maybe apology hope for the future thing." Alaric bowed his head in respect and forced a smile. Stilling waiting for one of them to say how they felt, Sarah almost jumped with surprise when Damon suddenly honked the horn from outside.

"Impatient dumbass," Sarah grumbled, as she tried to glare around the corner without Alaric are Jenna noticing her.

"Elena, Scarlett! Are you two coming?!" Jenna called up the stairs before looking back to Alaric. His eyes had never left her and she new it. She smiled back at him, the same hopeful smile he had once and for a moment Sarah though one of them might just say what they both wanted too. "Do what you need to do okay." _Oh, come on!_ Sarah groaned in her head. They least they could have done was kiss. If they continued being this stubborn then she was going to have to compel one of them. She couldn't stand to see this dance much longer.

Almost a minute passed and still neither Elena or Scarlett appeared. The awkwardness then got the better of Alaric and he ducked his gaze, reaching back to scratch his neck as he said, "I'll…just wait outside." Jenna didn't say anything, remaining quiet as Alaric walked out the open front door.

"You should have kissed him," Sarah said, surprising Jenna as she turned to find the teenager stood next to her, still eating the leftover spaghetti. Acting casually, Sarah continued to chew, staring out the front door as Jenna's stare slowly turning into a frown.

"Quiet being noisy," Jenna said bitterly as she folded her arms, looking out the front door. Then suddenly she turned and snatched the leftovers from Sarah as she finished off what was left on her fork. Sarah had seen it coming, and could have easily held onto the container, but seeing as Jenna was having some bad luck in her love life, Sarah let her have this one. "And stop eating my leftovers." Sarah turned to her friend, fork still in mouth. She pulled it out and began to smile, and slowly Jenna's angry frown depleted and she smiled back at her friend, thankful for the distraction.

"You doing okay?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah… I just hate men and their baggage," Jenna sighed as she stared down at the container in her hands.

"Tell me about it sister," Sarah sighed before patting Jenna on the back, smiling as she stepped outside. The sound of Elena, Stefan and Scarlett hopping down the stairs shortly followed and Jenna bid them all goodbye before remaining at the door to watch them leave.

"Sorry you can't come too, Stef," Damon said smugly. Of the four of them making their way over to the car, which Damon was leaning against, three began to glare at him. Sarah was the only one who shot him a disapproving look, stopping at the sidewalk and folding her arms.

"Can't you ever just be civil?" Sarah asked, while Scarlett opened the back door and Alaric made his way around to the other side of the car. Elena then passed her bag to Scarlett who placed it in the back seat next to her own, since she and Elena were sharing the back. Like the big child he was, Damon had called shotgun and Alaric was driving, leaving the girls with no other option than to sit in the back.

"I can answer that question with an 'N' and an 'O'," Scarlett said from inside the car, making Sarah and the others smirk as Damon scowled over his shoulder at the teenager.

"Does she really have to come?" groaned Damon, turning back to his sister and brother.

"Yes," they both said in unison after a sharing a mildly smug look. They had to take their victories with Damon where they could. "And don't antagonise her. You've already pissed her off enough as it is," Sarah warned.

"Same goes for Elena," Stefan added with a glare to back up his words.

"Jeez, you two are worse than mom and dad," Damon groaned with an eye roll as he climbed into the car.

With Damon in the car along with Alaric and Scarlett, Stefan turned to Elena, smiling sympathetically. Sarah knew he'd rather be going with her, he clearly still didn't like leaving her and Damon alone. He trusted Elena, but the same couldn't be said for their brother. But Caroline needed him and Sarah if she was going to get through her transition. And Elena could more than look after herself with Scarlett and Alaric around to back her up with Damon went too far.

"Call me if you need anything," Stefan said before Elena pulled him into a goodbye kiss. Sarah turned away politely, waiting until the two finished before turning to wave Elena off. As the young brunette walked around the car, she waved back before getting into the car with her road trip crew. Damon then leaned out his window, his smug smile seeing his siblings off as he waved goodbye gleefully. Both Sarah and Stefan ignored him, waiting on the sidewalk until the car was out of sight.

After their brother and friends had left, Sarah and Stefan didn't have long to wait around as they'd arranged to meet Bonnie at the Grill. They had a plan on how to help Caroline, but in order to see it come to fruition, they'd need Bonnie's skills as a witch. It was risky and they knew it, but they'd tried the other way with Vicki and…well, none of them wanted a repeat of that, except maybe Damon. So they were trying to teach Caroline the way they had both learned. But to do that they needed one thing first.

"I don't know how to make a day-walking ring," Bonnie said after she'd sat down with Sarah sand Stefan, and they'd explained their plan to her.

Sarah and Stefan shared a look after Bonnie's response. This might not be as easy as they'd hoped it would be.

"Emily made ours," Stefan began to say calmly, turning back to Bonnie along with Sarah as they both leaned down on the table. "The instructions must be in the Grimoire."

"Which we left with you last I checked," Sarah added with a pointed look.

Bonnie began to look between the two before unleashing a sigh. "That doesn't mean I can cast the spell." She was holding back, Sarah could see it and so could Stefan. They both knew why too but neither was going to out right say it and risk losing Caroline's daylight ring before they even got it.

"Bonnie, you know how to drop vampires with a single look, okay? I think you can figure it out," Stefan said as he leaned forwards.

"Caroline killed someone. I can't make it easier for her to do it again," whispered Bonnie angrily as she leaned towards the two. Sarah wasn't surprised she was still mad about that. The witch probably didn't even blame Caroline, not completely any way. Judging by what Sarah had heard, it sounded like she blamed the Salvatores more than Caroline, especially Damon. She was more willing to tolerate Stefan and Sarah because of their good relationships with Elena. Damon of course had lost any relationship with Elena the second he killed Jeremy. Even if he kept insisting he knew Jeremy had the Gilbert ring on.

"No," Stefan said firmly before then trying to get his point across to Bonnie. "We're not making it easier for her, we're just giving her the chance to survive. Listen, every day that she's cut off from her old life, from you, from Elena, from Matt, it'll make it that much harder for her to hold on to her humanity."

"Think of it like this. The more alone she feels, the more she's going to want to give into her urges, to feed, to kill. The only way she stands a chance against that is if we all help her fight those urges. That's going to be a lot harder if she can only be with her friends at night," Sarah pointed out in assistance to her brother. She could see Bonnie wanted to agree with them, but she was human and couldn't help but worry about the innocent. She was a good witch in that sense, trying to keep the balance, but Caroline was her friend, surely she wouldn't turn her back on her.

"And how do either of you know she won't hurt anyone else?" Bonnie asked.

"We don't," Stefan said with a shrug. "But if we don't do everything we can to help her or at least trust the fact that she can keep it together, we might as well just stake her right now."

"I don't know if I can trust her, not with this," admitted Bonnie.

"Alright, let me make this clean and simple for you Bonnie," Sarah said, eager to get a move on, and quite frankly getting sick of the debate on vampire moral. She'd heard it often enough and after the first few decades, you get sick of hearing it. Mostly because it's you that's taking about it to yourself the whole time.

"Is Caroline your friend?"

"Yes, but-"

"Do you want to help her?" Sarah cut in, trying to get Bonnie to shut up and agree rather than start another philosophical debate.

"Obviously, but I can't just-"

"Can't just what? Give her the ability to walk in sunlight, something you take for granted," Sarah snapped, finding herself worked up before she even realised. She quickly felt Stefan's gaze on her, silently asking her not screw this up for Caroline, but Sarah knew what she was doing and knew how to get Bonnie to agree with them.

"Look," Bonnie cut in firmly so that Sarah wouldn't interrupt her this time. "I want to help my friend. But giving her this ring just makes her more dangerous."

"And will make her feel more normal," Stefan added.

"Maybe, but I'm not willing to risk that."

"Well then I guess you've made up your mind," Sarah said before grabbing the chair next to her and flipping it on it's side. The Grill was quiet so no one saw and Sarah didn't make enough noise to attract any attention. Then, as quietly as she could, she snapped of one of the four wooden legs before placing it on the table before Bonnie. "There you go. Now you kill her."

"What?"

"You think she can't be trusted? You think she's a danger? Then you put her down," Sarah said with a steely glare to match Bonnie's startled one.

"I'm not going to kill my best friend," Bonnie snapped.

"But you're not going to help her either. Sorry, Bonnie, but no. In the supernatural world people die all the time, innocent people. But you don't like that so your plan is to stick your head in the sand and let your _best friend_ suffer alone. Well I'm tell you that's not an option. You either help you friend, or kill the murder you think she is. Time to pick."

"No," Bonnie said firmly, matching Sarah's steely glare with her own.

"Fine then." Sarah grabbed the stake from the table and stood. "I'll kill her for you. Wouldn't want to get blood on those witchy hands of yours." She turned to leave but found a hand latching onto her wrist. She knew instantly it was Bonnie's and let her hold her back.

"Alright…I'll help," Bonnie conceded as Sarah turned back with a small smile.

"Thank you," she said as Bonnie smiled uncertainly back at the two vampires, hoping she was making the right choice. Sarah knew she was.

* * *

Glaring at the seat ahead of her, Scarlett sat with her arms folded, her feet pressing against the back of the seat in front. Damon had told her several times to put her feet down, but when no one backed him up and Scarlett continued to glare at him, he backed off. Even Alaric wasn't fussed over her damaging the seat. He mostly just didn't want to get between Damon and the two women who hated his guts the most. At least that's what Scarlett thought.

For the most part the car ride was quiet. Music coming from the radio and Damon and Alaric continued to switch between stations, bickering each time they did. In between that, Damon kept trying to start up a conversation with Elena, but she wasn't having it.

"How you doing back there?" asked Damon, reaching back to nudge Elena's knee. She slide over in her seat as a response. "You know, this whole pretending to hate me thing is getting a little silly."

"I don't think she's pretending," scoffed Alaric. "You did kill her brother, who also happens to be her boyfriend," Alaric pointed out as he pointed to Elena and then to Scarlett.

"There is a huge asterisk next to that statement. He came back to life," Damon pointed out with the usual smug smile. He was lucky their were witnesses in the car. Otherwise Scarlett would have dug her claws into Damon's neck and slit his throat then and there before ripping out his heart. Just like he'd done to her before Jeremy thankfully came back. And Scarlett wasn't the only one feeling that way.

"Yeah, thanks to a ring that you didn't know he was wearing," Elena said coldly, gazing out her window and doing her best to ignore Damon.

"Why are you so sure I didn't know?" Damon asked, looking into the back seat.

Elena finally looked to him, locking eyes with the vampire, while Scarlett peered around the seat to watch Damon's face, just as Elena was. "Did you?" Elena asked, straight to the point.

"Yes," Damon said confidently with a smirk. Hearing the blip in his heart, Scarlett didn't hesitate to kick the back of Damon's seat as hard as she could. "What the hell?" the vampire grumbled as he leaned around his seat to glare at Scarlett. She just glared back, screwing up her face until Damon turned back around in his seat. He mumbled some spiteful thing and Scarlett's glare intensified.

"You're lying," Elena then declared as she turned to look out the window once more.

"Elena, I saw the ring!" Damon exclaimed as he turned back in his seat only to have Scarlett fiercely kick his chair again. "Alright, what's your problem?" snapped Damon as his icy glare fell on the werewolf, only to find similar cold blue eyes staring back at him. Scarlett wasn't going to let him shut her up, not about this. She'd warned him that she would never forgive him for murdering Jeremy and first chance she got she'd get him back for it. Especially when she knew the truth. He had meant to kill Jeremy that night. He just got lucky.

Breaking away from the intense look Scarlett was giving him, he looked to Elena once more, trying again to get her to talk to him. "Elena, look, I'm telling you. I'm sorry I killed him, but I knew he'd come back." Another strong kick to the back of his seat and Damon swung towards Scarlett again. "Will you stop doing that!"

"Stop lying then!" Scarlett shot back. Damon fell quiet at that, almost like he knew that she knew the truth. Shortly after he turned away, sitting back into his seat as the car fell quiet once more. But even then, Scarlett continued to glare at Damon's seat, keeping her feet pressed against the back. Reminding him that she was still there. Waiting.

* * *

"So I don't get to choose the ring I have to wear the rest of my life?" Caroline complained as she held the ring that would become her daylight ring in her hand. But since Bonne was still yet to spell it, they left all the curtain drawn, like they'd been when they first entered. The poor girl was probably terrified at this stage, trapped in her own home for the fear of the sun, knowing that her mother could return at any time and throw open the curtains only to burn her daughter alive. But that wasn't going to be a problem for much longer.

They'd been luck enough to find a ring that contained all the right materials, but Caroline didn't seem as happy as the rest of her friends. Sat on the bed, pouting as she stared in distaste at the ring in her hand before then looking up at Bonnie with the same look. The witch was stood at the end of the bed, spell book in hand while the newbie vampire was sat with her legs folded. Sarah was stood next to Caroline by her bedside and Stefan was on the other side, sat in an armchair. Of course none of them had been that surprised by Caroline's response.

"Hey, if you don't want it…" Bonnie began, glancing down at the grimoire in her hands, reading over the spell one more time before Stefan spoke up on Caroline's behalf.

"No, no. She wants it."

Caroline sighed in defeat. She was smart enough to know she didn't have many options and that if she wanted to walk in the sun again she'd have to take what she could get. This was just her heightened personality kicking in. She'd be like this for a while, bursts of the old Caroline breaking through in full force until she adjusted to her new life. "Now what?" Caroline muttered.

"Now is the part where I explain the rules. The witch who spells the ring, has the power to de-spell it, so if you ever do anything to hurt anyone–" Sarah rolled her eyes. The little witch just couldn't help herself, feeling so righteous and above even her best friend, just because she was a witch and Caroline a vampire. Sarah just hoped this wouldn't last much longer, otherwise Bonnie would be come a real pain to be around.

"I'm not gonna hurt anyone," Caroline snapped defensively.

"You're a vampire. That means the urge to kill is apart of who you are," Bonnie said with a glare.

"Yes, yes, yes, we get it. Vampires are pure evil and we're all savage murderers," Sarah cut in with a groan, folding her arms as she glared at Bonnie. "Now can you please help your _friend_?" Bonnie glared back, narrowing her eyes. But she backed off, turning to Caroline before motioning for her to hand over the ring.

"Bonnie, you're supposed to be my friend," Caroline said pitifully as she looked up at her friend that now seemed to hate her guts.

"I can't ignore what happened, okay? If you want to be friends, you have to prove that the Caroline I remember isn't gone," Bonnie said as she stared back at Caroline.

"All real friendships have conditions, Caroline," Sarah said snarkily.

"Sarah," Stefan warned. He knew how his sister was when she started talking about something that irritated her. It started with snarky remarks and grew until she got into a full blown argument. But they couldn't afford to argue about Bonnie's views on vampires, or her friendship with Caroline, until they had the daylight ring.

So Sarah backed off, but not before letting out an irritated huff.

"Put the ring on the bed, Caroline," Bonnie instructed. Caroline did as told, putting the ring on the bed in front of her as Bonnie made her way over to the curtains.

"Do you really think I meant to kill that guy at the carnival?" Caroline spoke up, still agitated by how Bonnie was treating her.

"He's still dead," Bonnie said with a pointed look to Caroline. "Now, do you want me to cast the spell or not?" Sarah went to speak but a look from Stefan silenced her. She still pouted but Bonnie didn't seem to notice as she opened the curtain, enough so that day light shone over the ring but didn't touch Caroline. Even so the teenager curled her legs in as a shiver passed over her. Clearly still terrified of the sunlight like a timid animal.

Bonnie then moved to her original position at the bottom of Caroline's bed. Now standing over the ring, Bonnie closed her eyes and began to cast the spell. Caroline eyed Bonnie with confusion while Stefan and Sarah leaned forward, watching Bonnie curiously. Then Bonnie's eyes snapped open and she picked up the ring. "All done," Bonnie said as she held out the ring for Caroline to take.

Cautiously, Caroline took the ring, placing it on her index finger before looking to the older vampires that flanked her on either side. When both shrugged she looked back to Bonnie with half questioning, half mocking look. "So that's it? I mean, nothing witchy happened. You know, no flickering lights, no gust of wind. Have you even done this before?" Caroline asked.

"Caroline," Stefan warned politely as he looked to her.

"What? I just want to make sure that it worked," Caroline argued as she threw out her arms before Bonnie threw open the curtains. With a yelp Caroline dove from the bed as the sunlight hit her, landing at Sarah's feet as she curled up on the floor. Sarah smiled as she looked down at the blonde before she finally realised she wasn't burning.

"You alright there, Caroline?" Sarah asked with a chuckle as Caroline glared up at her. Then she reached up her hand, daring to let the sunlight shine upon her. When she didn't start to burn she stood up, letting her whole body bask in the sunlight, for the first time since she became a vampire. For a brief moment she smiled, letting the warmth of the sun shine upon her. Then she turned to Bonnie with a glare.

"What the hell Bonnie?!" Caroline snapped in outrage at her friend, for risking her life so carelessly.

"She's all yours," Bonnie said with a 'good luck' look to both the Salvatores before closing her grimoire and heading out the door. Caroline glaring after her until she was out of sight. But then she sighed, and begun to smile, looking out her window at the sun. Her eyes then went to her new ring and she began to smile, looking to Stefan as he smiled back.

Now that they had Caroline a daylight ring, all they had to do was train her in to control her urges and they'd be set.

* * *

Pulling to a stop outside one of the university buildings at Duke, Scarlett and the others quickly unbuckled before heading inside with Alaric leading the way. It was a nice enough campus, with friendly students that eyed the group curiously as they passed by. Though they mostly seemed to be eyeing Damon who was more than happy to smile back at the girls in particular. It quickly became annoying for both Scarlett and Elena and the two pressed on, side by side to join Alaric before Damon briskly caught up to them.

"So Isobel was officially employed by the anthropology department given that most paranormal phenomenon is rooted in folklore," Alaric explained as he lead the way, not that Scarlett understood most of what he was saying. She really should try and pay more attention in English. Or whatever it was that Alaric taught.

Alaric led group through the building until the reached an office were a young woman was sitting behind a desk. "Excuse me, hi. I'm Alaric Saltzman, I called either," Alaric said as he introduced himself to the woman who was behind the desk.

"Yes, of course. I'm Vanessa Monroe, research assistant, comparative folklore," the woman said as she shook Alaric's hand before looking over his companions. But then she honed in on Elena, looking her up and down before pausing as she stared at the girl. Scarlett frowned, hearing Vanessa's heart rate pick up drastically. At first she thought she was mistaken, as Vanessa kept up a friendly exterior, but as she continued to listen it became clear she was right. Vanessa's heart was racing.

"Uh, let me just grab Isobel's keys," Vanessa then said as she looked to Alaric once more.

"I'm sorry, these are my friends, Scarlett, Elena and Damon. I hope this isn't too much of an imposition," said Alaric, gesturing to each of his companions as he said their names.

"Oh, please," Vanessa said as she made her way back around the desk, grabbing a set of keys. "Isobel's office is right through there." She motioned to the nearby door before continuing as she walked around the desk. "Isobel was one of my first professors. I'm a grad student. She was brilliant, and one of the reasons I went onto folklore." With a fond smile she leaned back against the desk, looking down at the keys in her hand before looking back to Alaric. "I have to ask…has there been any news?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Alaric said without missing a beat, his eyes unblinking as he spoke. It was slightly scary how good he was at it. Scarlett could even pick up on the blimp in his heart when he lied.

"It's this way," Vanessa said as she stood up, leading the group towards the locked door before showing them inside. She gestured for them to come in, with Elena walking into the old dusty room first with the rest behind her. Scarlett could tell from one whiff things hadn't changed in the room. The thick scent of settled dust was far too noticeable for her. Then again why would anyone want to come in the storage room of a missing professor?

"I'll grab the light, feel free to look around. It's fascinating isn't it?" No one said anything in response. They just broke up into groups and began looking around the room. Damon headed straight for the nearby desk, clatter in with varieties of bones, picking up the skull and turning it over in his hands. Alaric made his way for a stack of boxes, most of which he was probably familiar with seeing as he'd apparently re-read most of them after Isobel's disappearance. It was those documents of research that helped him become a vampire hunter.

As for Scarlett she followed Elena over to a shelf of strange foreign artefacts and began sniffing while Elena searched with her eyes. Other than the dust, there wasn't much for her noise to pick up on. Irritably she was going to have to help the old fashioned way, without any short cuts from her supernatural werewolf side. So she joined Elena in her search upon the shelves, in case anything important leapt out at them from the get go.

"Where'd she go?" Damon asked suddenly. Elena turned to see what he was talking about, but then suddenly gasped in horror. Scarlett turned at the noise and then saw why Elena had gasped, because Vanessa was pointing a loaded crossbow right at her.

Without thinking Scarlett shoved Elena aside, taking up the spot she once had right as Vanessa fired. Scarlett braced herself for the arrow to pierce her chest but then found Damon in front of her, groaning as the arrow sunk into his back. With another groan of pain Damon dropped to floor before Scarlett. She barely acknowledge it though, her eyes going to the immediate threat, Vanessa. But she didn't get the chance to attack as Alaric was on Vanessa before her, knocking the crossbow aside before pinning Vanessa against the wall.

"You alright there, Damon?" Alaric called over to the downed vampire.

"Let me check," Scarlett said before kicking Damon in the chest, prompting him to groan in more pain. "Yeah, he's alive," Scarlett deduced before stepping over the vampire and making her way over to Alaric.

"Elena, could you give him a hand. I'm going to take Vanessa here into the other room," Alaric said before pulling Vanessa from the wall and pushing her towards the door. Still holding onto her arm, which he'd twisted behind her back to prevent her from running.

"Sure," Elena groaned as she helped Damon up, sharing an irritated look with Scarlett before the teenage werewolf followed Alaric into the next room.

"Sit down," Alaric ordered as he pushed Vanessa towards the chair in front of the desk. But the second she got her footing, she tried to make a run for it. Alaric wasn't fast enough to catch her, but Scarlett was, darting out before tripping Vanessa up with a swift kick to the leg. The woman toppled down and before she could recover, Scarlett hauled her up with her supernatural strength and then shoved her back over to Alaric.

"Thanks," said Alaric, a little surprised by how quickly Scarlett had reacted and by how well she'd done.

"You're welcome," Scarlett replied while Vanessa continued to thrash around in Alaric's grasp.

"I said, Sit!" Alaric snapped as he shoved Vanessa into the seat, pushing her back down when she tried to get back up.

"Please!" Vanessa snapped, raising her hands in surrender. Alaric backed off, but remained close enough to grab her if she made another attempt to escape. As for Scarlett she stepped up to Alaric's side, watching Vanessa with folded arms as she blurted out her excuse for trying to kill, her, Elena and Damon. Damon she was fine with, but she was a little bitter about herself and Elena.

"I freaked out okay? Alright, you would have done the same thing, it's not possible! Katherine Pierce can't be alive and Damon Salvatore died in 1864, okay? I read Isobel's research."

"Well then you should know just how possible this is," Alaric said as he sat down on the edge of the nearby desk. For a moment they just let Vanessa absorb that, while she breathed heavily. Until Scarlett heard Elena and Damon enter the room. She looked back and shared a smile with Elena as she stepped up to her side.

"You okay?" Elena asked, resting her hand on the young teenager's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

"Thanks to you," Elena said with a grateful smile.

"And thanks to me, you're both aright," Damon said smugly as he smiled at the two, only to receive matching glares as a thank you. The three then turned their attention back to Vanessa, who was staring in awe at Elena.

"I'm Elena Gilbert, Isobel's daughter and a descendant of Katherine Pierce," Elena began to explain. Still amazed that any of this was real, Vanessa looked to Alaric and Scarlett as if to confirm it. They both nodded in agreement before Vanessa turned her attention back to Elena. "And this is Damon Salvatore," said Elena with a nod to Damon. "Who you just shot."

"I'd be _extra_ nice to me right now," Damon said with a menacing glare.

"Don't bother with him, he's a jackass and frankly I for one am glad you shot him," Scarlett said with a friendly smile to Vanessa. It may have pissed Damon off immensely but it managed to cheer Vanessa up a little.

"Look, we need your help, okay. We need to see all of Isobel's research, anything related to Mystic Falls," Elena explained as Vanessa's eyes darted from face to face, trying to wrap her head around the supernatural world she'd just discovered was real.

"And if I don't help?" Vanessa asked nervously.

"Then I kill you," Damon said eagerly.

"No, no. No one is going to kill you," Alaric promised, raising his hands to both Damon and Vanessa as to calm them both down.

"Though if you ask nicely, I'll help you kill Damon," Scarlett said in sarcastic sweetness.

"Me too," Elena agreed as Damon shot the two women to his right irritated glares.

"But if you don't want to help then you can leave. But just let us research what we came here to research," Alaric asked politely, looking to her sympathetically along with Elena and Scarlett. Damon just continued to eye her up like a happy meal.

"Well it will go a lot faster if I help," Vanessa decided with a smile to the group. They then each brought a box of papers through and set to work searching through Isobel's old researching. Keeping an eye out for any mention of Katherine Pierce or Werewolves.

* * *

"So what do I do when I see the rabbit?" Caroline asked as she walked through the forest. Sarah smiled, watching the blonde as she and Stefan flanked Caroline on either side. After her initial rejoice over being able to go outside again, they taken her out of town and into the woods. Surprisingly enough, she had a pretty good handle on her blood lust for a newbie vampire. She was conveying a natural outward appearance, but being a vampire herself, Sarah knew she was starving on the inside. The first days were always the worst and without someone to guide you it can get pretty messy. It had been for her until Lexi showed up. At least Caroline had her and Stefan to begin with.

"Chase it, catch it, feed on it," Stefan listed off his three step programme as he kept in line with Caroline and Sarah.

"Isn't killing cute defenceless animals the first step in becoming a serial killer?" Caroline asked.

"Yes, but you'll find vampire trumps serial killer, so this is more of a step backwards when you think about it," Sarah pointed out, making Caroline giggle.

"Caroline, if you're not serious about all of this I think you should tell us now," Stefan said sternly as he folded his arms, coming to a stop.

"And welcome, buzzkill Stefan," groaned Sarah with a glare to her brother as she and Caroline turned to face Stefan, who was looking non to happy with either of them.

"I am," Caroline promised Stefan. "I swear that I am okay? But it's just…I haven't been in the sun for days and everyone is at the swimming hole having fun and Matt is there! And he finally told me that he loved me but I have been blowing him off and now you want me to eat bunnies and I'm kind of freaking out okay?!" The sudden break down of Caroline started off as sweet and innocent. Sarah was even on the verge of feeling sorry for the girl, before she began to laugh along with Stefan.

"And now you're both laughing at me," sighed Caroline, slapping her sides.

"No, no, I'm not laughing," Stefan quickly said.

"I am," Sarah said in complete honesty, holding back her laughter.

"None of this is funny, trust me. It's just that…" Stefan tried to say before he paused, holding back his chuckle which only made Sarah start laughing again. Knowing that her brother was trying to be polite but only making things worse as Caroline glared at him.

"What?" she finally snapped in patiently.

"When someone becomes a vampire, all their natural behaviours get sort of, uh, amplified," Stefan explained with a few awkward gestures to Caroline as he spoke.

"What's he saying?" Caroline asked, turning to Sarah who'd just began to gain control of her laughter.

"I mean…" Stefan began, pausing when both women turned to him. He then gestured to himself. "As a human, I cared deeply for people, how they felt. If they were hurting I felt their pain and I felt guilty if I was the one who caused it."

"And I cared deeply for my family, and felt miserable when we were apart. So when I became a vampire that got magnified," Sarah explained, watching as Caroline pieced it together in her head.

"So, you're saying that now, I'm basically an insecure, neurotic control freak, on crack?" Caroline declared with a nervous shake to her voice.

"Well, I wasn't gonna say it like that…" Stefan said slowly.

"But, yeah, that's a pretty accurate description," Sarah added more affirmatively, making Caroline moan aloud. "But don't worry, I'm sure no one will notice," Sarah teased, with a grin, wrapping her arm around Caroline's shoulders as the blonde continued to mope.

"Hey, listen, lets hunt okay," Stefan said firmly as he stepped towards the newbie vampire and his sister, a friendly smile on his face. "And then after that, we'll go to the swimming hole."

"Really?" Caroline asked hopefully.

"Yeah. Matt is the closest connection that you have to your humanity and I think that being around him is a good thing."

"Okay," Caroline said, now bouncing at the prospect of getting to see her boyfriend again after so long apart.

"Go, Stef," Sarah added with a grin. "Finally decided to live life on the fun side, I see."

"Oh, I know how to have fun," Stefan said with a competitive grin.

"Really? Alright, how about a little bet then," Sarah said with a look to Caroline. "Me and Caroline versus you, first to find a rabbit gets ten bucks?" she suggested.

"You think you can beat me at rabbit hunting?" Stefan joked pointing to himself as he stepped back.

"It's that kind of talk that got Elena to fall in love with him," Sarah loudly whispered to Caroline, making the girl burst out laughing.

"Ha, ha," Stefan said sarcastically.

"Come on, might as well make a game out of it, make it feel more natural for Caroline," Sarah argued, gesturing to the vampire she still had her arm wrapped around.

"Alright, you're on," Stefan decided.

"Good… Off you go, leaving us girls to do our thing," Sarah said waving her brother off. He smirked before vanishing in a blur. "You ready to have a go?" Sarah asked and once Caroline nodded they set to work.

Quickly Sarah discovered the problem with her training Caroline in rabbit hunting. She sucked at it. Hardly surprisingly considering she behaved like a normal vampire and her brother insisted on feeding off animals like some kind of vampire vegetarian. Even so she was nowhere near as frustrated as Caroline, who started shouting when she couldn't catch a single rabbit. It was just the lack of blood, Sarah could hear her insides turning, needing another hit. Sooner or later she'd catch a rabbit but for now she needed something to keep her going or else she might end up over the edge.

"God," Caroline sighed, kneeling down in the dirt as she watched yet another rabbit vanishing into a burrow.

"Hey, relax," Sarah said, coming up behind her. "Stefan's diet may be stupid, but it's good for building restraint."

"I'm just so hungry?" Caroline groaned, hugging her stomach.

Sarah looked around, trying to see if Stefan was nearby. There was no sign of him, and she couldn't hear his heartbeat. Assuming they were good she knelt down next to Caroline and reached into her jacket, pulling out a blood bag. "Here, have some of this," Sarah offered, holding out the blood bag.

Caroline looked at her, eyes instantly locking onto the blood bag, her mouth water as her tongue passed over her lips. But the hesitation was obviously there. "But Stefan said-"

"Stefan says a lot of things, Caroline. But you need this. Animal blood's all well and good but you can't start out like that. You need to get used to the taste of human blood and learn to control yourself around it. Feeding off animals isn't going to help you with that." Caroline still didn't seem sure, but her eyes remained on the blood, tempting her, calling her. "Drink," Sarah said, forcing the bag into Caroline's hands.

The young vampire gave Sarah one last look before ripping open the blood bag and digging into the blood. Her vampire features quickly emerged, eyes filling with blood, fangs tearing even more into the bag as she swallowed as much blood as she could take. It was as if she'd been in the desert for weeks and had now finally found a spring of water. The taste made her groan in pleasure. She squeezed at the end of the bag, trying to force even more into her mouth.

Sarah wasn't taken aback by Caroline's reaction nor did she feel guilty. Caroline needed this to survive and she needed to learn to control her bloodlust with actual blood, not the animal stuff Stefan managed to survive on. Even Lexi, who'd admired Stefan's resolve, couldn't follow him down that path. She like most vampires needed the human stuff but it didn't make her a monstrous serial killer. Hopefully with their help, that's the way Caroline would turn out.

Then suddenly Sarah found herself staring at Caroline in surprise. She'd stopped drinking. With blood still in the bag. And she was holding it out to Sarah. She'd been so surprised, it took her a minute to take the bag back. Caroline held on for a second, hand tightening as well as trembling. Her body fighting against her mind. Eventually though, he mind won out and she released the bag back to Sarah.

"Sorry," Caroline said shamefully, looking down at the ground, her mouth now stained in blood.

"About what?" Sarah asked eagerly, offering Caroline a proud smile when she looked up in confusion. "You just drank human blood and gave it back to me. With leftovers. When I was at your stage, I was drinking people dry." Caroline frowned, not seeming to understand what Sarah was getting at. "This is a good thing, Caroline. It shows you're already getting a handle over you bloodlust. You've still got to practise but hardly any vampire at your stage could stop drinking that quickly."

Caroline began to smile, sitting up proudly as she looked back at Sarah, knowing what she was saying was genuine. Then her smile faded, her eyes lowering as she bit her lip. "Everything alright?" Sarah asked, leaning down to try and meet Caroline's gaze.

"I was just wondering…" Caroline began. Still she hesitated, not wanting to upset Sarah. She still saw her as the big bad vampire, despite her trying to help. It was hard just to shake something like that, especially after how they met, never mind how she stabbed her shortly after she turned, almost killing her.

"Yeah?" Sarah nudged her along, the girl finally looking up to meet her gaze.

"Why'd you mess around with me when we first met…and how come now, you're trying to help me like none of that ever happened." Even as she said it she still seemed scared, like Sarah was going to stab her just for asking. Sarah tried to provide her with as comforting a look as she could, before settling down, making herself comfy.

"When we first met, I was in a very different place, emotionally. Like I told you, because of my love for family, my whole life practically revolves around my brothers. I saw this as a chance to bring them back together, to reunite our family." Sarah then offered Caroline an apologetic look, while the blonde continued to listen with intrigue. "Unfortunately you got caught in the crossfire of all that. Damon turned you into his play thing until Elena give you vervain. But before that I didn't want to upset Damon. I couldn't risk ruining his fun and having him run off. So I let him hurt you, manipulate you and overall turn your life into a living hell. And when I wanted to prove I was on his side and that he could trust me. I helped him do that by feeding off you."

"I am sorry, Caroline. And truth be told it's not the first time I've treated someone like that. There have been times when I did even worse things to try and get on Damon's good side, or even Stefan's."

"–Stefan's?" Carolin cut in with a frown.

Sarah smiled secretively. "He wasn't always the golden boy. He's had his bad days, just like me and Damon."

"What you need to take from this Caroline, is that I'm not a good person. I try not to be a bad person either. Vampire's aren't that different to humans in that regard. We just have to feed of blood and are generally more sensitive creatures. It's because of what we are, that I will always put my family first, over everything else, even my own morality. But when we're together, as a family, like we are now. It does bring out the best in me. Does that answer your question?"

Thankfully Caroline smiled, understandingly. "Yeah, it does. And thanks for telling me."

"It's okay…but say a word to Damon or Stefan, and I'll never give you another blood bag for as long as I live," Sarah warned to which Caroline laughed.

"Deal," she promised before both got back up to their feet. After that they hunted for a little longer and Stefan returned have caught three rabbits. Grudgingly Sarah forked over the money, paying for Caroline as well since it wasn't her fault Stefan was an experienced rabbit hunter. Though his smugness only lasted until Sarah shoved him down a hill and the three began to race around the woods in what transitioned into a violent game of tag. It was worth it though cause in the end Caroline managed to catch her first rabbit. With Stefan's help she then drained it dry but couldn't help but complain about the taste. Stefan reassured her it would grow on her but Sarah strongly disagreed before the two dissolved into arguing. But when Caroline grew impatient she loudly reminded them about the swimming hole and the two siblings stopped arguing long enough to take her to the party.

They drove in Caroline's car, parking on one of the sides roads that lead to the swimming hole on the Lockwood estate. There was already a series of cars ahead of them and they could hear the party from up ahead. The three then climbed out, and Caroline went to the back to retrieve her things from the trunk. Sarah and Stefan joined her, waiting as a large black four by four drove by. Sarah paid no attention, until she noticed Stefan locking eyes with the driver. She followed his gaze and saw that the man driving it appeared to be fairly good looking young man. But from the way he looked at Stefan, she just knew there was something about him she wasn't going to like.

"Why are you looking at him with your serious vampire look?" Caroline asked Stefan, snapping Sarah from her thought as she began to grin.

"My what? My 'serious vampire look'?" Stefan said with a raised brow as he turned away from the road and to Caroline. Hearing him repeat it just made Sarah's smile grow, sharing a look with Caroline before they looked back to Stefan.

"I mean it's different from your worried vampire look," Caroline said.

"And not as obvious as your I have to deal with Damon look," Sarah added.

"Neither of which stray too far from your, 'hey it's Tuesday' look," Caroline teased before the two women began to laugh.

"But that's nothing compared to his, 'oh no, Elena' look," Sarah pointed out to which as the two continued to laugh.

"Oh, I get it, okay. You both think I'm, ah. You think I'm too serious. Is that it?" Stefan asked with a small grin of his own.

"I mean, I wasn't gonna say it like that…" Caroline said with a smirk.

"But, yeah, that's a pretty accurate description," Sarah added affirmatively with a grin to her brother. Then as Stefan shook his head, Sarah and Caroline made their way towards the swimming hole with smiles, before Stefan began to follow. Sarah quickly grabbed herself a red cup with beer and drank. She offered one to Stefan but he didn't take it. Caroline however, did so gladly, downing it with Sarah until she spotted Matt. It would have been fine but Sarah could tell the girl's jealousy had spiked the second she saw the girl with Matt. Sarah recognised her from around the school, her name was Amy if Sarah recalled correctly. And apparently Caroline was not a fan.

Leaving her empty cup behind, Caroline took off towards Matt, a mix of determination and anger in her eyes. Stefan watched her go with a curious look. When he then turned Sarah's way she subtly avoided his eyes and drank from her cup. She wanted to test Caroline, and knowing Stefan he'd want to put a stop to that. But this was too good a chance to pass up, a good test of Caroline's self control in public.

Walking up to Matt, Caroline made herself known and Matt pushed off the truck he was leaning against, giving her his full attention. He'd been happily talking to Aimee and she'd been more than happily talking back. But now that Caroline had joined them, Aimee's face visibly dropped. _Maybe Caroline did have a reason to be jealous_ , Sarah thought, watching along with Stefan as the scene unfolded. Matt began talking to Caroline, irritated by her lack of communication over the last few days. Caroline brushed the topic aside before turning on Aimee. The girl merely said 'hello' and then Caroline started to compel her, ordering her bluntly to, "Go find somebody single to stalk, Aimee."

Stefan was beginning to move as soon as he realised what Caroline was doing, but Sarah quickly pulled him back to her side. She set him stern teasing look and grinned, still holding him in case he tried to move again. With his insistence on drinking animal blood over human, he was still no match for her strength wise. So if she wanted him to stay, he was staying. "It's not like she told her to jump of a bridge?" Sarah pointed out.

"That doesn't make it right," Stefan snarled, leaning over towards his sister.

"God, your uptight," Sarah groaned, rolling her eyes as she drank from the cup. Stefan took the opportunity to throw off his sister's hand, making his way over to Caroline and Matt. Finishing off the cup, Sarah crunched it in her hand before discarding it and following her stubborn brother. By the time they got close enough to speak, Matt had already stormed off, annoyed by Caroline's jealousy.

"Hey, I saw that. You compelled her," Stefan shot out as he approached Caroline with Sarah right behind him. Caroline hardly seemed to care that Stefan was practically scolding her, she was still looking off after Matt.

"Yeah, she deserved it," Caroline replied bluntly as she folded her arms and leaned back against the truck.

"Caroline, nobody deserves to have their mind messed with for shallow reasons," Stefan said pointedly.

"You know, why is everyone sticking up for Aimee freaking Bradley?" Caroline snapped, making Sarah grin as Caroline and Stefan glared off against each other.

"You talk to her," Stefan said, gesturing to his sister as he stepped back and Sarah stepped up to Caroline's side, leaning against the truck alone with her.

"Well first of, nice technique, you come up with that all on your own?" Sarah asked, folding her arms as Caroline turned to her with a frown. "Your compulsion technique," Sarah clarified with a smile.

"It just sort…of came to me," Caroline admitted with a shy shrug.

"Then you're a natural," Sarah said admirably, prompting Caroline to beam back at her elder. "You commands however, could use a little work. Me, I would have told Aimee to put ten or twenty pounds." Caroline laughed at that but Stefan slapped his sister on the arm, gaining her attention as he glared back at her.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm helping Caroline here by encouraging her to embrace her vampire side," Sarah answered as if it were obvious.

"No. No, you're encouraging her to manipulate people with compulsion so that she gets her way," Stefan argued.

"So what, we do it all the time," Sarah shrugged.

"No, Katherine did it all the time," Stefan said pointedly. Whether he meant to cross that line or not, it didn't matter, Sarah quickly lost all amusement and fixed her brother with a deadly glare. She could feel Caroline shrink beside her, but that wasn't why she was mad, not even because he mentioned her name. But because he was comparing them, or rather her, to Katherine.

"Caroline, go and socialise," Sarah ordered, not even bothering to look the girl in the eye as she maintained eye contact with her brother.

"O-O-Okay," Caroline said slowly, picking up on the tension before walking off to find some of her other friends.

"Now that she's gone, I'll give you one chance to apologise," Sarah said bluntly.

"For what?" Stefan shot back.

"For comparing me to Katherine," Sarah said angrily as she jabbed her finger into Stefan's chest, pushing him back. "I won't deny I've compelled my fair share of people and forced them to do things they wouldn't normally do. But I have never done what she did. I've never inserted myself into someone's life, messed with their head so much they don't know right from wrong. I've never turned a family against each other the way she did!" That deflated Stefan a little, but he still wasn't backing down on this.

"Alright. I'm sorry for comparing you to Katherine. It wasn't right, but that doesn't make me wrong." In a blur movement, Sarah grabbed Stefan by his shirt and swung him around, shoving him against the side of the truck with warning in her eyes. "I'm just saying," Stefan continued, grabbing onto his sister's wrists, holding her equally as still as she was holding him. "We have to set boundaries for Caroline. Otherwise what's stopping her from becoming like Katherine when she's older and stronger."

Sarah didn't like it, but she saw his point. Caroline was like a child at this point, a new born vampire who needed to be taught how to hunt, how to compel and how to survive. This was a whole new life to her, and it was up to them to keep her in check and remind her of who she was and still is. 'Cause when you turn, the heightened emotions can change your entire persona if you're not careful.

"Fine…" Sarah said, letting go of her brother before stepping back, hands held up. She wasn't going to continue this argument, not when it was so pointless and would only get her worked up. So instead she left to find more drink, something she was now in dire need off.


	6. Bad Moon Rising

_Review responses:_

PPLforeveremison: _That's okay, I appreciate that review at all, so thank you very much! I did take inspiration from that scene with Stefan and Katherine and wanted to have something like that between Sarah and Katherine, at least in isolation. And yes, we do see another side to Sarah with Katherine. We should get the good old bad ass Sarah back soon, but thankfully it came across how scared she is of Katherine and how her mere presence changes her as a person. No humanity Sarah will be a ways of yet, but it's great that you're hyped up for it. I have an idea of what I'm going to do and yes, Elena will play a big part in it. But what you described is more like Katherine and Sarah, although I could see how without humanity, Sarah might then do what Katherine did to her, to Elena. Pretty dark. I like it._

Some very questionable things are about to happen in this one, particularly for Scarlett. I mean she can't have everything be perfect, right? So, she's about to meet one of her big hurdles for this story, and just when things were going so well for her...sort of. But I can't have Sarah suffering alone in all this. So while she's dealing with Katherine, Scarlett will be dealing with...

Anyway, feel free to leave a review, or PM if that's better for you. I do my best to reply to any questions and love hearing what you all have to say. And a quick thank you to everyone who's favourited and followed the story since last time.

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Bad Moon Rising**

* * *

This was without a doubt, the most boring thing Scarlett had ever done in her life. She'd come along to Duke thinking the answers to her werewolf heritage would be there waiting. She'd never even though that finding out about what she was would involve so much reading. Something she hated. There were no short cuts with research. It was picking up a book, reading through the entire thing, then moving onto the next. When it came to the supernatural, the internet was not the place to research. Old dusty books were. As much as it pained Scarlett.

Even as she sighed she could see the dust blowing from the page, drifting up to tickle her nose. She had to wipe it, her supernatural senses quickly threatening to make her sneeze. It was happening far too often with these books. She could feel Damon eyeing up every few seconds. He'd heard her point it out to Elena but she brushed it off as allegers which seemed to satisfy Damon's curiosity for the time being. Though he was still watching her, keeping himself amused while he did his research. Something Scarlett was struggling with doing.

It was just so dull and she was getting nothing from these books. She'd gone through two and had found nothing and the third wasn't looking to promising either. Vanessa had admitted she wasn't one-hundred precent sure which books went into detail on the werewolf myth, only that she knew which ones mentioned the myth. As a result Scarlett had gone through one book that talked extensively about a big wolf that had once roamed the country, which was assumed to be a werewolf but had no actual evidence behind it. It might simply have been a wolf that was bigger than average at the time. And other book that only mentioned the word werewolf once or twice, talking mostly about shapeshifters that could change into anything, not just wolves. The third book seemed to be a series of stories followed by intense analysis on them and whether they were real or not. All had nothing to do with werewolves so far.

"You doing alright there?" Vanessa asked, sitting on the edge of the desk Scarlett was sat at. Scarlett looked up from the book, glaring as Vanessa smile down at her. She was friendly enough, bar the whole almost shooting her and Elena thing, but Scarlett just wasn't in a friendly mood. Books tend to have that effect on her.

"How can you do this for a living?" Scarlett groaned as she sat back, pushing away the book that was laid out in front of her. "Just, read…stuff?"

"It's something I've got a knack for," Vanessa said with a shrug. "That and this stuff has always interested me."

"The doppelgänger and werewolf stuff is interesting. I just don't care about…" Scarlett leaned over, running her finger along the page unit she found what she'd being reading previously. "The demon lady that supposedly seduced a whole village."

Vanessa grinning, looked fondly down at the book. "That's one I personally like. It has a few links to vampires and witches if you read on."

"And werewolves?" asked Scarlett pointedly. Vanessa chewed her lip, putting down the book she'd been reading before picking up Scarlett's and flicking through it. She made a few humming noises before coming to a stop.

"Here," Vanessa said handing the book back to Scarlett. "It's not got a lot of evidence behind it, compared to some of the other stories and this one isn't that well known. It's only mentioned here and maybe in one other book." As Vanessa explained Scarlett read. "I'm just going to go and check something with Alaric, back in a bit." Scarlett grunted in acknowledgement and Vanessa removed herself from the desk before walking back over to join Alaric who was sitting on his own, old papers and books scattered all around him.

Scarlett's eyes scanned the page quickly taking it all in. It was short but it applied to her. It talked about a man with a magical jewel that allowed him to transform into a wolf at will. It was unknown where he'd gotten the jewel from but it only worked for him. Then when the jewel was taken from him while he was a wolf, he was left trapped in that form forever. The ending didn't seem to apply to Scarlett, seeing as when her necklace was stolen, she became trapped in her human form. But if it had been a full moon, then it would appear as if he was trapped in that form. So maybe this man had the same necklace Scarlett had or something similar. If so he might be her ancestor or something. Unfortunately that seemed to be all there was too the story.

Setting down the book, Scarlett sighed once more and leaned back in her chair with a pout. She was all but ready to call it quits and start complaining loudly when Alaric spoke up. "Hey guys, check this out." Scarlett stood up, walking over to Alaric's side while Elena and Damon joined the group next to Vanessa on the other side of the desk. Since she was closest, Scarlett got first dibs on looking at what was in Alaric's hands. It was some old, and by Scarlett's standards, bad, drawings of what appeared to be a half man, half wolf, creature. Nothing like her, as a wolf or human.

"There's no record of werewolf mythology in Mystic Falls, but here are some records of some of the lesser-known legends," Vanessa explained as she handed over a separate book with a similar drawing for Damon and Elena to look over. "Everything from Scandinavian skin-walkers to the Maréchal de Retz."

"I thought skin-walkers could transform into any animal," Scarlett said, remembering a little of what she had read and actually found interesting.

"Usually yes, but in some myths it specifies wolf," Vanessa answered before pointing to the book she'd handed Damon. She pointed to a specific passage and then read aloud. "Tonartsliitsii Metslii, which roughly translates into the 'curse of the sun and the moon'."

"Is it Native American?" Alaric asked.

"Aztec," Vanessa corrected before continuing. "It explains one origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia. The short story: six-hundred years ago, the Aztecs were plagued by werewolves and vampires. They terrorised the countryside, made farming and hunting impossible until an Aztec shaman cursed them, making vampires slaves to the sun and werewolves servants to the moon. As a result, vampires could only prowl at night and werewolves could only turn on a full moon. When the full moon crests in the sky, who's ever unlucky enough to fall under the werewolf curse turns into a wolf."

"Can they control the transformation?" Damon inquired, passing the book over to Elena. She took it with a glare and flicked through the pages, while still listening.

"If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse," Vanessa pointed out.

"But not all vampires are slaves to the sun. Just look at Damon," Alaric pointed out.

"But he's got a daylight ring," Scarlett pointed out. "Just like Sarah and Stefan."

"Maybe werewolves have something similar," Alaric said with a careless shrug. Having no idea how close he was to exposing Scarlett. She could already see Elena's worried glances, but she kept herself controlled and remained quiet.

"What else did you find out?" asked Scarlett, eager to move the conversation along and see if anything else had been uncovered about her species.

"That werewolves will attack anything living, but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwired them to hunt their prey of choice: vampires." Everyone looked up at that, the room suddenly growing tense after Vanessa's words.

Damon leaned forward, glaring at Vanessa. "Well, if werewolves were hunting vampires, I would know about it."

"Not if there aren't that many werewolves left alive," Vanessa pointed out. "Hundreds of years ago, vampires hunted them almost to extinction."

"I guess you're too young to remember that," Scarlett teased Damon, plastering on a sarcastic smile.

"Thanks for the commentary, Scrappy," Damon shot back with a force smile before he and Scarlett grew serious again.

"Why would vampires want to kill off the werewolves though?" asked Elena as she sat down the book she'd been holding.

"To protect themselves. Legend has it that a werewolf bite is fatal to vampires," Vanessa answered. Scarlett and Elena's eyes instantly met. It shocked Scarlett how scared she was at that idea. That she could have killed Sarah, Stefan or even Damon with just one bite. But she'd bitten vampires before. Like Logan…who'd never been seen again. Alaric had said when he found him he was already dead, with a bite in his shoulder and what looked like some kind of infection coming from it. Maybe it wasn't such a crazy idea after all.

Scarlett suddenly felt a little guilty for every time she'd almost bit Damon as a joke…that was until she remembered what he did to Jeremy. Now she was contemplated testing the theory on him. "Is the bite always fatal?" Scarlett asked, looking to Vanessa as she leaned down on the desk.

"Just while they're in wolf form," answered Vanessa.

"Which means they're only a danger on the full moon," Alaric pointed out, putting Damon to ease a little.

At least until Scarlett pointed out, "But tonight's a full moon."

"Oh…crap," Damon said slowly, worry flashing across his face.

"I'm calling Stefan," Elena declared, grabbing Scarlett's wrist as she pasted her on the way out. "You can call Sarah," Elena added in a mumble, pulling Scarlett towards the door while Damon watched them leave. He waited until they were out the door, then started talking to Alaric and Vanessa on what else they'd found. Scarlett could hear him through the walls, which meant he wasn't listening in on her and Elena.

A sniff of the air told her they were alone on the campus and clear to change. She began to strip, throwing her cloths to Elena as she did. "What are you doing?" Elena exclaimed in shock as Scarlett's discarded cloths fell into her open arms.

"I'm going to change and run back to Mystic Falls and warn Sarah and Stefan," Scarlett explained.

"What if you lose control?" Elena asked.

"The necklace lets me stay in control, even as a wolf," Scarlett reminded her, holding up the necklace before she began to wiggle out of her jeans. "Hopefully I can get back before Mason gets to either of them."

"Wait, Mason?" Elena asked in confusion.

"I'll explain later," Scarlett brushed off, removing her undergarments. Elena had already seen her naked once, a second time wasn't going to damage her any more than it already had. Elena apparently didn't agree with that, as she quickly covered her eyes, shielding them with Scarlett's cloths. "If Damon or Alaric ask, tell them I've gone to visit family and I'll make my own way back." She threw the last of her cloths to Elena and then hunched over. She'd gotten a lot better a shifting quickly. It was becoming less painful the more she did it. But doing it fast still had its risks and it often left her feeling sore for hours after she turned back. She didn't have time to waste though, so within minutes she was changed and had taken off towards Mystic Falls a full speed. Elena shouting after her as the black haired wolf vanished before her eyes.

* * *

Sarah's drinking fun didn't like last, it never did when Stefan was around. He'd sobered her up pretty quickly but then she met up with Caroline and they'd had a few more drinks until Stefan had a moan at them. He really couldn't let Caroline be a normal teenager could he? Before he'd shown up though, Sarah hand gotten Caroline to practice her compulsion some more and she seemed to have it down perfectly. Once she got her hunger under control the snatch, feed, erase tactic would be her bread and butter. A personal favourite for Damon, and one Caroline could no doubt adopt, providing Stefan didn't put her off feeding on living people with his whole morality speech. Blood bags were fine, but vampires needed something fresh every once in a while. Even Stefan.

The three hung out for a little while, socialising with whoever Caroline wanted too. Sometimes Caroline's friends got on Sarah's nerves but a subtle compulsion either calmed them down or managed to send them away without Stefan noticing. For the most part though they kept to themselves, particularly when Caroline felt her bloodlust spiking. They took her away from the party when that happened and gave her a little blood which seemed to calm her nerves. She still hadn't made up with Matt though, and Sarah could see her looking towards him ever now and then. Caroline might no have known it, but Sarah could see Matt doing the same.

When night started to settle in, most of the teens began to move else where. Word was spreading around that they were supposed to leave and that a few other kids were throwing various parties else where. Some other couples had gone off into the woods. One guess what they were doing. And some were just basking in the moon light by the swimming hole. It was peaceful, but Stefan and Sarah agreed it was time to get Caroline home.

They were making their way back to the car when they spotted Matt at his truck getting ready to leave too. Caroline stopped and Sarah and Stefan did the same, looking to each other with smiles before looking back to a pouting Caroline. "You wanna go and talk to him?" Sarah asked with a knowing look.

"He's mad at me," Caroline grumbled, kicking the ground as she moped.

"Go and talk to him," Stefan encouraged with a warm smile. "We'll wait." Caroline smiled in thanks before cautiously making her way towards Matt. The Salvatores watched her go before Stefan's phone began to ring. He glanced at he screen before answering as he walked off, Sarah listening after him as he did. "Hey."

"Is Sarah with you?" was the first thing Elena asked, once she knew it was Stefan.

"Yeah, she's here," Stefan said, waving Sarah over even though she could hear perfectly fine from where she was. She obliged though, making her way over to Stefan as he held the phone between them, so they could both hear with their supernatural senses and talk to Elena together. "What's up?"

"Scarlett's on her way back to you."

"What, why?" Sarah shot out as she and her brother began to frown.

"Because it's a full moon, and she thinks Mason Lockwood's a werewolf and that his bite might well kill you guys," Elena blurted out all at once, but somehow the two vampires managed to hear it all and after a pause worked out what she'd been saying.

"Wait, hold up, what about his bite killing us?" Stefan asked, sharing a look with Sarah.

"We discovered a legend that says a werewolf bite can kill a vampire."

"Seriously?" asked an astonished Sarah.

"Well we don't know for sure, but Scarlett sure seemed in a hurry to get back."

"Has she bitten any vampires?" Stefan asked Sarah.

"Not that I can…Logan," Sarah then said as the event came back to her. The first night Scarlett had turned and how she'd chased her around until they ran into Damon and Logan.

"What about Logan?" Elena asked.

"Scarlett bit him," answered Sarah.

"But Alaric said he found him..." Stefan trailed off realising along with Sarah there was a very real threat with Mason around, as well as Scarlett on her way back. "We're leaving now," Stefan declared and Sarah nodded in agreement. Between discovering werewolf bites were fatal to them and seeing Mason Lockwood eyeing Stefan not too long ago, Sarah was now feeling the need to lock herself in her home for the night. Caroline could spend the night with them too, just to be safe. Or at least that's what Sarah thought until she turned and saw Matt and Caroline had gone.

Frantically she began to look about for the blonde but she was no where to be seen. She hadn't left with Matt because his truck was still here. She looked to Stefan and saw he'd been looking wildly for Caroline too, extreme worry over his face as he turned to her. "I'll call you when we get back home, okay?" Stefan said into the phone, trying to keep his voice level for Elena.

"Okay," Elena said at peace before Stefan hung up, quickly dealing Caroline. Then they heard Caroline's ringtone. For a brief second they thought she was nearby, but then they saw her bag in the back of Matt's truck. Stefan hung up, shoving the phone into his pocket before Sarah turned back to face him. They shared one look and then both ran off into the woods. The second they were hidden by the shadows and out of sight of the remaining teens, the two started to run at vamp speed.

After running all over for several minutes, Sarah came to a stop with Stefan halting next to her. They had a glance around before they started walking at normal pace, keeping their eyes and ears open for any sound of the young couple. Glancing up at the sky, Sarah gritted her teeth, seeing the full moon high in the sky. If the myth was as accurate as they were to believe, Mason could already be out there, hunting them down. "Of all the times to get hormonal," Sarah grumbled to herself as she brushed her fringe out of her face, continuing on with Stefan beside her.

There was clearly something on his mind, Sarah could feel him looking at her with his pressed lips. Trying to find the right words for whatever he wanted to say. "What is it Stefan?" Sarah asked, not even bothering to glance as she stared out into the darkness, hoping that at any moment Caroline's big blonde head would come into view. They didn't have time to dance around, they needed to find the newbie vampire and get out of the woods and back home before Mason found them.

"What are you going to do about Scarlett?" he asked finally.

Sarah stopped, swinging around to face her brother with a confused stare. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, she's a danger to us now. One wrong bite and she could kill anyone of us." He was struggling to say it, and he was obviously regretting bringing it up.

"It doesn't change anything," Sarah said firmly as she began walking again.

"Sarah–" Stefan began to sigh.

"She could have already killed us, only difference is now we know about it. If anything it makes us safer. You should have heard the amount of times she's threatened to bite Damon."

"And if she does now she'll kill him," Stefan pressed, struggling to keep up with his sister and her long strides.

"It's just a joke, Stefan. And now she definitely won't do it."

"What makes you so sure?" Stefan asked, grabbing Sarah's arm and swinging her around to face him. She groaned, folding her arms as she fixed him with a glare. This wasn't the time to stand around and talk, especially about a subject that was going to lead to shouting. "You remember that Damon killed Jeremy, right? And we all know how she feels about that, and him for that matter."

"She's in control Stefan," Sarah shot back, leaning towards him as if it would make her point more clear.

"That doesn't make her safe. Before it was mindless threats, now she knows she can kill him with one bite."

"She wouldn't," Sarah said firmly.

"How do you know that?" She didn't. And if she was to turn around and kill Damon, Sarah wouldn't be all that surprised. Currently the only thing she was aware of that was holding Scarlett back was her own lover for her brother. Scarlett had mumbled several times recently that the second Sarah stopped caring about Damon was the second she'd kill him. Now that she could do it with just a bite, would she be able to fight the temptation. Sarah hoped so. She didn't want to have to get in between her brother and her ward.

"Caroline!" Sarah shouted out angrily as she stormed off, Stefan following.

"You can't ignore this Sarah," Stefan pointed out. His tone told her he genuinely felt bad for the position she was in, but he wasn't going to let her shrink away from her responsibility to her family or Scarlett.

"I'm not ignoring it," Sarah snapped as she turned back to her brother again. "I'm prioritising! Caroline's out here. Mason probably is too. I'm opting to find her and get back to the house, before discussing the possibility of my ward killing our brother!" No sooner had Sarah finished shouting did they hear a growl. A growl Sarah recognised from the first night Scarlett had turned. It wasn't Scarlett though, she couldn't have arrived back yet. Which meant it was the only other werewolf they were aware off. "You heard that right?" Sarah asked slowly and quietly. Stefan nodded. They both looked over in the direction the growl had come from, staring at the blackness.

Curiosity won out after a few quiet moments and the two vampire siblings made their way towards the growl. It didn't take long for them to reach a nearby road, spotting a large four by four through the tree line. They shared another concerned look before cautiously heading towards the back of the truck which was closest to them. Everything looked relatively normal at first until Stefan nudged Sarah's side. She turned, finding he'd stopped and was staring at the ground. She followed his gaze, spotting the large claw marks on the floor. Then came a rustle from inside the car and Stefan and Sarah looked up, seeing nothing.

"Look," Stefan said motioning towards the side of the car where a group of chains lay. Now Sarah remembered this car, it had belonged to Mason. He was nearby, and that meant they were in very real danger, possible the most danger they'd been in in a long time. They were dealing with a creature that could kill them with just one bite, not even they could do that.

Sarah looked back towards the car and her eyes widened when she saw what was staring back. A set of bright amber eyes, just like Scarlett's when she was a wolf. However the wolf wasn't looking at her, rather it was focused on Stefan, glaring at him. It had seen them both, but its target was Stefan. Seeing it was about to lung for him, Sarah tackled her brother to the ground as the wolf broke through the rear window and flew over them vanishing into the night with a howl echoing around the woods.

"You okay?" Sarah asked, looking down at her brother as she lay on top of him, staying still in case the wolf sensed their movement and came back for them.

"Yeah," answered Stefan before they both vamp speeded up to their feet, looking around for the glowing deadly eyes. After a second to catch their breath, they turned to each other, both breathing heavily with wide scared eyes. "We need to find Caroline. Now." Sarah nodded frantically back before they both took off into the woods side by side. Deliberately heading in the opposite direction of the wolf that had just attacked them.

They ran for a few seconds before they heard a growl behind them. The wolf was following them. The Salvatores doubled down on their speed, sprinting as hard as they could before Stefan suddenly stopped, Sarah doing the same a few paces ahead, glaring back at him like he'd lost his mind. "What are you doing?!" Sarah hissed.

"Ssshhh!" Stefan replied, holding up his hand as he focused his hearing. Sarah did the same, expecting to hear the wolf that was chasing them. Instead she heard the sound of a struggle…and a male groan of distress. Without hesitating Stefan took of, his heroic nature kicking in. Sarah groaned aloud, rolling her eyes in frustration before chasing after him.

As it turned out, Stefan was right to investigate. It was Matt that was groaning in pain, being feed on by Caroline who had completely lost control. Normally Sarah might have used this as a teaching opportunity but they didn't have time for that. Instead she let Stefan rush in, grabbing Caroline and pulling her away from Matt while she caught him before he collapsed. Gently she lowered him to the ground, while Stefan shouted at Caroline, holding her at bay as he tried to help her regain control.

"Oh my god," Caroline gasped when she saw what she had done, staring past Stefan and over to Sarah who was knelt down next to Matt. From first glance it looked like Caroline had gotten him good. Sarah should have congratulated her, but she knew Caroline would take it the wrong way. "Is he… Did I…?"

"No, he's alive," Sarah called over as she kept her eyes on Matt. He was dazed, the loss of blood effecting him. "Alright, Matt. I need you to drink this," Sarah said before bitting into her wrist, forcing it against his mouth. He sipped before trying to throw it back up but Sarah didn't let him. He'd needed this and if that wolf was still coming after them then they wouldn't have time to look after him. "Alright that's enough," Sarah decided, letting the bite on her wrist heal as Matt slipped into unconsciousness. Even with the blood in his system now, he was going to need rest. All Sarah's blood had done was close the wound.

Hearing a growl, the three vampires looked towards the sound before Sarah stood up, stepping back from Matt slowly. He was out and hopefully the wolf would ignore him because of that. If Elena and the others were right, then the wolf would come after them because of what they were. It's preferred pray.

"We need to get out of these woods now. We need to leave," Stefan declared, still holding Caroline still as she tired to go to Matt.

"But what about Matt," Caroline pleaded trying to go to her boyfriend. The boyfriend she'd just hurt and was now feeling a vampire level of guilt over.

"He'll be fine Caroline, but only if we get whatever's out there away from him," Sarah explained, backing towards her brother and the newbie vampire.

Forcing Caroline to look him in the eye, taking her attention from Matt, Stefan said firmly, "You and us, we're gonna run. It's going to follow us, we need to lead it away from Matt. You need to run as fast as you can. Do you understand me?" Caroline now had a surprising look of seriousness to her, probably because she knew she had to help save Matt. So she nodded as another growl echoed from the forest. "Go, go!" Stefan shouted before Caroline took off into the woods. Sarah ran after her, looking over to make sure Stefan was behind her.

The wolf growled again, getting closer. Catching up to Caroline, Sarah grabbed the blonde's arm and pulled her over to the left with Stefan following her path. The wolf however wasn't as quick to act and charged on past their turn. Sarah broke into a sprint, practically dragging Caroline after her as Stefan pushed her. They made it a mile or so before Caroline dug her heels into the ground refusing to go any further.

Grudgingly Sarah stopped, Stefan doing the same next to her before both glared at the confused girl. "What is going on? What is that thing chasing us?" demanded Caroline as she looked around frantically before turning back to the two older vampires.

"It's a werewolf," Stefan answered.

"And it's trying to kill us, so can we resume the running for our lives thing, please?" Sarah said angrily before gesturing for them to get moving again.

"But how can it kill us?" Caroline asked, prompting Sarah to groan, running her hands down her face. She couldn't believe they'd stopped in the middle of the woods to have a conversation, with a werewolf right behind them. Any second it could leap out and kill one of them.

"Caroline!" Sarah shouted, grabbing the girl's shoulders as she got ready to take off once again with Stefan, only to stop at the sound of someone else's voice.

"Hey!" Sarah rolled her eyes as she turned to find Tyler Lockwood, having emerged from some kind of old basement. "What are you guys doing here?" he demanded.

"We don't have time for this," Sarah hissed to Stefan who nodded in agreement. With Tyler's suspicious eyes still on them, Stefan stepped forward to try and provide some kind of excuse but then came a vicious growl. Instinctively Sarah turned towards the growl but by the time she'd turned it was too late. The wolf was already in the air and was tackling Caroline to the ground.

Caroline screamed as she collapsed, the wolf pinning her down as it snapped its canines towards her neck, inching closer and closer as Caroline struggled. Sarah ran at the beast but it lashed out with its hind leg and kicked Sarah back with a shocking amount of strength, even for a supernatural. Sarah flew back, slamming into Stefan as they both collapsed to the ground while Caroline screamed for help. Tyler, being the hero he was, took cover by the staircase that lead into the ground, watching as the wolf tried to kill his friend. He wanted to do something but he didn't know what.

"Help!" Caroline screamed as Stefan and Sarah climbed back up to their feet ready for another attack. But then from the woods came another wolf. A black wolf. And unlike the white and grey wolf that had Caroline pinned. The new wolf rushed across the opening and slammed itself into the lighter wolf, both rolling across the ground until they stopped, the black wolf on top of the white. The black wolf stayed on to for a moment, snapping and growling in warning before the white wolf shoved it off. But the black wolf remained on its feet and backed up, now standing between the vampires and the white wolf.

As the two wolves stared off against each other, Sarah spotted the black crystal necklace around the darker wolf's neck. "Scarlett," Sarah said quietly. The black wolf looked back, it's golden eyes connecting with Sarah's and she knew for sure. Scarlett nodded to the vampire before then turning back to the white wolf, growling before barking loudly. Suddenly the white wolf backed up, almost intimidated by Scarlett all of a sudden. Then with a final bark of anger, the white wolf took off into the woods.

Scarlett looked back to Sarah, as if silently asking permission. Sarah nodded, saying, "Go," as she did. That was all Scarlett needed before taking off into the woods after the white wolf, vanishing in a blur of movement. It took a minute but when no wolf sounds followed, Sarah and Stefan finally exhaled and moved towards Caroline who was still lying on the ground.

"What…was that?" Caroline asked as the Salvatores helped her up.

"That was a couple of werewolves," Sarah answered, still holding Caroline as she peered out into the night, waiting to see if Scarlett would return.

"And which one was Scarlett?" Caroline asked in exhaustion. Sarah and Stefan turned sharply towards Caroline, not sure how she knew it had been Scarlett. "I heard you say her name," Caroline explained as the two vampires continued to stare at her. "I'm not that stupid."

"No, you're not," Stefan agreed with a friendly smile as he patted Caroline on the back.

"We'll explain later," Sarah added with her own smile. Glancing out into the forest once more, hopping Scarlett would be okay. She wanted to go out after her, but there was no way Stefan would let her and it would be suicidal on her own. Better to stick together until sun raise and then go looking for Scarlett and the other wolf. Until then they had plenty to do. Sarah then turned around, eyes meeting Tyler as he stood up, staring back in shock while trying to maintain his tough exterior. "Hey, Tyler," Sarah said with a sweet smile before rushing over to the boy. One compulsion later and he was none the wiser.

* * *

Parts of the night came back to Scarlett in flashes. She remembered running across the state back to Mystic Falls. She remembered running through the woods. It had felt like hours but it seemed to small now. She remembered picking up Sarah and Stefan's scents and following them until she came across the scene. It was like flipping through a series of photos. First she'd seen the white and grey wolf on top of Caroline. Even then she'd known it was Mason from one look. She might not have recognised the scent but when she lay eyes on him she knew. Then she had knocked him off, pinning him down beneath her. He'd shoved her off. She'd looked to Sarah. Then scared Mason off. She'd followed. They'd fought some more. Running all over the woods as they circled each other trying to get the upper hand. They each gotten in some good hits, nipping at each other and tackling one another as they rolled about the froest floor. But as it went on, Scarlett begun to feel it was more of a game than a proper fight. She'd left herself vulnerable several times, as had he, and neither had taken the chance to deliver a fatal blow. Neither had wanted the fun to end. And then the sun had begun to raise.

After that it was all a blur of white and black before the sunlight began to sting her eyes. Covering her face with her hand, Scarlett lay still for a moment before groaning in discomfort and rolling over. Instantly she froze, eyes shooting open. She wasn't alone. When she had rolled over, her hand had landed on someone. The familiar sound of slapping skin echoed through the forest and when Scarlett looked she saw her hand on a firm naked chest.

For a moment she just stared, trying to figure out if this was a dream or not. If she was hallucinating or if this was just a rock that was obscure by the sleep in her eye. But the sight before her didn't change. If anything it got clearer until there was no denying she was lying next to someone. A quick glance down confirmed to her this someone was completely naked. More slowly she looked up, taking in the roughly trimmed beard and the sleepy smile before she saw who she was lying next to. A completely naked Mason Lockwood.

Much to her shame, Scarlett screamed the most girlish scream she had ever screamed, leaping up from her laid back position and onto her ass. The scream woke Mason who too shot up into a sitting position. Continuing to scream, Scarlett backed away, feeling her bare skin scrap against the forest floor. It took a second but once Mason properly saw her, he too began to scream. Scarlett looked down, still crawling backwards and saw she too was naked, bar her necklace resting just above her cleavage.

Her screams of horror then increased when her back hit a tree trunk, feeling the wood dig at her as she and Mason continued to scream. The man searched for something to cover himself with but found only leaves and twigs all around him. With no other option he, turned using his leg to protect his private area from sight. But not even that was comforting enough and he quickly covered the area with both hands. "What the hell is going on?!" Mason exclaimed.

"How should I know!" Scarlett shouted back, arms wrapping around her chest area as she curled her legs in to hide her own private area. "You're the weird sick-o that's sleeping next to a naked teenager!"

"You weren't there when I went to sleep! If anything, you're the one sleeping next to me!" Mason shot back.

"I didn't fall asleep…" Scarlett stopped, remembering the night. She hadn't gone to sleep like normal. Neither had Mason, it had been a full moon. She'd shifted willingly but he'd been forced too. And now they'd woken up, human again. It clicked for him too as he stared back, bits of last night returning to his memory.

"You're…" he began slowly.

"Like you," Scarlett nodded before pausing, catching her breath after the screaming just like Mason. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Not a lot. Mostly just you chasing me and us…"

"Us…" Scarlett began before another set of imagines flashed through her head. Mason as the white wolf had been chasing her, the black wolf. He'd caught her hind legs, taking them out from under her and she'd collapsed onto her front. He'd then run around, licking her face playful. She'd licked back. The licking quickly turned to affectionate nuzzling, rubbing their noses against each other in all sorts of places. Then the black wolf had laid down, letting lighter one mount her and… "OH MY GOD!" Scarlett screeched in horror, realising what they'd done. One look at Mason and she knew he remembered it as well. Them making love as wolves.

"Scarlett, I'm so–" Mason began as he reached out towards her. He was nowhere near her and was never going to reach her unless he moved, but even still Scarlett pressed her back against the tree trunk, as if he was right in front of her.

"Stay back!" she snapped.

"Scarlett…" Mason pleaded, trying to speak about what had just happened, but Scarlett didn't want to hear it. Despite everything that was going on, the only thing she could think about was how she'd betrayed Jeremy. How no more than a week ago she'd made love with him. Expressed her love for him. And now here she was, having thrown all that away for nothing. She couldn't tell him, how could she? How could he possibly understand? She hadn't wanted this, she hadn't wanted Mason before, Jeremy had been the only one she wanted. And yet she'd done the deed with Mason, so freely, like everything with Jeremy meant nothing to her.

"Don't!" Scarlett snapped again as she stood up, doing her best to hide her private areas as she did. She couldn't be around him any longer. His mere presence was making her want to claw at her skin and peel it off. She didn't feel comfortable in it after having laid with Mason. It felt horrible, she felt sick, she had to get away from him. "Just stay away from me!" Scarlett growled, letting her werewolf features come out as she did. He jumped back at the sight of that, surprised by her sudden change in appearance. With Mason now backing off, she let body return to normal before turning on her heels and running off into the forest. Mason shouted after her but her name vanished into wind as she tapped into her werewolf speed, the world blurring around her until she stopped, having gotten away from him.

Looking over her should to make sure he wasn't following her, Scarlett found herself hyperventilating. She stared back for a few moments, listening and sniffing for his scent. There was nothing, not trace or sign of him following her. With a sigh, she turned to start walking when she yelped, jumping back when she found Sarah stood in front of her.

"Whoa, calm down," Sarah said throwing her hands up in surrender. "It's just me. And I brought cloths," Sarah said with a friendly smile, shaking the hand that held the folded up cloths. Staring back, Scarlett tried to catch her breath, but was struggling too what with everything she had to process. "You alright?" Sarah asked after a moment with a frown. Scarlett silently cursed herself. She needed to get a grip, she wasn't ready to deal with this and with Sarah growing more suspicious by the second she'd eventually start asking questions. Questions Scarlett really didn't want to think about right now.

"I'm fine," Scarlet declared sharply, with wide baring eyes, trying to get her unquestioning point across.

"Okay…" Sarah said slowly as she lowered her hands, still frowning in confusion. She looked behind Scarlett and around the woods, without turning her head, before her eyes moved back to the young werewolf. "What happened to Mason?"

"I don't know!" Scarlett snapped, prompting Sarah to raise an eyebrow. "Sorry," Scarlett apologised, trying and failing to hold back the attitude. Sarah didn't seem to mind though and lowered her eyebrow, now staring at Scarlett in confusion once more. "Look can we just go home, please. I really just want to get some sleep in my own bed."

"Yeah sure," Sarah said casually as she stepped aside, allowing Scarlett to walk along side her through the forest. "So were you up all night chasing Mason?"

"Will you just stop asking about Mason!" Scarlett snapped once more before groaning in frustration and snatching the cloths from Sarah's hand. Without letting Sarah hit her with a parental look, Scarlett stormed off through the woods to where she assumed the car was, her claws digging into the cloths in her hand as she forcefully pulled on the t-shirt Sarah had provided her with. Only by the time she got it on, it had a few more holes in it than before.

* * *

Sarah had tried to get Scarlett to talk to her, but the girl bite her head off every time she brought up Mason and last night. When they got home, she'd gone straight up to her room, slammed the door and locked it. Sarah had politely knocked, trying one last time to talk to her, but from her language it was clear she didn't want to talk. She summed it up to teenage rebellion or some werewolf thing they still needed to learn that had to do with the moon. Either case the girl needed some time alone, so Sarah was going to give it to her.

For most of that day Sarah kept herself busy around the house, checking in on Stefan and Scarlett every now and then. Stefan didn't get up to much either, other than going to check on Caroline and waiting for Elena to return from her overnight away with Damon. Scarlett did eventually come out her room, but only for a training session in the gym they'd set up. They put in a solid two hours before Scarlett then called it quits and retreated back into her room. Again she'd snapped at Sarah every time she'd tried to talk about last night, until Sarah eventually gave up. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful until Sarah received a text from Caroline. All it said was, 'S.O.S. meet me at the Grill.'

Sarah had then proceeded over to the Grill, where she walked in to find Caroline and Matt in a shouting match right in the middle of the restaurant. "Are you kidding me?" Matt groaned aloud, stood next to Aimee who was slowly backing up with an uncomfortable look on her face.

"No, I'm not Matt. She's into you and anyone can see it!" Caroline shouted angrily.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…I'm just gonna go." Aimee did sound genuinely sorry but Sarah knew full well the girl had more than likely been trying something with Matt. She was just sorry she was now caught up in the middle of the fight, rather than hearing about it afterwards. But she managed to get away as Caroline held her glare with Matt, running past Sarah and out the door. Sarah's eyes briefly followed her before moving back over to Caroline, not seeing what she needed help with. She seemed to be standing up for herself and was staying in control of her vampire urges. As far as she could see, the girl was doing great for a week old vampire. Some of the vampires she'd run into over the years would have torn this place apart in a hungry rage if they'd experienced what Caroline had.

"Seriously, what is your problem?" Matt demanded as he faced off against Caroline who glared back at him.

"This isn't my fault Matt," Caroline spat out. "She's after you and I shouldn't have to put up with that. God knows I've got enough going on in my life without you being stalked by that–" Matt then cut her off before she could finish, which was probably for the best considering how worked up she was getting.

"I thought you said no more drama?" Matt argued.

"Yeah, well, I lied. But you know what, you lied too. You said there was nothing going on with you and Aimee and there clearly is!"

Matt sighed, a giving up sigh Sarah had heard so many times during her time on this Earth. The sigh of an ending relationship. She couldn't help but feel sorry for both of them. They did make a cute couple, but she'd already worked out what Caroline was doing. She was breaking up with him to try and protect him. She was experiencing more guilt now than ever before and she needed to balance the scales in her mind. Apparently the only way she could do that was by pushing him away. It didn't matter how much it hurt her, just that he was safe.

"Just forget it, just forget all of it," Matt muttered as he turned to walk off, only stopping when Caroline began to speak again.

"So what," Caroline declared, voice laced with an ungrateful spoilt attitude. "Are you like breaking up with me?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess that's what I'm doing," Matt said simply as he stared back at Caroline, trying to spot some emotion in her other than petty jealous. But there was nothing but that as Caroline held her glare firmly, committing to blaming him for the end of this relationship. Finally Matt broke their connection, shaking his head as he walked off towards the side door.

Then Caroline stood, clearly breathing heavily. She turned and Sarah offered her as sympathetic a smile as she could. The young blonde was already crying, just barely keeping it together and only because she was in public. "Come here," Sarah said as she stepped towards her friend pulling her into a hug as Caroline struggled to hold back her hysteria. She really did love him. And for that reason she couldn't be with him, it was just too dangerous now that she was vampire. She'd hurt him and she never wanted to do that again. She'd rather go through the pain of this break up, than risk hurting Matt again. Sarah respected that. In fact, she actually admired Caroline because of it. It put the popular high school girl that only cared about herself in a whole new light. That's what happens when you become a vampire though. You discover sides about yourself you never even knew existed.

"I'm sorry, Caroline," Sarah said calmly as she rubbed her friend's back, Caroline nodding into her shoulder.

"Could you…if it's alright…and if it's not too much trouble…" Caroline began to ask, in between heavy breaths as she pulled away from Sarah, tears now streaming down her face as she did her best to seem strong and together. Sarah remained silent, allowing Caroline the time she needed to finish. "Could you spend the night with me?'

"Sure. Whatever you need," agreed Sarah as she took Caroline's hand, wrapping her other one around her friend's shoulders before leading her out of the Grill. They walked home to Caroline's and from there spent the night in her room. Her mom called at one point to tell she was working over night and Caroline said it was fine. Obviously it wasn't but Sarah had heard enough to know Caroline and her mother didn't have the best of relationships even before her vampirism. Just another good reason for Sarah to spend the night with her then.

She texted Stefan to let him know what was happening and to pass it along to Scarlett. He said he would and that if she needed help he would come over, but Sarah was fine. Caroline just cried for most of the night. It wasn't like any of her vampire related cravings were coming up. It was just her working through her heightened emotions while Sarah lay next to her on the bed. Eventually, they both drifted off to sleep, waking with the morning sun on their faces. Somehow Caroline had ended up spooning Sarah during the night, to which Sarah now responded with a forced cough.

"Wha–?" Caroline groaned sleepy as she lifted her head.

"Can you let go of me please," Sarah said with a grin as Caroline realised she'd been tightly holding Sarah through the night. Like a comforting soft toy.

"Oh, sorry," Caroline said, letting go as the both sat up. From the sounds of it she was all cried out, and Sarah was ready to ask her how she was until they both saw who was standing next to the bed. Caroline jumped back into Sarah's arms that pulled her towards her. Now she was using Caroline as her comfort toy, staring up at the smug devil as she loomed over them both.

"Elena?" Caroline asked.

"Nope, try again," the older vampire said cooly.

"Katherine," Sarah said through gritted teeth as she glared up at the smug looking woman. With a smile, Katherine moved to sit down. Fear quickly over powered Caroline as she pulled her legs in, pressing herself against Sarah as she shrunk like a scared little child. Sarah tightened her grip around the blonde, trying to comfort her while remaining in control of her own emotions. But Katherine had a habit of provoking her to feel what ever she wanted her too. And right now, she was feeling scared.

"Don't be frightened, Caroline," Katherine said in her sweet honey voice, the deceitful one she'd used when Sarah first discovered what Katherine truly was. Not just a vampire but a pure cold hearted monster. Her smile then grew, frightening both Sarah and Caroline even more, as she said gleefully, "The three of us are going to have so much fun."


	7. Memory Lane

_Review responses:_

Only reviewer: _Yeah, Katherine's just none stop in this part of the story, as you're about to see. She just won't stop! And Scarlett's problems are just getting started..._

LoveDesanta: _Thanks for the compliment! I'm glad you enjoyed the first story and this one so far! The Katherine/Sarah moments are ones I"m proud of and love to write so I'm super glad that you're enjoying them, there's another one up ahead here. I imagine Jeremy will be pretty jealous too...but I do love writing them as a couple, although that's about to get a whole lot more complicated. What I'm probably leading up to is Sarah/Elena (or Sarena), but it's going to be a slow burn if I commit to it. Although I guess you could say there will be hints of Katherine/Sarah (Don't have a name for them, Sarena was suggested by a reviewer a while back so I'm just letting people who review come up with the ship names). And I have other plans for Caroline ;)_

 _First off, sorry this is a day late! I promise I'll make it up to you guys, and thank you all for being patient with me._

 _So this one goes down two very different roads, as you're about to find out. We're diving a bit into Sarah's past, to which I'll be curious to see how people react. And we've got a lot of...awkward moments for Scarlett, in light of what happened in the last chapter. Like I said, things are about to become very difficult for her. But at leas things might be looking up for Sarah...?_

 _So if you have any questions or opinions you want to leave behind, please do, or PM if you prefer. I do my best to reply to everyone and I love having little chats with you all. Again, sorry for the late upload, but hopefully it'll be worth it. So enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Memory Lane**

* * *

Sarah's eyes moved to the door, the easiest escape route. She could probably make it if she was quick enough, but not with Caroline. In fact she couldn't visualise her and Caroline getting out together. But she couldn't just leave her. She was her friend now, and even if she wasn't she wouldn't want to leave anyone with Katherine. Even so they had to get out of here, being along with Katherine was never good and even with Caroline's help there was no way they could take on Katherine. For one thing, Caroline didn't know how to fight…but she did know how to run.

It wasn't a great plan by any means but it was the one she was going with and hopefully Caroline wouldn't let her down. Turning her gaze back on the smirking Katherine, sat at the end of the bed, Sarah leapt from her curled up position hoping to catch the vampire off guard. It failed as she'd expected it too. Katherine had the speed and the strength, both of which she utilised by catching Sarah in mid lunge before whirling around the room in a blur and shoving Sarah against the wall. "Window!" Sarah shouted with a direct look to Caroline. She got the message and ran.

Sarah did what she could to hold on, but Katherine discarded her with ease as she threw her into the corner of the room. By that point, Caroline was halfway out the window, when Katherine suddenly grabbed her ankle and swiftly pulled her back in. She groaned timidly from where she'd landed against her bed, before Katherine then yanked her up by her blonde hair. "Now, Caroline. I didn't say you could leave you," Katherine said, her voice darkening with each word as the frightened girl looked up at the superior vampire.

Again Sarah raced across the room trying to get the jump, but Katherine merely threw Caroline into her. Both girls toppled backwards, hitting the wall so hard that one of Caroline's bookshelves broke, causing several of her favourite childhood books to land on their heads with series of loud thuds. Both groaned, rubbing their heads as they straightened up against the wall, looking up as Katherine's shadow consumed them.

"Well," Katherine spoke up with a chuckle. "That was entertaining… But now we need to get down to business." Before Sarah could object, Katherine pulled Caroline up to her feet and rammed her hand into Caroline's chest forcing the poor blonde to cry out in pain. Sarah knew what she was doing. Without hesitating she jumped up to stop her when Katherine kicked her back down, stamping on Sarah's leg to make sure she remained seated. Bitting down on her lip, she held back a groan of pain. Katherine hadn't broken the leg, but even so it still hurt like hell having her press down on it.

"Now, let me make myself clear," Katherine said aloud over Caroline's whimpers of pain. "I'm the boss around here. You and Caroline, work for me. Do what I want. Everybody gets a happy ending. Don't…" Katherine tightened her grasp on Caroline's heart, causing the girl to scream in pain as she tried to remain still and not lose her heart.

"Alright! You've made your point," Sarah said in defeat from the ground. But that didn't seem to be enough to satisfy Katherine. Now done with her visual aid, she released her hold on Caroline's heart and shoved her off to the side. She landed against the next wall, arms wrapped around her blood stained nighty as she waited for the hole in her chest to heal.

While that was going on, Katherine grabbed Sarah and pulled her up before shoving her against the wall once more, firmly holding her there with a firm grasp around her throat. Sarah fought back for a moment but stopped struggling when she realised it was futile. "Here's the thing, Sarah. I don't think I have made my point. Now, you don't seem to respect the chain of command. It goes, me, you, Caroline." As Katherine listed of the names, she held up a finger on her free hand for each one. "You seem to understand that you're above Caroline. You don't seem to understand that I'm above you. So I think it's time I taught you to respect your elders."

With that she released Sarah, letting her fall to her knees. As Sarah coughed and spluttered on the ground, Katherine checked over her nails, making sure she hadn't damaged them when strangling Sarah. Looking up, Sarah felt her eyes heat up with angry hot tears. She was past her breaking point. She couldn't keep up with this witch any longer. Katherine was single handedly ruining her life, and for what?

"Why?" Sarah whimpered as the first of her tears started to fall. She caught Katherine's attention, but she just glanced down, seemingly uninterested by Sarah's tears. It wasn't like she hadn't seen them before. "Why do you keep doing this to me? Why do keep tormenting me? Why you keep forcing me to play your stupid games? Why do you keep tearing my family apart?! Why do you keep insist on making my life a living hell?! Just why?! Why ME?!" Sarah cried out as curled up on the floor like a petrified child.

Katherine just smiled fondly down at her. "You're so cute when you're crying," she said with a light giggle as she tilted her head. Her manipulative brown eyes watching gleefully as Sarah broke down in front of her. For her it was probably just like old times. Well Sarah was done, she refused to let Katherine walk all over her anymore. This time she was going to get up and she was going to stand her ground. She was done letting Katherine win.

"I'm not doing this anymore," Sarah declared as she stood up, facing off against Katherine who just grinned back, enjoying the show. "I'm done being you puppet and I'm not letting you use me anymore."

"And are you willing to let people die for that decision?" Katherine asked with an intrigued look in her eye, her smile turning into a knowing one.

"I won't let you kill Caroline," Sarah said as she stepped around, now between Katherine and Caroline. She knew Caroline was smiling behind, overjoyed that someone was standing up to Katherine for her. "I'm not going to let you torment her like you did to me for my entire vampire life," Sarah said firmly, the final tears vanishing from her eyes as a fire lit up inside her. The fire that should have never gone out inside her.

"That's very sweet, Sarah," Katherine said patronisingly before a grin began to form. "But I wasn't actually talking about Caroline, or even Damon for that matter. In fact, this person hasn't even stepped foot in Mystic Falls." The fire began to weaken inside Sarah's chest. "Tell me, does the name…Ronnie, ring a bell."

Sarah's heart stopped, her voice going quiet, a reflection on how she felt. "How do you know about him?"

"Oh, Sarah. I know everything about you. I thought you would have figured that out by now." Katherine sighed in delight, having once again beaten Sarah down the way she always loved too.

"Where is he? What have you done to him?" Sarah demanded. Although the thick layer of concern in her voice made her sound like a frightened child rather than someone that was standing up to the devil. She couldn't help it though. She would have thought of all people, Ronnie would have been safe from Katherine's clutches, she'd all but pushed him to the back of her mind and yet Katherine still knew about him.

"Nothing…yet," Katherine answered with a smirk. "But in a couple of hours, he'll be dead." Sarah gasped in horror, hand covering her mouth as a new set of tears pricked her eyes. "Unless you can get to him first of course."

"Where is he?" Sarah pleaded. She'd forgotten about everything else going on in that moment. About the terrified Caroline crouched in the corner behind, about how Katherine was manipulating her. All she could think about was Ronnie and how she had to save from Katherine. It was her fault after all his life was now in danger. It was always her fault.

"You ready to play by my rules now?" Katherine asked playfully.

"Where is he?" Sarah repeated, begging now. She just needed to save him. That was it. Save him and warn him before coming straight back to Mystic Falls. But she couldn't abandon him, not after everything they'd been through together.

"Understand the chain of command now?" Katherine asked, clearly enjoying herself and the power she had.

Seeing no other way out, Sarah caved. "Yes. Okay, yes, I understand, and I promise I won't challenge you again. I'll do whatever you want, I'll play by your rules, just tell me where he is, please!"

"That's more like it, Sarah," Katherine said pleasantly. "You'll find him in Asheville, Carolina. Although if I were you I'd hurry up. Tick, tock," Katherine said with a sharp move of her finger to show the passage of time. "In fact you might even what to take that bike of yours. Your…'Baby'?" Sarah didn't have time to listen to Katherine play more head games with her. She could figure out how she knew all this later, though the obvious answer was Caroline had told her about the bike.

Without thinking she ran from the room, leaving Caroline behind. It shamed her, but she had to believe Katherine wasn't going to kill her. She didn't want to chose between Ronnie and Caroline. If that had been Katherine's goal she'd completely missed it. She was just too hanged up on Ronnie. Katherine had told her she'd been watching her and Stefan for a long time, but if she knew about Ronnie then she must have been watching her even more than she feared. But she'd have time later to think about just how much Katherine knew.

For now she ran, ran until she reached her home, heading straight for the garage. Throwing open the shutter she then whisked off the tarp that covered her beautiful cherry red bike. She might have smiled at the sight had she not been in such a hurry. Grabbing the black helmet from the nearby shelve, she fastened it on before climbing onto her bike and raving the engine. She then let loose, gliding out the garage before swerving around the driveway and racing off towards the main road.

* * *

Scarlett had decided she was staying in bed. How could she get up after what she'd done. Just thinking about it made her sick, guilty and want to cry. Not because of anything Mason had done, she only half blamed him. The other half of the blame fell on her. She just couldn't stand to think about how Jeremy was going to take this. It would break his heart, she'd break his heart. Thinking abut it was killing her but she was going to have to tell him at some point.

She kept telling herself she was locking herself in her bedroom as punishment for what she'd done to Jeremy. But really, it was more than likely because she didn't want to face him. She'd betrayed him. After he'd forgiven her and trusted her with so much, after he kept all her secrets and given her whatever she wanted. She couldn't even stand to look at herself in the mirror. She'd spent the whole night facing the door to her room, her back to the window and the mirror next to it.

Unfortunately the ringing phone meant she had to roll over. Buzzing repetitively along her nightstand, getting angry and louder until finally Scarlett couldn't ignore it any longer. In a huff she rolled over grabbing the phone and glancing at the caller. The screen said it was 'Jeremy's house' and that it was almost noon. It struck her as a little odd that Jeremy would be calling her from his house phone rather than his own phone. But she was going to have to talk to him sooner or later, and currently she would rather talk to him without being in the same room as him. At least that way she wouldn't have to look him in the eye when she lied.

Finally she answered, rolling onto her back as she stared up at the ceiling with the phone against her ear. "Hello?"

"Scarlett, hey, I need a favour?"

Frowning, Scarlett said, "Jenna?" in confusion.

"Yeah, hi," Jenna replied in a friendly tone.

"Why are you calling me?"

"Well I'm having this barbecue, and I kinda need you to come over and help me out," Jenna said a little sheepishly.

"Will Jeremy be there?" Scarlett asked, doing her best to hide her nerves.

"No. He's working on this big project with some guys from school, but you're still welcome to come over."

"I don't know, Jenna…" Scarlett said uncertainly. True it was more enticing knowing Jeremy wouldn't be there, but if he wasn't she couldn't see much point in going. Not when she could spend the rest of the day in her room hating herself.

"Please, Scarlett," Jenna begged. "I already tried Sarah and she's not picking up and I really need more girls at this thing. So far it's looking like a sausage only barbecue."

"Should you be talking to a teenage girl like that?" Scarlett asked, stifling a laugh.

"You're dating my nephew, I'll talk to you however I like," Jenna retorted with a laugh of her own. "Come on, you'll enjoy it, I promise."

"Alright fine," Scarlett sighed.

"Yes," Jenna said triumphantly down the line. "I'll see you in a couple hours." Scarlett smiled before then hanging up and dropping the phone back onto her night stand. She was careful not to look in the mirror as she did, rolling back over only to find Elena standing in her door way.

"Hey, Elena. I think Stefan's up in his room," Scarlett said without a second glance as she made herself comfy. When she didn't hear a reply she opened her eyes and saw Elena smirking at her, almost smugly. It wasn't a look that suited Elena or did her any favours. "You alright?" Scarlett asked with a frown. Still Elena didn't answer as she stepped into the room, her heels clicking on the floorboards.

It was then as she got closer, Scarlett got a whiff of her scent. The perfumes and makeup products all smelled the same, but the basic scent beneath all that was…strange. It didn't add up to what Scarlett considered to be Elena's scent. Maybe it was just the extra products she had on, though it all seemed a bit much for Elena. "You seem a little confused," Elena said with a smirk as Scarlett frowned. "Let me explain. You might remember me from the night you and little Gilbert shared a bed for the first time." It took a minute but eventually it clicked in Scarlett's head. "Hello, Scarlett. My name is Katherine Pierce."

Scarlett knew exactly who she was. The woman who had tormented Sarah and made her life a misery every time she showed up. The protective instinct inside of Scarlett kicked in and she leapt from her bed, fully intent on killing Katherine then and there. And with her lethal bite, she could. One bite and the most evil vampire in history was done for. She let her eyes flash amber in rage and had expected her canines and claws to follow suit. But they didn't.

In fact she felt weaker than usual and her eyes weren't glowing nearly as brightly. She was actually moving so slowly that she was able to watch Katherine smirk away for a whole second before the vampire kicked her back down onto the bed. Landing safely on the bed, Scarlett looked down at her body only to find that her necklace was gone. As a rule she never took it off, even when sleeping and she always checked every morning she still had it. But right when she needed it the most it was gone.

"You know, you really should be more careful with this." Scarlett looked up at Katherine, holding the necklace in her hand, admiring the slim black crystal. "I mean, anyone could steal it, like say, me." She giggled, amused at her own joke. But even without her extra werewolf powers, Scarlett wasn't about to let Katherine get away with everything she'd done. It was just personal now because she'd taken Scarlett's necklace.

She clambered over the bed and ran at Katherine who whacked her aside with ease. It had hardly been anything, and yet Scarlett found herself crashing into her desk before Katherine was over her once more. Pressing the heel of her shoe down on Scarlett's neck. The teenage werewolf tried to get up, but Katherine had the strength and weight to hold her down without even batting an eye. Even so Scarlett refused to back down and continued to lash out, using everything she had to try and move Katherine's immoveable shoe from her neck.

"I've got to say, I like the fight in you," Katherine said with an admiring smile. "I can see why Sarah likes you."

"Listen you crazy bitch. You better tell me what you're doing here or else I swear to God I'll…" The last of Scarlett's words vanished into thin air as Katherine pressed down on her throat, cutting her off.

"Although that mouth of yours can sure get annoying," Katherine said disappointedly, irritation crossing her face as she stared down at Scarlett. "But at least Sarah wouldn't have to listen to it for a while."

"Where…is she…?" Scarlett croaked out, still refusing to give in.

"She's fine. I just sent her on a trip down memory line," Katherine said, sounding quite pleased with herself. "Now, what should I do with you until she gets back?" Katherine wondered aloud as leaned down, soaking up the power she held as Scarlett continued to definitely struggle. She wasn't going to give Katherine the satisfaction.

"Let her go, Katherine," Stefan ordered from the doorway, ready to run over and intervene should Katherine not do as she was told. Thankfully though, Katherine was happy to play along to Stefan's tune – for now at least – grinning away as she removed her heel from Scarlett, who gasped for air as she sat up. Katherine paid her no attention though, her entire focus on Stefan as she stepped towards him, crossing her arms. Scarlett's necklace still in hand.

"What have you done with Sarah?' Stefan asked simply, not giving into Katherine games like he had before. Not until he knew his sister was safe from Katherine's clutches. He wouldn't be made the fool again.

"How about you ask nicely and then I'll consider answering?" Katherine suggested, folding her arms as she patiently waited for Stefan to play along. With a glare, his jaw clicked to the side before he let out a heavy breath through his noise. He was going to cave, Scarlett could see it. There wasn't much else he could do and she wasn't any help, not without her necklace. All she could do was sit on the floor like some weak little child and watch the grownups do all the talking.

"Katherine…could you please tell me where my sister is?" Stefan asked grudgingly.

Katherine beamed back in delight before saying, "Anything for you Stefan." Since Stefan couldn't roll his eyes in front of Katherine, Scarlett did it for him. "You remember Ronnie, right?" Stefan tensed at that, making Scarlett frown, curiosity growing at this new player in the game.

"Yes… How do you know about him?" Stefan asked slowly, clearly trying to get ahead of Katherine and her mind games.

"Who's Ronnie?" Scarlett cut in, eager to get involved in the conversation and get some answers.

"He's an old…" He hesitated, eyes narrowing on Katherine as he contemplated revealing the whole truth. He didn't know how much Katherine knew about Ronnie and didn't want to give her anything else to use against his sister.

"Let me, Stefan," Katherine said dramatically as she placed her hand on her chest, turning to face Scarlett with a knowing grin, happy to have the spotlight on her. "Ronnie Gibson – Really good looking guy – Is an old flame of Sarah's. They've been on and off over the years and almost got engaged once…right, Stefan?" She looked back over, confidence flowing off her in waves as she grinned at Stefan. He could only glare back in defeat. Yet again Katherine was ahead of them and knew more than they did.

Seeing Scarlett's questioning gaze on him, Stefan slowly nodded, his eyes remaining on Katherine who soaked up his defeated odder happily. "If you ask me though, it was never going to work. Hardly surprising Sarah turned him down. She just doesn't have it in her. But she'll realise that soon enough."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Stefan with his questioning glare as he stepped towards the older vampire. Katherine didn't even glance his way, turning to Scarlett instead, amusement leaving her eyes. Scarlett was now beginning to realise just what kind of woman Katherine was. One that did what she wanted and only answered when she felt like it. She had all the power and she was damn well going to use it, just like she was just now. Stefan had no control, Katherine was walking all over him and Scarlett, anyone could see that.

"Why don't you go out for a walk or something?" Katherine suggested to Scarlett, making a point to ignore Stefan and his glare. "Or better yet, go to Jenna's barbecue. To be honest I don't care where you go as long as you give me and Stefan some alone time."

Her flirtatious look too Stefan quickly vanished when Scarlett spoke up in defiance. "I live here. If anyone's leaving then it's you Bitch." Katherine turned swiftly back on Scarlett, a scowl forming. Scarlett wasn't intimidated…at least until Katherine's eyes began to fill with blood and the veins around them turned a throbbing black. She faced off against vampire's before, but Katherine was something else. Her glare alone was enough to kill, especially with her reputation to back her up.

"It's fine, Scarlett. Katherine's my guest," Stefan said with a plastered smile. Scarlett glared at him, unable to believe he was defending this evil woman. Katherine on the other hand was every pleased with Stefan and turned to him with a smile, her features returning to their natural beauty.

"Thank you, Stefan."

Stefan forced himself to continue smiling before turning back to Scarlett. "I can take care of this. You just go and relax for a bit. You look like you need it." It was nice that Stefan was noticing her drained state and was trying to help, but she didn't feel comfortable leaving him with Katherine. Sarah wouldn't. And since she was going after this Ronnie, it was up to Scarlett to protect her brother until she got back.

"Stefan–"

"Go," he interrupted firmly before lowering his head to give her a pointed look. "I'll be fine. I promise." Scarlett trusted him. She didn't trust Katherine who seemed all to happy that things were going her way. And if Scarlett had learnt anything from the stories she'd heard about Katherine Pierce, it was never a good thing when she got her way. But she did trust Stefan and he clearly wanted her to go. She just hoped he knew what he was doing.

Grudgingly, Scarlett got up from the floor, heading for the door until she stopped, turning back to face Katherine. She held out her hand, meeting Katherine's gleefully eyes. "My necklace," she said simply, refusing to take one more step until Katherine gave back what was hers.

"Of course," Katherine said with a pleasant smile, before dropping the necklace into Scarlett's palm. "Oh! And before I forget," Katherine explained with a grin that screamed checkmate. "I've compelled one of your boyfriend's little friends to kill him if you kill me. And since of all those annoying, sweet, dorky little kids are human, he won't be coming back this time if he dies." Scarlett's eyes widened in fear as Katherine spoke, but she was far from done. "Also, if they see you at all, they will kill him. If you try to warn him, they will kill him. And if you tell anyone what I'm up to or where I am, they'll…" She smirked. "Well, you get the idea."

Scarlett was speechless. She saw it now, saw Katherine exactly as how Sarah had described her. A cold calculating devil with a face exactly like Elena's. She was completely screwed and couldn't do anything about it. If she did Jeremy would die. She couldn't fight back in any way without risking his life, and Katherine knew she wouldn't take that risk. And further more she couldn't even get Jeremy away from danger, without endangering him even more. She had no alternative but to do as Katherine said. And the smug vampire knew it all too well.

"Enjoy the barbecue."

With no other choice, Scarlett wrapped her finger around her necklace, lowered her head in defeat, and backed away until she was out of the room.

* * *

For the first time throughout her entire ride, Sarah finally stopped, pulling over next to the sidewalk and taking stock of her surroundings. She'd been going full throttle for hours, racing across the state line until she'd finally reached Asheville. She'd only encountered a few problems along her way. One cop car had tried to catch up to her, but she'd lost them. She could compel her way out of a fine later if they ever did track her down. She'd almost crashed twice, running through red lights and had almost been taken out by a truck pulling into her line as she flew by him. But none of it matter now that she was in Asheville.

Of course now she was presented with her next challenge. Where in Asheville was Ronnie? Glancing around she saw a variety of buildings consisting of shops, apartments, a cinema complex and several expensive looking restaurants. But Ronnie wouldn't be out and about during the day like this. It was sunning without a shadow casting cloud in the sky. Not the best weather for vampires without daylight rings.

Groaning, Sarah tried to remember what she could about where Ronnie liked to hang out during days like these. But all she could think about was how much danger he was in. And what they'd once had. The love they had shared, the memories, the passion fuelled nights where they'd done nothing but… She had to focus, push aside the romantic memories, ignore the star filled nights they'd spent eating chocolate strawberry or the late night swims along the beach or…

She slapped herself, whacking her helmet until she thought of nothing but the pain she was conflicting on herself. She had to focus. His life was in her hands. It was odd though, Ronnie staying in Asheville. He preferred to be near the sea. He had a love for it almost. As Sarah recalled, once more hotel's started having their own pools, Ronnie had claimed he'd only ever stay in a hotel if it had a pool.

Pulling out her phone, Sarah began to google the local hotels. He also needed them to be indoor pools, otherwise he'd only be able to swim at night, or risk burning alive in a pool of all places. _What else? What else?_ Sarah thought, trying to provoke her brain to think of something else to narrow down her search. Gyms! He liked to work out, even despite his vampire strength. Another thing that kept him busy on days when he was trapped inside. Then there was that brand he liked. A string of hotels with the same name they'd gone to multiple times because he approved of them. It had become his favourite…if only Sarah could remember what the brand name was.

With a groan of frustration she looked up, ready to scream until she saw a search result that had come up on her phone. The Hilton. That was it. The Hotel Ronnie had always wanted to stay at, provided it had a pool installed. And there was one right around the corner from where she was.

Starting up the bike again, Sarah pulled out onto the road and raced around the corner, pulling to a stop in front of the fancy, yet ordinary hotel. As she stood from her motorcycle, Sarah hit the kickstand, making sure the bike was securely standing on its own before letting go. Then before entering the hotel, she pulled off her helmet and grabbed a passing pedestrian. "Hey, where you going?" Sarah demanded bluntly.

"Eh…to my mother in laws for lunch," the man stuttered out, looking unsurprisingly worried as Sarah held his jacket collar in her hand.

"Change of plan," Sarah said with a grin, before letting her eyes do there thing. "You're going to stand her and watch my bike until I come back or tell you otherwise. Anyone tries to move it. You stop them. Understand?"

"I understand," the man replied dazedly.

"Good. And hold this," Sarah added, forcing her helmet into his hands before stepping around him and heading into the Hilton hotel.

The reception was gleaming, not a speck of dust in sight. The pale yet majestic walls lacking any sense of art, as apparently the wallpaper was good enough for their guests. There wasn't even single planet in one of the corners. The most colourful thing about the room was the pattern on the floor tiles, but Sarah didn't have time to admire any of that. She made a beeline for the four dark brown, wooden, reception desks with a crisp black top. Only one of the desks was maned by a young attractive blonde.

"Hello there, and how can I help you today?" the receptionist asked with the standard 'how do you do' smile you get from these sort of places.

"I'm looking for Ronnie Gibson," Sarah stated, stopping before the desk.

"Excuse me?" the receptionist replied, frowning while still maintaining her smile to the best of her abilities.

"Ronnie Gibson, is he here?" Sarah demanded.

"I'm afraid I can't give away that information until–"

Fixing her eyes on the woman's pale blue ones, Sarah didn't hesitate in compelling her to get what she wanted. "Is Ronnie Gibson here, and if so, where?"

"Let me just check our system," the receptionist said with a compliant smile as she looked down. She ran her fingers along the keyboard, typing away before pausing to look at the dim blue screen behind the desk. Once she finished reading she looked back up at Sarah, her smiling growing slightly. "Mr. Gibson has booked our pool for a privet session. So as far as I can tell you, he's still there." Sarah was about to ask how he booked the entire pool to himself when she remembered he was a vampire. He'd have done what she just did. He did always like a peaceful swim.

"Thank you," Sarah said before running off into the hotel at vamp speed. There was no one else around and frankly she didn't care. If they had any real power to expose her they'd confront her now or later and she could compel them or kill them. Right now her only thought was getting to Ronnie before it was too late. She raced through the corridors, guessing which way was right and trusting her gut until finally she stopped.

She'd ended up in long corridor with windows along one side and extravagant art along the other. But the windows didn't look to the outside. They looked into the swimming pool, and the tropical like atmosphere the colours and plants around the pool gave off. It was a simple enough design. 'L' shaped. A descending stair case leading into the pool which connected to the long lane where you could swim back and forth in. Around the pool was a few blue and green chairs here and there with a couple of wooden tables, all matching that tropical theme. In the far corner was a hot tub and beyond that was the changing rooms.

But just like with the lobby, Sarah had seen none of that. Her eyes went straight to the man in the pool. Casually swimming back and forth as he did his laps. His short, dark brown, almost black hair, soaking wet. Sticking to his head in awkward ways until he went back until the water, where it floated around him as if he were an angel. And beneath the waves in the pool, she could still make out his fine firm body. She couldn't clearly see his face as he swam back and forth, but she remembered it clear as rain and it hadn't changed a bit. His jaw line still firm like the rest of him, with a trimmed stubble that reached up around his perfect lips. A thin, delicate nose that had been broken on more than one occasion, sometimes even by Sarah herself. And the kindest blue eyes she'd even known. That was Ronnie.

She'd been so caught up in getting to him in time, she hadn't thought how she would react when she saw him again. Now that she had him in her sights, all she could do was stand and watch him. It was all she wanted to do. She could just stand there, in the corridor, watching him swim back and forth until he noticed her. Looking at her like he had all those times before. She really had missed him, more than she thought.

A fond smile was playing at her lips, reminding her of what they once had, or perhaps still did. Their love had rekindled before. Who was to say it couldn't again... But she had her family, she had to keep them together, protect them from Katherine. Ronnie had always understood that, but his concern had only ever been for her. He got along with her brothers, but he would turn on them in an instant if they upset Sarah, which they often did. It had been hard trying to bring her family back together with Ronnie in the picture. She wasn't focused enough, spending too much time with him and getting distract, and when she did focus, he made it harder for her to advance her goal. That was why they had broken up so many times, but they always ended up getting back together sooner or later. He wasn't her only boyfriend over the years by any means. But he was the one that had left the most impact.

Still standing, Sarah couldn't make up her mind on whether to go in and reveal herself, or just stand and watch until he noticed her. He'd finished his swim now, and was climbing out the pool. If he'd just turn around, he'd see her. Their eyes would meet, and she'd know if they still had that spark.

She waited for him to turn around but he instead made his way over to one of the chairs. A folded towel waiting for him. He picked it up, running it over his head as he began to dry off. _Just turn around! Just turn around!_ Sarah screamed from the inside. She didn't have the strength to run in and announce her presence. What if that was part of Katherine's plan? What if she'd already sprung her trap by stepping into the building. Her mind began to run ramped with 'what ifs', so much so that she only barely heard the opening and closing of a door from beyond the glass wall that separated her at Ronnie.

Ronnie, however, did hear the door and looked up with a frown as two men in all white outfits approached him. Looking closely, Sarah spotted the hotel's logo on their polo shirts, and assumed they were part of the pool service, life guards or whatever.

"Sorry guys, did I stay over the limit again," Ronnie apologised with a friendly grin as he wrapped the towel around his waist. "It's just so easy to lose track of time when you're in there. But I'll get out of your hair and you can open up the pool again." It seemed ordinary enough and everything was fine as Ronnie turned to head into the changing rooms. But then the two men quickened their pace, one pulling out a needle which he then stabbed into Ronnie's neck.

"No!" Sarah shouted as she ran up to the window, pressing her palms against it as she watched Ronnie groan and fall. He'd been hit with vervain. Without giving him time to even breath, the two men grabbed an arm each and dragged Ronnie towards the hot tub. Once at the edge, the tipped him over and pushed him down into the water. Sarah quickly spotted the steam coming up from the water…and from Ronnie's skin.

The hot tub was full of vervain.

This was Katherine's plan, right here. She'd compelled these two to kill him by drowning him in vervain water. He was screaming in pain, but the two men held his head under as he hunched over the side, his screams being held in by the burning water that filled his lungs.

Sarah made her choice. She ran for the emergency exist, kicked open the glass door and ran in. She was behind the two men in the blink of an eye, grabbing them both by the neck and snapping them at the same time. The two men went limp and collapsed on the floor as Ronnie pulled his head from the vervain water. Adrenaline had pushed him to do that but Sarah could see him already falling back towards the deadly waters.

Grabbing his shoulder, she pulled him back, running over to a nearby chair with him in a blur. She pushed him into the chair and then watched as he groaned and hissed, his skin healing while his eyes remained shut. Despite the circumstances Sarah couldn't help but smile at him, watching as the scared and burnt Ronnie faded away, and her Ronnie returned. He made a few more noises, mixed in with a couple of 'ah's' and 'oh's', but already sounding less painful than when he'd first sat down.

A few seconds later he was completely healed, shaking off the last of the burning sensation. Lifting his hand to his face, he ran it over, rubbing his eyes before doing the same again. His hand dropped, and he looked up ready to thank his saviour, when he saw Sarah. Their eyes connecting. Her forest green with his bright blue. He chuckled quietly, a joyful chuckle as he smiled up at her. Sarah grinned back, but that quickly evolved into a full on smile.

"I don't suppose you can pass me that towel?" Ronnie asked, pointing to the towel on the floor.

"I could," Sarah said. Deliberately looking down at his waist. "But I have missed the view." He chuckled, unable to contain his smile as he moved his arms to conceal his privet parts. Sarah's eyes flicked up from his hidden waist, connecting with his mildly embarrassed eyes. "Maybe that will teach you to stop swimming naked." She smirked at him before heading over to pick up his towel.

"If you couldn't stop me doing it before, what makes you think you'll be able to now?" Ronnie shot back as Sarah picked up his towel. She just laughed, throwing the towel over to him. He caught it, smiling along with her as he stood up to wrap the towel around his waist. Then for the next few seconds, they just stood, smiling reminiscently at one another. That was when Sarah knew for certain, she had missed Ronnie.

* * *

Standing on the porch to the Gilbert house, Scarlett smiled when the door opened and Elena greeted her. "Hey, Scarlett. Come in." She motioned for her to follow and Scarlett thanked her before heading into the house, closing the door behind her. Elena lead her into the kitchen where Jenna was waiting for her, smiling away as always.

"Scarlett!" Jenna said eagerly as she quickly engulfed the girl in a hug. "Thank you for coming."

"It's fine, Jenna," Scarlett said with a smile as she let the friendly woman hug her. They then parted and Jenna returned to work preparing for the barbecue. Scarlett offered to help but Jenna and Elena quickly hushed her, claiming it was their responsibility to cater since it was their home. It was a little awkward but Scarlett sat herself down at the counter top, making ideal chatter while Jenna and Elena worked to get things ready. "So have you heard from Jeremy?" Scarlett asked, deliberately keeping her eyes on the bowl of chips in front of her. Not wanting Elena to catch the worry in her eyes.

"Yeah, I phoned him just before you arrived. Says he probably going to be working late on this project so he apologises if you came for him," Jenna explained with a sympathetic smile.

"It's cool," Scarlett said, hiding the gratefulness from her voice as she picked at a chip before dropping it in her mouth. She chewed on it for a moment before then looking up and smiling when Jenna and Elena looked her way. She had to keep up the appearance. She couldn't have them worrying about her, especially Elena. She was to in-tuned with everything going on and would figure out Jeremy was in danger which in turn would kill him. She just had to relax and enjoy herself. How hard could that be?

"Thanks for letting me invite Caroline by the way," Elena said to Jenna as she poured the chips into another bowl. "She could use a day of distraction."

"How's she doing?" Scarlett asked, wondering what the update was on the new vampire front. She hadn't really seen or heard from Caroline since she turned. After all she'd been doing other things. First she was hanging out with Jeremy, then she'd learnt about Mason, then she'd been going to Duke, then she'd been hiding out in her room. There just hadn't been time to find out about Caroline and how she was doing.

"Good. Good actually," Elena said with a smile that confirmed her words. Scarlett smiled back, happy someone in the group was having some good luck recently.

"Well, she's not the plus one I'm worried about," Jenna declared as she joined the two at the island, leaning down as she glared at Elena.

Scarlett frowned, looking between the two before asking, "Who else is coming?"

"Damon," both nice and aunt answered in unison. That sure cleared everything up for Scarlett, plain and simple. And if anything it made her want to leave. Katherine didn't say she had to stay here to keep Jeremy alive. Just that she couldn't go near Jeremy, tell anyone that he was in danger, or go home until later that night.

Why is Damon coming?" Scarlett asked, frowning at the two. Jenna clearly didn't like him and Elena wasn't on good terms with him either, considering he'd killed Jeremy and all. If Jenna knew that then she'd lose it and probably kill him, vampire or not.

"That's what I'd like to know," Jenna growled as she continued to glare at her niece.

"Because Alaric is a pity taker," Elena said with a look to the two before honing in on Jenna who was still glaring. Scarlett was glaring too, but Elena knew she wasn't going to change her mind any time soon. Her opinion on Damon was practically set in stone by this point. But Jenna she could influence. "Come on, Jenna, be nice," Elena asked as she took a chip from the bowl.

"I'll be nice, when Damon learns to keep his paws off you," Jenna said, the anger clear in her tone.

"Or when he's dead," Scarlett added with a raised brow to Elena. She gave Scarlett a knowing look, letting her know she agreed but was putting on a facade for now. Jenna however didn't know this and was grateful for the support.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you," Jenna said as she shared a grin with Scarlett.

"So who else is coming to this thing?" Scarlett asked, picking out another chip.

"Well, Alaric, seeing as it was his idea." Elena shot Scarlett a look, making it pretty obvious it had not been Alaric's idea. That left only one other suspect as to who had initiated this little gathering. "And–"

"Good news!" Scarlett's eyes widened at the sound of the voice, the voice that had plagued her mind all through the night. The voice that wasn't Jeremy's. "I found the shot…" The excitement left Mason voice the second he saw Scarlett. His hands lowered from the air, where they had once triumphantly held the shot glasses, now shocked at the sight of Scarlett. She began to cough, the shock of Mason's presence causing the chip to catch in her throat. A bang of her chest set that right, but nothing was going to change what she and Mason had done.

Looking at him now, it was still too much. "I need some air," Scarlett muttered as she practically ran from the island, heading out into the hallway. As she made for the front door, she heard Elena calling after her as she followed. But she had to get outside, get at least a couple of walls between her and Mason. She reached for the door, only for it to open on its own as Damon stepped in.

"Scrappy? What are you…" Scarlett was in no mood, pushing past him as she made her way outside. Damon tried to get a reaction out of her, not liking that his presence was being ignored, but Elena pushed him inside and shut the door behind her as she joined Scarlett on the porch. Spotting Scarlett curled up on one of the porch chairs, Elena offered her smile as she joined her.

"Is something wrong?" Elena asked carefully, a frown lining her brow. Scarlett's eyes flickered to Elena, her arms tightening around her legs, pulling them into her chest. She wanted to tell her, more because she needed to tell someone. Last night she hadn't been ready talk and had pushed Sarah away. But now that she was ready, Katherine was playing another of her games and had sent Sarah away, leaving Scarlett with few options. Elena was a good trustworthy person who had kept her secret, but this was about her brother who she loved. Could she really trust her with this?

"Scarlett," Elena said reaching over and placing her hand on top of Scarlett's, letting her know she was there. "You can trust me. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I know I'm Jeremy's sister but I'm also your friend too." Scarlett smiled at that, grateful Elena was offering to help. She just wasn't sure she could.

"Okay, but before I tell you anything, I need to know if I can trust you not to tell Jeremy," Scarlett said as she unfolded her legs, placing her feet on the ground as she leaned towards Elena, who leaned over in turn.

"As long as it doesn't hurt him, you can trust me." Scarlett hesitated at that. This would hurt Jeremy, but only if he found out. Ignorance was bliss, but at the same time, the longer it went unsaid the more it would hurt him later. Would Elena rip of the bandaid now, or leave it to soak?

In the end Scarlett caved and told her. She had to, the guilt was eating her up and she had to tell someone, just to hear what they thought. If Elena did tell Jeremy, well, then maybe it was God setting things right, and if not, then she'd at least have someone to talk about it with, to tell how sorry she was without hurting Jeremy or having to go near Mason.

"Alright…here it goes…" Scarlett looked Elena in the eye, before deciding she just couldn't do it. Not while looking Elena in the eye anyway. She averted her gaze, lowering it down to her hands as they played with her necklace. The one constant in her life since she'd turned wolf and her world along with her. "I…had sex with Mason."

If Elena's jaw could have gone any further, it would have hit the decking and gone straight through the ground. Scarlett could see that without even looking up. Eventually though, she did find the courage to meet Elena's gaze, lifting her head to see the shock in Elena's eyes. But beneath that she could see the disappointment, the sadness, the contempt for what Scarlett had done and how she'd wronged her brother… Or maybe that was just Scarlett seeing her own reflection in Elena's soft brown eyes.

"But it wasn't like we did it in the traditional sense… We…did it as wolves," Scarlett explained, only then realising just how high her voice had gotten, to the point that she was almost squealing as Elena stared back at her with wide shocked eyes.

"What was that like?" Scarlett jumped, worried who might have just stumbled upon her deep dark secret, only to find Caroline walking up the steps to join them. A large packet of chips in hand as she munched away. Her stupid vampire hearing had probably allowed her to hear Scarlett's whole confession. "Werewolf sex I mean?" Caroline asked as she sat down, joining the two while continuing to eat away at her chips.

Sarah had told Scarlett on their way back to the boarding house last night, that Caroline had found out about her secret and they'd told her everything. She'd apologised for slipping up but at the time Scarlett hadn't really cared and hadn't even given the matter much thought. She'd been concerned with other things. "Was it better or worse than human sex?"

"Caroline!" Elena exclaimed at her friend, glaring at her as she indicated for the blonde to stop talking.

"Sorry. I was just curious was all," Caroline scoffed, shoving another handful of chips in her mouth.

"I don't even remember it all, but I know we did it. I tried to stop myself but it was like…I wanted him because he was like me," Scarlett explained before looking to Elena. Desperately trying to make her understand so that she wouldn't tell Jeremy. "I swear I never wanted to do it. And I really did try to fight it. But it was like instinct had completely taken over and I lost any free will I had." She could feel the tears coming now. "I never wanted to do this, I didn't want to hurt Jeremy. I love him and I just…

"It's okay, Scarlett," Elena said as she leaned forward to rub the girl's shoulder. "I'm not blaming you. There's still a lot we don't know about what you are. Maybe this is a common thing among werewolves and you just need time to get used to having another one around," Elena suggested hopefully.

"So all werewolves are sex maniacs?" Caroline asked. Elena sent her a 'not helping' glare before turning her attention back to Scarlett.

"Can you guys just, please, promise not to tell anyone, especially Jeremy," Scarlett begged, eyes switching between the two older girls as she wiped the tears away.

"We won't tell anyone," Elena promised. "But you really should tell Jeremy."

"But how? How could I possibly tell him without hurting him?" Scarlett asked, begging for Elena or Caroline to give her a useful answer to that question.

"I don't think you can, Scarlett," Elena said with a sorry look on her face.

"But…But it technically doesn't count as cheating, right? I mean, it wasn't me that had sex with Mason. It was the wolf that had sex with his wolf. That's not cheating right?" Scarlett proposed as she glanced between Elena and Caroline. Neither looking too convinced by her logic. Scarlett knew it had been a long shot, but even so, it still hurt when she didn't get the response she wanted. She looked back and forth, hoping one of them would change their mind, but the two just continued to stare back at her. Silently telling her that she wasn't going to find a loop hole out of this.

With a groan, Scarlett then stood up and marched back inside. Groaning louder and louder as she approached the door, shoving it open as she made her way inside with Elena and Caroline staring after her. Still groaning inside, Scarlett jogged up the stairs and made her way into the first bathroom, closing the door behind her and locking it. At least in there she didn't have to put up with Elena and Caroline's critical stares.

* * *

The room Ronnie was staying in was more like an apartment than a hotel room. It had its own small living room when you walked in, a tiny cute kitchen off to the side, a huge bathroom with a walk-in shower that Ronnie was now using, and a master bedroom with a walk in closet. Ideal for a vampire who wasn't looking to put down roots. All he had to do was compel the hotel staff for a few days and he had privet room which he could use as he pleased. And from the blood stains Sarah had spotted on her way in, he'd enjoyed himself quite a bit.

She was currently stood by the window, holding the curtain open as she looked out at the street below. The man was still stood there, guarding her bike like he'd been told, but otherwise there was people. People living ordinary lives free from everything supernatural. Sarah would never be able to go back to that life now, not after her long life, but even so, she was envious of one thing. These people had no idea who Katherine Pierce was, and if they were lucky, they never would.

Hearing the door to the bathroom door open, Sarah let the curtain fall close as she turned to look into the living room area. All the curtains had to be closed during the day, reminding Sarah of the luxury she had with her daylight ring. She stepped out of the bed room to find Ronnie fully dressed in jeans and a plain t-shirt. He looked like any other muscular average joe. You wouldn't even know he was a vampire, or that he'd almost been killed.

He'd called the staff and compelled them once he was ready, getting them to discreetly dispose of the bodies and then forget the whole thing. By that point he was fit enough to go and grab his cloths, but he wanted to have a shower in his own room. He hadn't taken long, but it'd allowed Sarah to do her usual snooping whenever she ran into him after extended time apart. He was well aware she did it, caught her multiple times before joking about it. In fact, Sarah was sure that had been the reason he'd come back up to shower, to let her snoop.

There wasn't anything personal though, nothing new anyway. As a vampire that liked to travel, you had to travel light. That meant no personal belongs, bar the cloths off your back and one or two treasured items you took everywhere. She had smiled though when she found an old sketched photo of the two of them. It was simple pencil, but it was a very realistic drawing, something an aspiring artist had done for them when they first started dating. It was of the two of them on a bench, Ronnie's arm wrapped around Sarah as his other hand held hers, both smiling at each other as they leaned in for a kiss. He had that old crusted piece of paper for a long time now, held onto it no matter how many times they broke up or parted ways. And that photo had always let her know one thing. That he still loved her.

Now leaning on the back of the couch, Ronnie glanced over with a grin as Sarah stopped in the archway between the living room area and the bedroom. "So what are you doing here then?" Ronnie asked only to then immediately back-pedal. "Not that I'm not glad to see you. I'm just curious is all?"

Sarah smirked at him, lovingly reminiscing over how Ronnie constantly back-pedalled to make himself sound more polite, or to refine a point. It was a bad habit of his that he'd often complained about along with everyone else. It'd even became a bit of a joke, but Sarah had always found it cute.

"Well, I'm kind of the reason those two guys just tried to boil you in a vervain hot tub," Sarah admitted with an apologetic look to her old flame.

"Ah," Ronnie nodded, thinking he understood. "Still mad about that time mistook Lexi for you?" Sarah couldn't help but laugh along with him at the memory. That was how it always started between them, by reminiscing. "'Cause as you know I was very drunk."

"Lexi's blonde you idiot," Sarah playfully shot back with an eye roll.

"So where you at one point if I recall," Ronnie pointed out modestly with a head tilt. Smirk playing at his lips.

Sarah then threw out her delicate finger in a fearsome warning. "We agreed never to talk about that again." Ronnie burst out laughing and Sarah cracked up too before settling on a smile as she returned to the main issue. "And no. I didn't compel those guys to do that too you."

"Yeah, I kind of figured. And thanks by the way, for saving me," Ronnie added on a more serious note as he straightened up, taking a few steps towards her. "But then who wanted to kill me?"

Sarah sighed, gearing up to tell him everything he'd missed since they last parted ways. Though she had a few highlights she wanted to get out the way first. "You remember how I told you about that demonic bitch who turned me and my brothers?"

"You mean the one that Lexi insisted we call…?" Ronnie asked slowly, catching the serious edge to Sarah's words.

He didn't need to say the last word, everyone who knew the story – or even Lexi for that matter – knew what the word was. "Yes." Sarah paused, taking a deep breath. Every time she had to explain it out loud it killed her a little inside. As if she was reliving her own discovery of it all over again. "Well, she's the one that just had those two guys try and kill you."

Ronnie frowned. "But isn't she dead? I thought your dad and the rest of that town had her burnt alive in their church," Ronnie pointed out, explaining the events as he knew them.

"Yeah, well, it's a long story," Sarah grumbled as she made her way over to the couch. Sitting down in a huff as she folded her arms. "The point is, she's back. And she just tried to have you killed."

"Yeah, still curious as to why that is exactly," Ronnie said, joining Sarah on the couch with a curious, but no pressure, smile.

Sarah turned to him, smiling apologetically again. She really was sorry for having dragged him into this. "She's just hurting you to get back at me. I wasn't playing her stupid little game and I pissed her off." She pushed, the feeling of being played suddenly washing over her. "Although, now I'm thinking there's probably another reason for her sending me out here. Or maybe she just wanted to get me out of Mystic Falls?" Sarah screwed up her face in serious thought before then groaning as she dropped her head into her lap, groaning even louder.

She was starting to get paranoid, over thinking ever little thing. But of course that was what Katherine wanted, to unhinge her and make it harder for her and her brothers to fight back. And as always she got her way. Still messing and control them even after all this time.

"Hey, hey," Ronnie said soothingly as he rubbed Sarah's back, leaning forward so his head was in line with her own. "Look, if you want I can come back with you. That way you don't have to worry about Katherine secretly plotting to kill me behind your back because I'll be there with you."

"You really want to go to Mystic Falls?" Sarah asked, sitting back with a frown, and yet still smiling when Ronnie grinned back.

"I know I'm not the biggest help in a fight or anything, but maybe I could help. And, I mean, she did just try to have me killed, and she's going after you. I think that constitutes as personal."

"You don't have to do that," Sarah said with a fond smile as she stared back into his compassionate blue eyes.

"I know. But I want to," Ronnie explained. He then let the silence take over, and Sarah didn't stop him. They both stared into each others' eyes, smiles both growing and shrinking at the same time. Old feelings reemerging after being ignored for so long.

But that was why Sarah couldn't bring him back with her. Before she hadn't realised how much she'd missed him, now she knew, and that made him an even bigger target for Katherine. Before it was just a warning shot to prove her point, to remind Sarah that she could get at anyone she'd ever cared about. But if she brought Ronnie back and let her feels reform, that made him even more valuable to Katherine, someone else she could hold over her if she didn't comply. And if she had both Damon and Ronnie, she could afford to kill one, just to prove to Sarah that she would.

"I can't let you do that," Sarah said, sadness seeping into her voice. She didn't want to say goodbye again, not just yet, not after they'd just started talking. She'd missed their chats, his voice, his mere presence. She wasn't ready to let it go again for who knows how long. "It's too dangerous. The closer you are to me and Katherine the more she'll try to use you to get at me. It'd be better for us both if you just moved on."

"But I care about you Sarah," Ronnie said firmly as he reached over, taking her hands with his. A passionate fire lighting in his eyes. "You know how much I care, how far I'm willing to go. And I don't care about risking my own life, as long as I can help protect you from her, it'll be worth it." A smile wormed its way onto Sarah's face. "And after everything we've been through, all the years we've been together, you can't just ask me to run away." He reached up, placing his hand on Sarah's face as he pleaded her to listen to him. "Just let me help. Wait until sundown and then we can go back together. We can face her together."

Sarah tried to fight her emotions, but that was the problem with being a vampire. Fighting you emotions could be damn near impossible when you had as much history as Sarah and Ronnie had. Despite every logic thinking cell in her body, she caved into her emotions, to her needs. She just couldn't part from him, not when every fibre of her being was screaming for her to stay with him, just like with Ronnie. Neither wanted to leave the other.

She sniffed, pulling what little tears had formed back in, before blinking away what remained. "Okay… But if we're going to be stuck in this room until sundown, we're going to have a lot of time to kill."

"I guess so," Ronnie said with a flirtatious grin.

"You wouldn't happen to have any ideas would you?" Sarah asked teasingly, her primal needs flaring and pushing everything else to the side. It had been far too long since she'd gotten some, and now that she was here with Ronnie, after so long. She was more than happy to give into those needs.

Ronnie didn't need another invitation. He placed his other hand on her face, pulling her into him as his lips pressed against her for the first time in what felt like an eternity. The kiss quickly transcended into a full on make out as Sarah pushed Ronnie down onto his back, laying on top of him as she reached up slowly to take his face in her hands.

They then paused, parting enough so they could see into each others eyes. Both smirked, knowing what traditionally followed their laid back make out sessions. "Want me to speed things up?" Ronnie asked teasingly.

"I'm inclined to say it's rude to keep a girl waiting," Sarah replied before she descend on him once more. Their lips had hardly touched when she found herself shoved against the wall, Ronnie's hands pinning her wrists to the wall.

"Well, I've certainly waited long enough for this?" Ronnie said as he stared back at her with longing eyes, only inches from her own.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Sarah whispered. Ronnie took that at face value and leaned forward, capturing Sarah's lips while keeping her pinned to the wall. That didn't last for long though. Sarah was older, which meant she was stronger and faster than Ronnie. So once he was truly distracted by her lips and his grip loosened, she turned to the tides, quickly switching their positions as she threw him into the wall. But rather than pin him like he had her, she grabbed the collar of his shirt with both hands, ripping the fabric away before enclosing her arms around his chest, pulling him into another heated kiss.

After that she pulled off her leather jacket, throwing it over the back of a nearby chair. She advanced on Ronnie again, going for his jeans, unbuckling his belt. As she did that, he tried to tear of her t-shirt, but that wasn't how she played. Before he could get a decent hold, she grabbed him, throwing him around her and sending him onto the couch which skidded back as he landed flat on his back, mildly winded.

He blinked and then Sarah was on top of him in a blur grinning down at him. "Sorry, Ronnie. But you're going to have to earn the right to see these again," Sarah said with an obvious indication. He grinned up at her before pulling her down to him at vamp speed, making Sarah squeal in delight before the noise vanished in the heat of their make out.

"God…I missed you," Ronnie groaned as Sarah ran her hands over his bare chest while continuing to kiss him.

"Oh, I can tell," Sarah replied, looking down at what lay beneath her as she straddled him. It had been a good thing she unbuckled his belt. "You ready to move this to the bedroom already?"

"Bed room? Bathroom? Hallway? Reception desk?" Ronnie listed off teasingly as his grin grew. "I'm good wherever you are."

"In that case…" Sarah trailed off, leaning down slowly as she prepared to plant another kiss on him. But again he was robbed, the room moving in a bur of motion before he then found himself being pushed backwards onto his bed. He landed comfortably on his back, staring up at a feistily grinning Sarah who now stood over him. "The bed it is," she then declared before jumping up to straddle Ronnie once more. Descending on him like the blood thirsty predator she was before their lips crashed together in a blaze of glory.

It was all just as Sarah remembered it.


	8. I've Got a Bone to Pick with You

_Review responses:_

Only reviewer: _Indeed she does, and as always, sorry for torturing you! X) And yeah, no one is safe from Katherine's wrath. Also the actor I saw as Ronnie was a young James Murray, from Primeval if you've ever seen it._

 _Since I was late last week, I figured I'd upload a little early this week. Surprise! I'll also have another chapter for next week too, just so you're all aware._ _But anyway, we have the conclusion of memory lane, and things are about to take another turn for the worse. As they always do when Katherine's around._

 _And as always if you have any questions or thoughts you want to leave behind, please do, or PM if you prefer. I do my best to reply to everyone and I love having little chats with you all. So, enjoy, and I'll see you all, next week!_

* * *

 **Chapter 8: I've Got a Bone to Pick with You**

* * *

It was official. Scarlett wanted to kill herself. She'd thought here limit had been pushed when they went to Duke and she had to sit and read for hours on end. She'd gladly take that now over this. Pictionary. With Mason. Sat in the armchair next to her. And if that wasn't bad enough, Damon, in his infinite wisdom, was making no stop dog jokes. Like right now.

"Dress!" Jenna shouted out as Damon quickly drew what was obviously a dog with a tut, stood on its hind legs with musical notes all around it. "Ballerina!"

"Puppy!" Caroline jumped in as she and Jenna shouted over one another trying to get the right answer. Scarlett was remaining quiet, much like Mason who had already worked it out just like her. It wasn't hard, considering Damon had a theme to everything he did. All of it intending to not so subtly jab Mason and by extension Scarlett. He just didn't know he was doing it to her. "Puppy with a tutu!"

Damon shook his head. "A dog! Hound-dog!" Jenna cried out as Damon pointed to her and began nodding implying she was on the right track. He began stabbing the board with the pen, as if by doing so would help them realise what they were missing.

It was utter torture. But thankfully Mason stepped up to end it. "Dances with Wolves." The two women screaming over each other to answer the question fell silent. Both turned along with Alaric, who was between them, in unison and glared at Mason in disbelief that he'd gotten the answer so easily.

"Mason wins…again," Damon said with a grin to the man who was laid back in the chair. Mason just smiled back before looking over at Scarlett, who turned away from his gaze. She really was starting to hate herself for coming out the bathroom. Even if Caroline had threatened to kick the door down, she could have fought her off and kept the door shut. Maybe she still could. Anything was better than this, the definition of awkwardness.

"How is that a wolf?" Jenna began to protest as she pointed at the board. While she was doing that, Scarlett turned to see if Mason had give up, but he was still staring at her. Again she shied away from his gaze, the itchy feeling beneath her skin returning once more.

"If anything that's a dog," agreed Caroline.

"Why does everyone have an issue with my drawing skills?" Damon said in mock defence. Scarlett cautioned another look and still Mason stared at her. No one noticed though. Damon was too busy getting into a fight over his Pictionary skills with Jenna and Caroline, with poor Alaric caught in the middle, trying to keep well out of it.

"Will you stop looking at me," Scarlett grumbled to Mason, only looking at him long enough to get her message across before then turning away from him again.

"Sorry," Mason apologised politely before turning back to the fight that was taking place. It wasn't like he was a complete bad guy. He wasn't even being a dick about it. He was actually quite friendly. Odds where he'd been forced into doing it too by his instincts, his free will left behind as he succumb to his urges. But that didn't change the fact that Scarlett wanted to tear off her skin every time he was around, or that a new wave of guilt washed over her whoever their eyes had met.

"How about, we do something about dinner!" Alaric cut into the fight as he stood up, looking around the group.

"I think Elena's one step ahead of you there. Actually I think I'll go and help her," Damon said with a curious look before making his way into the kitchen.

He was in the kitchen all of five seconds before Jenna then said, "I'm going go and help them." She went to stand up but ended up stumbling a bit before Alaric steadied her. She sent him a grateful smile before then heading into the kitchen. Shortly after Alaric followed and Mason went off to the bathroom, leaving Scarlett and Caroline in the living room.

"So how's it going?" Caroline asked as she sat down in the armchair where Mason had been, now next to Scarlett.

"Well I'm still alive. Though I'm not sure that's a good thing," Scarlett grumbled before then placing her face in her hands and groaning loudly. "Why am I doing this to myself? What's the point? Should I just go home?"

"No!" Caroline quickly jumped in, making Scarlett jump with the speed she'd answered. Seeing the look of shock on Scarlett, Caroline threw on a smile and back-pedalled. "I mean, it can't be that bad?"

"You remember the part where I slept with the guy right," Scarlett said with a frown. "And now I'm feeling immensely guilty. And being in the same room as Mason isn't helping me a whole lot." She sank back into her chair, curling in on herself as she did. Caroline didn't really have much to say after that, other than offer a sympathetic smile. Jenna eventually came back, telling them the food was ready, but Scarlett said she wasn't hungry and skipped it. Caroline opted to stay with her, probably so that she wasn't alone and could run off. She hated how Caroline was forcing her to stay. The ball and chain saying was starting to make a lot more sense to her, especially when Caroline had dragged her into the living room with an iron grip on her wrist.

They chatted ideally for a while, mostly about school which was helpful. Caroline gave her a few tips for staying on top of things and offered to help tutor her if she needed it on certain subjects she was less confident with. Scarlett figured that could be useful, providing her guilt didn't kill her before the year ended.

When Elena then walked back in, wanting to escape the grownups, she and Caroline began to dismantle the Pictionary stand. They were halfway through it when Elena stopped, turning to the two with a hopeful look on her face. "Would I be the worst friend in the world if I abandoned you and went to Stefan's?"

"Yes," Scarlett answered. "Unless you took me with you, in which case you'd be the best friend ever," Scarlett proposed, hoping that Elena would agree and that she'd finally be able to get away from Mason.

"Why do you would you want to leave though?" Caroline asked, wide eyes fixed on Elena.

"It's just that he hasn't gotten back to me and I'm starting to get this bad feeling," Elena explained as she began to frown.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Elena," Caroline said, shaking her head frantically.

"I think it's a great idea, let's go now," Scarlett countered more eagerly as she stood up.

She didn't get far though as Caroline quickly pushed her back down into her seat, only to then gesture wildly at her. "Are you seriously going to listen to her. The girl that just cheated on her boyfriend." A stunned silence fell over the room as Elena looked shockingly at Caroline before looking to Scarlett with a sympathetic look. Caroline glanced back, apology flooding her eyes as Scarlett stared back at her with clear hurt on her face.

"That's not fair," Scarlett said quietly.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" Caroline stammered before taking a breath. "It's just–" She turned back to Elena. "–Do you really think this is a good idea, I mean, you don't want to come off as clingy."

"I'm not being clingy, Caroline, I'm just concerned. And Scarlett clearly doesn't want to be," Elena explained before gesturing to the poor teenager girl. "I'm just going to take her home and check on Stefan. I'll be right back I promise," Elena said as she stepped towards the hallway only for Caroline to step out and block her path.

"No, no," Caroline said before she began to squirm. "How–How about I drive you? That way no one has to stay behind," Caroline said optimistically, switching gears rather drastically.

"Actually that doesn't sound like a bad idea," Elena admitted before looking over to Scarlett. "Would you be okay with that?"

"As long as Blonde-zilla, doesn't make any more snide comments. It should be fine," Scarlett said angrily from the chair.

"Okay, I deserved that," Caroline admitted as she turned around, sorry written all over her face.

"Yeah, you did," Scarlett agreed as she got up, making her way into the hall with Elena and Caroline behind her. Once Elena grabbed her keys and told Jenna what was happening, the three made their way out to Caroline's car. Elena and Scarlett got in on the passenger side while Caroline walked around to the drivers side, kneeling down when she dropped her keys. After that they were on their way. But as the drive went on, Scarlett began to smell something. Her nostril flared and she turned her head towards Caroline. She was sweating. She could smell it on her. And her heart rate, now that she was actually listening to it was a little fast.

"You alright, Caroline?" Scarlet spoke up from the back.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Caroline said with a forced laugh as she looked at Scarlett through her mirror. But the signs were still there. She was nervous, but about what? Elena looked back with a questioning look, and while Caroline focused on the road ahead, Scarlett indicated to Caroline with her eyes. Elena then looked to Caroline, a line growing across her forehead.

"Are you sure everything's alright?" Elena asked.

"What is with both of you, I'm fine!" Caroline exclaimed, giving them both a look before turning back to the road. Besides it's you two we should be worrying about.

"I'm sorry?" Elena asked with a frown matching Scarlett's.

"Well, I mean, come on. It's not like you've got the best of odds," Caroline pointed out.

"Best of odds for what?" Scarlett added from the backseat.

"For lasting. I mean, why do you think Matt and I broke up. It obviously wasn't going to work. I'm immortal now, never ageing. Matt's going to get old just like you," Caroline said with a look to Elena. "And I'm not sure what the werewolf statistics are like, but you're now going to be trying to kill Jeremy twice a month. And never mind the fact that you've slept with another guy just a week after sleeping with Jeremy. Sooner or later that's going to blow up in your face."

"Yeah, Caroline, you remember I can kill you with a single bite right?" Scarlett asked as she leaned forward, arms folded.

"Yeah," Caroline said nervously, glancing her her rear view mirror to see what Scarlett was doing.

"Then shut it," Scarlett snapped, before letting her back hit her chair as she glare out the window. Caroline bit down on her lip before then looking over to Elena who frowned back at her before looking out the window as well. The awkward silence lasted for a couple of minutes before the car made a clunking noise and began to slow down. The three girls all sat up, looking around to see what had happened.

"Crap," Caroline groaned as she pulled over to the side, before getting out to see what had happened. "Oh, come on!"

"What is it?" Elena and Scarlett asked as they climbed out the car, looking over the roof to Caroline who was pouting.

"My tires burst," Caroline explained as she looked over to them.

"I didn't know Karma could work that fast," Scarlett said, smirk forming as Caroline glared back at her. Even Elena was grinning at the remark, she just had the decency to hide it behind her hand as she pretended to cough. "Don't you have a spare in the car?" Scarlett suggested.

"I did. Until I burst my tire two weeks ago," Caroline said sheepishly. Elena and Scarlett sighed aloud. "I was meaning to change it!" Caroline exclaimed defensively, but it wasn't going to change anything now. It looked like they were going to be in the middle of the road for a while.

* * *

Back at the Gilbert's, Damon was doing his part to clean up in the kitchen. It was a little thing that would hopefully help get him on Jenna's good side, where he ideally wanted to be. Not because she meant anything to him, just because it would make his life over all easier. And cleaning the dishes wasn't so bad. It also gave him time to snoop around and find the good booze. So once he was done cleaning, he threw the dish towel aside and poured himself a drink, right as Mason walked in.

"Jenna just brought out Guitar Hero. It Might be time to mutiny," Mason joked with a grin, stopping at the counter as he tapped his knuckles rhythmically against the wood.

"Well, I just happen to like Guitar Hero. So you, my friend, are barking up the wrong tree," Damon declared as he sipped his drink.

"Okay, enough with the innuendos, you win, you're hilarious," Mason said, raising his hands as his humour began to leave him.

"Thank you," Damon replied with a not so modest grin.

"Come on, man. You don't think I know what this barbecue is about?" Mason said angrily as he leaned towards Damon.

"How do you know about me?" Damon countered, glaring back as he inched closer towards Mason. "Your brother was completely clueless."

"It doesn't matter; I'm not your enemy, Damon."

"You tried to kill my brother and sister," Damon shot back.

"That was a mistake. I wasn't able to chain myself up in time and I have no control once I shift," Mason said defensively, to which Damon snorted not buying it. "And to be honest, I don't get why you've been riding me all day when you seem perfectly fine with Scarlett."

Damon frowned, locking his gaze with Mason's once more. "Who says I'm fine with Scrappy?"

"Oh, come on. I've been talking to Jenna about her, I know she's staying with you and your family."

"What of it?" Damon asked, frown deepening in confusion, failing to see how this all connected.

Mason chuckled. "I don't know why you're trying so hard to keep it a secret, but I know alright. I know Scarlett's a werewolf like me."

Damon did his best to keep his eyes from widening. So that was it. It all made so much sense now. Why the Gilbert device had effected her but not the vervain. Why she had been able to beat Mason when Stefan couldn't. Because she was a supernatural…and more to the point a huge danger to him and his family.

"So come on. If you can put the werewolf thing aside for her, why not me?" Mason asked, taking on a more pleading tone. "I'm sorry about attacking your brother and sister, and the blonde. But Scarlett would have probably ended up doing it herself if we hadn't both been there and gotten distracted by each other's presence." Another piece of the puzzle clicked for Damon. He'd been wondering what family Scarlett had in Duke and more importantly why she hadn't come back with him, Elena and Alaric. It was because on the night of the full moon she'd come back to Mystic Falls ahead of them.

"But nobody got hurt. And I can't shift like her when it's not a full moon." Another piece of information for Damon to remember. So the moon part of the curse was true, just not for Scarlett. "She's more of a threat to you than me and to be honest with you, she could probably take me in a fight. So if you're that worried, just let her have a few goes at me," Mason joked with a chuckle as Damon forced himself to grin along with the werewolf.

"Seriously though, let's not spark some age-old feud that doesn't apply to us. I'm just here to help my family through this difficult time. So what do you say?" Mason said as he extended his arm towards Damon. The vampire eyed it curiously for a moment, before then taking the wolf's hand and shaking it. Mason grinned back at him before then heading back into the living room to join Jenna and Alaric. But the second he was gone Damon's frown reappeared.

Nothing had changed for him. Now he just had two targets instead of one. Mason and Scarlett. And from what Mason was telling him, Scarlett was the one to watch out for. Not only could she shift at will, making her a constant threat because of her bite, but she was supposably stronger than him and by extension Stefan. There was of course only one major problem with that. His sister, who was now basically a guardian for the mutt. That was going to be challenging. Mason however, didn't have his sister's protection. Making him a much more easier target. Not a preferable target, but one he could at least hit for now. He would deal with Scarlett later.

* * *

It wasn't long before Elena resulted to pacing back and forth. What surprised Scarlett was how long she paced for. She kept going long after the sun set and was still going as the stars started to come out. But while she paced, Caroline and Scarlett leaned back against the car. It was silent for the most part, bar when Caroline had called the tow company and when Elena complained about the wait time. Which she was doing again.

"Are you sure the tow's coming? We've been waiting forever."

"I know, it's weird. They said they'd be here by now," Caroline agreed, tapping her phone against the palm of her hand as she stared off into the distance.

"I'm just gonna call Jenna," Elena conceded, finally sick of waiting after so long.

"No!" Caroline cut in. "Just let me try the tow people again. And I'll use my agro voice."

"Shame you can't compel down the phone," Scarlett muttered from her leaned back position, her arms folded. Caroline giggled at that while she got ready to dial, Elena however wasn't in as good a mood.

"We can just walk from here," she decided, about to set off on foot when Caroline jumped in front of her to block her path.

"I can't just leave me car," Caroline said defensively.

"We'll come back for it," Elena said simply.

"Just give me a minute, Elena," Caroline growled as she typed away at her phone.

"Caroline, what part of 'I'm worried about Stefan' didn't sink in?" Elena said, worry seeping into her voice as she tried to get her point across.

"What's the rush? Why are you hurrying to get to a relationship that will never work?" Caroline snapped suddenly.

Elena stared back at her friend for a moment before saying, "Okay, look, I know that you're upset over Matt but will you stop projecting it onto me and Scarlett please?"

"I'm not projecting anything!" Caroline snapped again. "You're human, just like Jeremy. He's a vampire and you're a werewolf," Caroline pointed out, her gaze now shifting between Elena and Scarlett as both frowned back at her. Now being pulled into the drama, Scarlett pushed off the car and stood alongside Elena as Caroline spoke. "You're gonna be 70 and in diapers and he's still gonna be smoking hot." She turned on Scarlett. "And do you really think Jeremy's gonna want to do it with a dog the rest of his life? Especially a chatting one?"

A fist to the face then shut Caroline up as she stumbled backwards, just managing to stay on her feet and no more. She held her face before the lowering her hand to find it covered in blood. It was a broken nose, and already healing, but even so Caroline couldn't help but glare back at Scarlett, anger fuelling her eyes at an uncontrollable rate. "What the hell, Scarlett?!"

"I told you to shut it!" Scarlett barked, eyes flashing amber and the whites of her eyes darkening. Caroline back down at that, turning back into the timid animal she had been before. "You think I don't feel bad enough? Without you throwing my mistake back in my face, over and over again. Ever since I slept with him I've been so confused and I'm scared and I don't know what to do! And you think just because you broke up with your boyfriend, that gives you the right to shit on everyone else's relationships? Well it doesn't! You have no idea what I'm going through. Cause you're not the only one that's become more emotional since they became supernatural!"

"I'm…I'm…" Caroline stuttered, unsure of what to say as Scarlett glared back at her, barely able to hold back the tears she'd been keeping in ever since this morning. She should have spent half the day crying in her bed. Instead she'd been dragged over to some stupid barbecue, during which she'd had to spend time with Mason and all Caroline had done was insult her.

"Stupid? Annoying? Self centred? Self absorbed? Obnoxious? Over compensating? A loud mouth?" Scarlett listed off. "Or are you just simply a bad friend?"

"I'm scared…" Caroline then whispered.

Scarlett stared back in disbelief. "You're what?" she snapped.

"I'm…I'm scared," Caroline said a little louder, allowing Elena to hear this time.

"Of what?" Elena asked, sounding more sympathetic than Scarlett. Caroline didn't answer though. She might have done after enough time had passed, but before that the tow truck arrived. It's lights illuminating them as it pulled up on the other side of the road. "There's the tow, I'm gonna walk," Elena decided before beginning to make her way down the road. She stepped past Caroline only for her friend to then grab her arm.

"No, Elena, don't!" Caroline said firmly as her grip tightened, vampire strength taking hold.

"Caroline, you're hurting me," Elena said.

"Don't leave me alone," Caroline whispered, pure terror in her voice. And it wasn't just in her voice. Scarlett could hear her heart racing like crazy. She truly was terrified.

"Caroline, what's wrong?" Scarlett asked, compassion somehow finding its way into her voice. Caroline swung around to face her, still holding Elena's arm, refusing to let her leave. Her eyes screamed for help but still she didn't say anything. Fear was keeping her quiet.

"Hey there, someone called about a flat tire?" the tow guy said as he approached the three of them.

"She did," Elena said with a nod to Caroline, who finally loosened her grip enough for Elena to pull herself free. She looked back with a confused look before then heading off into the night, following the road towards the the Salvatore house.

"Do you just need me to change the tire then?" the tow guy asked.

"Yes, please," Caroline muttered before the man set to work. As he did that, Scarlett watched Caroline, trying to figure out if the fright had been genuine or just an act. Judging by Caroline's heart though, it had been real. Her face was neutral now, stone still as she stared off into the night. That was until a shiver passed over her and she began to rub her arms, her heart rate picking up again.

"Caroline," Scarlett spoke up, grabbing the blonde's attention as she turned to her. "Is there anything you want to tell me? Anything that might explain the way you've been acting today?" For a moment, Caroline looked like she was about to answer, then she turned away, marching off towards the tow truck and leaving Scarlett by the car. Scarlett could practically smell the secret on her. But more than that, she could smell the fear. The pure, utter, terrified fear.

* * *

Lying in bed, Sarah smiled as Ronnie took her hand, their fingers intertwining. She was lying against him, her head resting in between his arm and shoulder, her right hand holding his right as a white sheet covered their naked bodies. It had been a while since Sarah had last done what she just had, but judging by Ronnie's reaction, she'd done a fine job. As proof by how long they'd managed to go and how many times. Not a record for the two, but they were never going to come close to that number again, at least not with everything else going on. But Ronnie had picked up a few new tricks, much to Sarah's delight.

"Where did you learn that?" Sarah asked, referencing what they'd done on their last go, something completely and utterly unexpected.

"This Asian girl. You'd have liked her."

"Try again," Sarah said knowingly.

"Alright I got it off the internet," Ronnie chortled out. Sarah joined in his chuckle as she tilted her head back to see him looking down at her. "You try being stuck inside for hours on end with nothing to do."

"Yeah. The private swimming pool, gym, bedroom, and the equivalent of an all hours blood bank must be real boring. And let's not forget the ultimate porn collection," Sarah added, prompting Ronnie to laugh.

When he stopped, he took her hand, playing with the delight ring on her finger. He'd never take it, he knew the deal. It was spelled to her, and would only ever work for her. They'd tried a few times to get him one, just like they had with Lexi, but no witch they ever ran into was willing to fork one over. Slightly rude considering the wild parties that the vampires would throw for them. But without compulsion all they had was their charm to try and win the witches over. They'd come close a couple of times, especially with Lexi, a natural people person. But coven after coven had ended up pushing her away or threatening to banish any witch who attempted to give her a daylight ring. For all those witches, the risk was too high for Lexi, no matter how much they liked her. But Lexi never held a grudge about it. She'd been around long enough – even then – to know that bearing grudges never got you anywhere…unless it involved Katherine.

 _"_ _Bitch,"_ Lexi's voice corrected in her head, making Sarah grin as she watched Ronnie's fingers continue to play with her ring.

"You know, I think you take this thing for granted at times," Ronnie said in relation to the ring. Sarah had to agree, humming as she did. It was like breathing to her. She never took the ring off, and as a result she never had to think twice about going out into the sun. But then she only had to see Caroline, terrified of the light before getting her daylight ring, jumping at the mere sliver of sunlight breaking through a crack in the curtains.

Ronnie had more self control than that. Then again he'd been around longer. He wasn't as old as Sarah or her brothers, but still old enough to have learnt to live with it. For the most part he seemed perfectly natural as a vampire, playing his role as a human who just happened to never put a finger in the sunlight. Normally he pulled it off with ease, but ever now and then, Sarah would catch him, watching a line of sunlight across the ground, tracing it to it's origin and seeing if it was a riskm or if he could ignore it. And always that look of longing in his eye before it was briskly wiped away.

Looking to the window, the bright light behind the curtains had faded away. The only light artificial, reflecting off the curtains and back at them. His eyes then moved to the bedside clock, having memorised when the sun roughly set.

That was one thing Sarah had never had to do, organise her life around the rise and fall of the sun. She doubted she would have survived those early days if she'd had to. But many vampires did it, and some where even happy, content with it like Lexi. But Sarah wasn't stupid enough to believe that there were those that had probably taken their lives as vampires, unable to or unwilling to live in a world where they could never step in the sun without a magic ring. A ring that could be impossible to get unless you were as fortunate as Sarah and her brothers.

"Sun's gone down," Ronnie declared, though neither were in a hurry to move. Sarah knew she ought to get back to Mystic Falls as soon as possible. But this, what she hadn't had in so long, was too good to run away from that quickly. She wanted to savour it, even if it was just for a few more minutes, or even seconds. There was no telling when she'd feel like this again. At peace and simply happy. Thanks to Ronnie.

"You still want to go back to Mystic Falls?" Ronnie asked, eyes staring down at Sarah's head while she remained entranced by the curtains, or rather what was outside. The night. Freedom. The freedom to do whatever she wanted, take whatever she wanted and go wherever with whoever. But she already knew what she would do. What she always did.

Finally Sarah moved. It was partly in reaction to the question, showing that she was going to do as she said. She pulled her hand from Ronnie's and sat up before rolling over on to her front, using her elbows to hold her up as she looked Ronnie in the eye. She had too for this. "I have too," she answered simply. She could see the disappointment in Ronnie's eyes. He rarely said anything, but he always had that look of disappointment when it came to Sarah deciding between him and her brothers.

"Believe me," Sarah said with a fond and sorry smile, as she took his face in her hands. Her thumb running affectionately down the side of his rough cheek. "I wish I could stay here, with you, in this bed for the rest of my life…but–"

"–But your family needs you," Ronnie finished. The words all too familiar as his gaze dropped down to his hand, fingers drumming soundlessly against the mattress. All Sarah could offer him was the same fond and yet sad smile. He smiled softly back in forgiveness. Like he always did. "So we going to lie around all night or am I going to have to drag you back to your brothers myself?" Ronnie teased as he leaned towards her, the two grinning before gently pressing their lips to one another. With smiles they parted, shifting into gear before gathering all they needed. Sarah got dressed and Ronnie gathered what was worth keeping, leaving behind a messy room with discarded items here and there. He'd compelled the staff to take care of everything once he left, and then to forget him and erase all the footage off him. No loose ends.

Once ready they made their way out to the front, the man Sarah had compelled still standing by her bike, holding her helmet. "Thanks for that," Sarah said teasingly as she took the helmet from the compelled man who stared blankly back at her. "Now." Her eyes locked with his and she then commanded him, "Forget all of this, forget me, forget the bike and everything that has happened since I stopped you. You tripped and bumped your head. You passed out and have been at the hotel the entire time. If you're asked any other questions about where you've been or what happened, you'll just repeat the story."

Once the compulsion was finished, the man walked off, rubbing his head after he got a few feet away before rounding the corner at the end of the street. With him dealt with, Sarah turned back to Ronnie with a feisty grin, spinning her helmet around in between her hands. He smiled back before looking to the bike. "You kept it I see."

"Of course I kept it," Sarah stated, as if it were obvious. "It was from you." He appreciated that, and watched Sarah mount the bike before placing her helmet on. "Where's yours then?" Sarah asked, adjusting the strap beneath her chin.

It had been a matching pair at one point, one of his more extravagant gifts. A gift for her and present for himself. Both bikes had been identical when they first got them, only Sarah's was cherry red and Ronnie's had been full on black. Shortly after that though, they'd parted ways but Ronnie had insisted she keep the bike as it was intended for her, so she had. And he'd taken his and driven off along with her until they parted ways once more.

Ronnie tilted his head, grimacing a little as he scratched the back of his neck. "It kind of got trashed," explained Ronnie. Sarah frowned, unhappy with the news. While it had been a gift for her and she'd fallen in love with the bike, Ronnie'd had his heart set on a motorcycle for ages, but had held out for the right model. That Ducati 1098 had been his dream bike, and if Sarah could, she'd kill whoever took that from him.

Knowing what Sarah would be asking, Ronnie continued with, "It was a couple of vampires outside New Orleans. Something about me not being welcome and never to come back."

"So in order to make sure you leave and never come back, they took your method of transportation and smashed it to bits?" Sarah asked, the irony clear as day, before the sarcasm took over her voice. "They must of been a pair of geniuses."

Ronnie shrugged, the past now behind him. "I got my own back. I snapped their necks and burned their little bar before borrowing their very new car." Sarah laughed at that, prompting Ronnie to smile back. "I made it across the state line before then accidentally crashing the thing." Sarah laughed some more, before sobering up.

"Well, since you got me it, you can use my bike while you're in Mystic Falls," Sarah said as she motioned for him to climb on with her.

"That's generous," Ronnie said with a smirk as he climbed onto the back, his arms warping around Sarah's waist. "I heard the last guy that tried to take your bike for a ride ended up with his heart shoved down his throat.

With a look back over the shoulder, Sarah grinned devilishly. "It's true," Sarah declared before looking ahead and starting up the engine. "But if you try and steal it or damage it in anyway, you won't make it out of Mystic Falls alive."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ronnie replied before Sarah raved the engine and pulled away from the sidewalk. Taking off down the street, only slowing to veer around the corner before then accelerating once more towards the highway. The journey was the same length of time, but it didn't feel nearly as bad or as long on the way back. Sarah assumed that was because there was no longer an immediate threat, or perhaps it was because Ronnie was with her now, and she could final smile again. She wasn't sure if she'd done that properly since Katherine showed up. He gave her a sort of hope.

When they finally arrived home, Sarah stopped outside the house to let Ronnie off. He whistled taking in the house Sarah had been staying in. It was odd how he'd never seen it and yet it felt like it'd always been her home now. A place she could always come back too. Or maybe that was just Mystic Falls. "Nice place," Ronnie said, tilting his head back as he looked up at the three story boarding house.

"It's home," Sarah said with a laidback shrug. "Wait here, I'll be back in a sec." She turned the bike around before then parking it back in the garage, careful to cover it up again before closing the door. She'd check it over completely tomorrow, during the day when Ronnie couldn't come out. That way she'd still be close but could go out and attend to her baby.

Once she rejoined Ronnie, she led him inside, only to find Stefan and Scarlett waiting for them. Waiting probably wasn't the right word, it just seemed that way at first glance for Sarah. After a few seconds she pieced together that they'd been talking, judging by where they were stood, and how they were facing each other, and not the door. Also the surprise on their faces as she walked through the door.

"Sarah, where have you–" Stefan began before lying eyes on Ronnie as he walked into the living room with Sarah leading him. The blue eyed vampire smiled in greeting at Stefan and the Salvatore smiled back with a nod. Ronnie and her brothers didn't have much in terms of a relationship. They got along for the most part, but other than that they didn't say much to one another. The only thing they had in common was Sarah herself.

"Stefan," Ronnie said.

"Ronnie," Stefan greeted in response.

"Ronnie who?" Scarlett asked, frowning as she was left out of the loop. Before anyone could answer however, Scarlett seemed to work it out for herself. "Wait. The Ronnie, the one Katherine mentioned earlier?" Sarah's eyes widened at the name, realising that both Scarlett and Stefan had spent time with Katherine in her absence. It had been a diversion.

"Katherine was here?" Sarah gaped, eyes staring back at her brother as he raised a reassuring hand.

"She didn't do anything. She apparently just wanted to spend time with me…alone," Stefan explained. His words – though intending to – did not reassure his sister. Once again Katherine had been playing them all to her tune, just so she could get what she wanted. Stefan. "But there is somethings I'll tell you about later," Stefan said.

"Why not tell me now?" Sarah demanded, taking a step towards her brother. She was in no mood for secrets, not between her and her brothers. They needed to work together to take down Katherine, that was the only way to do it. If they held information to themselves then they were at a disadvantage, and Katherine already had a leg up on them. There was no sense in giving her even more of an edge against them.

"Because you've had a long day and need to rest," Ronnie said for Stefan as he stepped up beside her, subtly sliding his fingers through her hand before they interlocked with her own. She turned him, defiance still in her eye. "Whatever it is he can tell you in the morning, right?"

"Right," agreed Stefan.

Sarah could see she wasn't going to get what she was after. Part of her wasn't even sure she wanted to know, at least not right now. She was tired, exhausted from the travelling and worrying. Anything else piled on to that would only make it impossible for her to sleep. So she conceded and backed of, for now at least.

"So how long is your boyfriend staying?" Scarlett asked with a teasing grin.

"He's not my boyfriend," Sarah corrected, smiling back but subtly warning Scarlett not to push on the subject. It was the least she could do seeing as she'd held back on all the teasing. And she still had plenty of ammunition to use against her if they got into a row of this nature. Such as her and Jeremy sleeping together with Katherine in the same house as them and then being caught by Elena afterwards.

"I don't know, I kind of like it," Ronnie said in sarcastic thought.

"Not funny," Sarah said simply, as she turned to him with a no nonsense smile and a bat of the eyelids.

"I'll just go and find myself a room then," Ronnie said as he backed up, his rucksack still slung over his shoulder with what little he'd packed inside. "I assume we're not sharing a bed again, since I'm not your boyfriend."

"Maybe I should have let those guys kill you," Sarah snorted, though she continued smile as Ronnie made his way towards the staircase, heading up to find himself a room to stay in. Though they both knew they'd end up in the same room, or rather, bed. She'd tell him what room was hers later. There was no need for a repeat of what happened last time, when they'd been staying at a hotel with a few vampire friends. He'd not known the room she was in, but insisted he did. Long story short, he ended up in the wrong room, in the wrong bed, with the wrong woman. And yet it had been hilarious.

"So what else did I miss out on while I was away?" Sarah asked, turning back around to her brother and ward.

"Well Damon is still annoying Mason from what I can gather," Stefan explained. "He set up this barbecue at Elena's to try and learn more about him. Jenna and Alaric where there and so were Caroline and Scarlett."

"It was boring," Scarlett supplied, summing up the affair.

"And…" Stefan continued, his gaze lowering as he spoke. "Me and Elena broke up."

"Stefan," Sarah said sadly, not understanding why or how. The pair had seemed to be in such a good place, though he was also taking this remarkably well, consider he'd clearly been in love with her deeply. Something about this didn't add up, but Sarah kept up her act of feeling sorry for her brother because she genuinely did feel sorry for him.

"It's fine," Stefan said, shaking his head as he pushed his hands into his pockets. He then turned to Scarlett, smiling at the teenager. "Scarlett's been a good shoulder to cry on."

"Yeah, but now you're here, I'm going to bed," Scarlett said as she began to leave the living room. Sarah was already to start joking around again, eager to keep up the light hearted mood for as long as possible after the day she'd had, when the front door flew open. It was so fast it banged off the wall, leaving a small web of cracks in the wall before it swung back, almost hitting who was walking in as it did. But he caught the door in his hand. Then stepped in and slammed the door behind him with a thunderous bang.

"Damon?" Stefan asked in worry as he and Sarah stepped forwards. They stopped however when they saw Damon wasn't even looking at them. Rather he was glaring at Scarlett who had picked this up right away apparently. Sarah and Stefan shared a concerned look before looking back to the vampire werewolf face off.

"I've got a bone to pick with you," Damon suddenly declared after an awkward silence had fallen, pointing an accusing finger towards Scarlett. "Or rather throw at you." Everyone caught the meaning behind his words then. Scarlett remained still, staring back at Damon while trying to keep her eyes from giving anything away. Stefan and Sarah however, sent each other extremely worried looks from the corner of their eyes before turning their attention back to their brother, who was still focused on Scarlett.

Again the silence stretched out, no one daring to say anything until Damon confirmed what they were all thinking. And since no one was stopping him, he continued, advancing on Scarlett as he did. "You're a werewolf, aren't you?" Scarlett didn't answer. "Aren't you?" Damon said louder this time. Sarah could see Scarlett shrinking in the face of him. He was hardly a danger, she could kill him with a single bite, but even so Damon was clearly angry and Scarlett was scared by that.

"That's why the vervain didn't effect you at the Founders Day Kick Off, that's why you were still effected by the Gilbert device and that's why you are a danger to me!" Damon exclaimed now standing right in front of Scarlett, glaring down at her as she stared back up, still managing to keep herself together.

"Damon," Sarah began to protest as she stepped forwards, only to have him glare over at her instead.

"She's a werewolf Sarah." His gaze moved back to Scarlett, their blue eyes clashing. His ice cold ones freezing her fragile blue ones. "And from what Mason tells me, she can kill us any time she likes, not just on a full moon." There was a pause as he looked to his siblings, trying to see if they gotten the message but neither reacted. "Her bites are always fatal!" he shouted, as if his point hadn't already been made clear.

"I would never–" Scarlett began to explain but Damon was on her before she could finish.

"I don't care!" Damon roared, Scarlett's quiet voice vanishing beneath the storm that was Damon's. "I don't care if you knew or what, but you're a danger to us. So it doesn't matter if Sarah's like the mother you never had, or you have it under control, or you promise you won't ever dig up the back garden again! You are getting the hell out of this house, now!" Damon demanded as he threw his arm out, pointing towards the front door.

"Damon," Sarah said more firmly as she stepped closer to them, but again he shot her down.

"It's me or her, Sarah. 'Cause there is nothing you can say that will make me stay in the same house as a werewolf. In fact, you're lucky I've not killed her yet," Damon warned with the look to back it up.

"Damon, I knew!" Sarah shouted over her brother, just to get him to shut up and listen.

"What," Damon breathed out.

"I knew. Ever since she came here to stay, I've known. And Stefan's known for months too, and Elena. Heck even Jeremy and Caroline know now too." Damon stared back at her, not quite willing to believe what he was hearing. His eyes slowly moved over to his brother who nodded, signalling it was the truth. Damon's wild blue eyes began to move back and forth between his siblings, no longer willing to trust them.

"She's not a threat. She never has been. If she'd wanted to, she could have bit you months back. You'd be dead if she had. But she's never hurt any of us, and has saved all of us at least once," Sarah explained in her ward's defence. "I'm the reason her uncle's dead, that makes me responsible for looking after her."

"She's sixteen!" Damon finally shot back at his sister. "Give her a damn stick and a rock and let her fend for herself."

"Come on, Damon!" Sarah snapped back.

"Alright!" Damon snapped, throwing his hands up in the air. "If you knew, this whole time, then why didn't you tell me?"

"Because we knew you'd react like this. Or even worse you might kill her," Sarah said bluntly.

"This is a completely justified reaction," Damon said defensively as he pushed his way past Scarlett and beelined for his sister. "She can kill us with one bite." He held up his finger to indicate the number of attempts the werewolf would need to kill him or his family. "On a whim she can do it. She can promise never to do it all the livelong day, but it just takes one bite. One wrong move and she can kill anyone of us. I'm not living in a house with that… I want her out. Now."

"She's not leaving," Sarah said firmly, standing her ground as she glared back at her brother who glared back in turn.

"Then I guess I'll just kill her like you thought I would," Damon said as he turned around to take care of his problem. Before Sarah could grab him he was over and had Scarlett. He shoved her back catching her before she fell. Her head tilted back and Damon bared his fangs ready to sink them into her exposed neck and kill her once and for all.

Then he hesitated, confused as to why Scarlett wasn't struggling. She just stared up at him, her eyes silently begging him not. But she wasn't fighting, even when she could so easily win.

By this point Sarah and Stefan were shouting at him to not kill her, but Damon was so focused on Scarlett he'd barely noticed. He just couldn't understand why she wasn't fighting back. Then he was pulled back and Scarlett dropped to the floor as Sarah stepped in between Damon and her. He stumbled back and Stefan grabbed him from behind, holding back his arms and holding him in place. Damon struggled for a moment but then stopped, so confused over Scarlett's reaction to him that he'd lost most of the fight in him. His anger however, was still burning away.

"Stop!" Sarah shouted angrily. "No one is leaving this house! We've been living together for months now, why go and break that up. We just have to be more careful now, but other than that nothing has changed between the four of us. So you're not leaving," Sarah declared as she pointed at Damon. "And you're not killing her," she then pointed to Scarlett with her other hand.

Seeing as he wasn't putting up a fight, Stefan relaxed his hold on Damon who then shrugged it off before marching up to his sister, stopping before entering her kill zone. "Get her out of here. Now!" Damon ordered as he and his sister entered another battle of wills mixed in with a good dose of glaring.

"For the last time. She's. Not. Leaving!"

"Sarah," Stefan stepped in, taking a step towards his fighting siblings. A look of sorrow written all over his face as he braved a look at his sister's angry green eyes. He took a breath, needing it before he reluctantly said, "I think it would be best if Scarlett found somewhere else to stay. At least for the next few nights." Sarah couldn't believe what she was hearing. And it was made even worse by what followed. "Maybe indefinitely."

"What?!" Sarah shouted. Her eyes shot back and forth between her brothers, unwilling to believe this was happening. "Are you kidding me. After everything we've been through, and I mean the four of us. After all that, after she helped save your life, Stefan. You're going to kick her out!"

"Sarah…" Stefan tried to explain his stance, but Sarah wasn't having it.

"No! It's not happening. No one is getting kicked out this–"

"I'll go," Scarlett spoke up, everyone turning to face her. Damon and Stefan only had to move their heads slightly, but Sarah did a full one eighty towards the teenager, shock all over her face. "I'll go if that's what you want," Scarlett repeated, in case they thought they'd misheard her. When they all continued to stare at her with varying degrees of shock, she explained. "I'm on your side. I owe a lot to all of you, and not just for putting me up and giving me a bed and food. So if you want me to go, I'll go."

Sarah was speechless. But even so she stepped towards her ward, resting her hands on Scarlett's shoulders as she stared back in shock. It took her a moment to find the words, lost in the surprise that Scarlett was will to walk out and never come back, just to prove she was on their side and that she cared about them. "You don't have to go," Sarah finally got out.

"If it's what Stefan and Damon want, then I'll go," Scarlett said. A saddened gratification coming off each of her words, and yet she kept her face neutral, trying to show as little emotion as possible.

"But that's not fair," Sarah said, pleading with Scarlett to stay.

"Neither's my life. Or any of yours," Scarlett said with a nod to the Salvatores. "Plus if I stay then I put you in a position I don't want to see you in."

"What's that?" Sarah asked, genuinely confused.

Scarlett smiled, finding it sweet Sarah hadn't figured it out yet. "You'd have to chose between me, and your family."

"You are part of this family," Sarah said, the statement confirmed by her eyes. "I don't care what those idiots have to say, your family to me and by extension them. Whether they like it or not."

Scarlett smiled back gratefully, but Sarah knew it hadn't swayed her to try and fight her brother on this. "Thank you, Sarah… But I'll be fine on my own. You'll see." There was nothing more to be said after that, she would say her goodbyes when she was ready, and even then it wasn't really goodbye. She'd still be in their lives hopefully, but she was leaving their home, her home now. And that would change things.

With a small smile, Scarlett stepped backwards, out the living room and made her way out into the hallway, looking Sarah in the eye one last time before heading up to her room. Sarah stared after her until she heard the creak of the stairs, followed by Scarlett's foot steps as she ascended them. Then she turned on her brothers, 'deadly' too kind a word for for the type of look she was giving them. "You two are complete idiots you know that."

"It's for everyones benefit–" Stefan began to say calmly.

"Shut up!" Sarah snapped.

"We can't trust her," Damon then chimed in, needing to get his point of view in again, just in case it hadn't been clear the first ten times he'd stated it.

"I trust her!" Sarah shouted, stabbing at her chest with her own fingers. "That should be enough for you."

"Yeah, well, it's not," Damon shot back with a glare to match his sister's. "You like dogs, I'll get you a puppy. You like having a teenager about the house, I'll get a couple to move in with us. But neither of those is capable of killing us with a single bite," Damon explained, his anger seeping into his words as he walked over to Sarah. "So you can trust her with your life for all I care. I'm not putting my head on the chopping block for her." And with that Damon walked out the living room, heading for the study and a drink that he desperately needed apparently.

Once they were alone, Stefan stepped towards his sister, trying one last time to get her to just listen to him. "Sarah–"

"I don't want to hear it," Sarah declared simply, shaking her head at her brother before storming off.

* * *

It wasn't exactly easy being kicked out of the Salvatore home, but Scarlett was handling it pretty well considering, or at least she thought so. She didn't have much in the ways of luggage, despite Sarah having gotten her a full wardrobe and whatever else she could need for school and such. She'd just grabbed a rucksack and packed a few cloths and what she'd originally brought to the Salvatore house when she first moved in. Of course she didn't have her guitar. Anna had broken that. She'd been fully intending on getting a new one at some point but life just kept getting in the way. Probably a good thing now, one less thing for her to carry around.

She hadn't been sure where she was going to go at first. She mostly just thought about wondering around the forests, looking for somewhere were she could shift into a wolf and sleep while keeping her belongings dry. But on her way out Sarah had caught her and within a minute she had a new destination in mind.

Sarah's knuckles rang out in the night as they gently knocked the front door. Loud enough to be heard but not loud enough to wake anyone who might be sleeping. It was just to get the attention of whoever was up.

"Oh, hey guys," Jenna said, mildly surprised by Sarah and Scarlett's presence on her front porch at midnight.

"Hey, Jenna," Sarah said, her tone instantly giving away the seriousness of the situation.

"What's up?" Jenna asked frown forming naturally from the tone she was getting, never mind the vibe the two supernaturals were giving off as they stood before her.

"Would it be okay if Scarlett stay with you for a bit," Sarah asked mournfully, still not okay with what was happening to her ward. It shouldn't have been happening, but Scarlett wanted to leave and Sarah couldn't very well lock her in her room. For one thing she could just jump out the window, but morally she just couldn't justify it to herself. So she'd done the next best thing and taken her to the Gilberts, knowing they'd never turn her away.

"Eh, sure…why?" Jenna asked, baffled as she squinted her face at Sarah, fishing for more information. She deserved it though, seeing as she was taking a teenager under her roof, which was just another mouth to feed, and this one wasn't even related to her.

"We've got some guests staying with us and things are a little crowded," Sarah explained. It wasn't the best excuse, but there was an element of truth to it without having to tell Jenna the full story, which Sarah was sure would enrage Jenna, since she'd obviously be on her side. "I know it's last minute but it'd be a big help."

"Yeah, of course, come on in, Scarlett. Jeremy can help you set up," Jenna said as she opened the door a little further so that Scarlett could enter. The teenager nodded with a thankful smile before heading into the house and making her way up the stairs where Jeremy was waiting for her, having been eavesdropping. The two adults waited until she and Jeremy where in the guest room and then turned back to each other.

"Thanks for this. Really, I owe you one," Sarah said to her friend who just smiled back.

"It's no problem. If you want though she can come in and we can have a chat about what's going on."

It almost sounded like she knew something was up, but Sarah dismissed the thought and took the option to leave with a small smile. "I have to get back, but thanks." She turned and stepped off the porch before turning back to Jenna who was still watching her, leaning against the door frame to her house. "I might take a recheck on that talk though," Sarah decided on second thoughts. It was always nice talking to Jenna, and it made a nice distraction from the supernatural, talking to a human.

"Deal," Jenna said with a smile before they said goodbye and she then shut the door. Keeping the darkness at bay, at least for now.


	9. Old Flames

_Review responses:_

Prfh: _I know, it's not good for Scarlett, or fair. Damon, what a meany /_ Lo sé, no es bueno para Scarlett, o justo. Damon, que malo. Lo siento si esto no tiene ningún sentido.

Only reviewer: _Yeah, Damon tends to overreact, but it's only because he cares...I think. Who really knows? Hopefully I added enough new bits to Memory Lane to keep it interesting for you, or made it better as the case may be. And sorry, but you'll have to wait until the next chapter to find that out. Or possibly the one after that. Hopefully this one will be enough to entertain you until then! :)_

Charmedbycharmed: _Thank you as always! And don't worry, we'll seen Scarlett and Damon bantering again soon, glad to hear you're enjoying that element of their relationship though. And yes, I know Elena's presence has been lacking in the first few chapters, at least in relation to Sarah. This is kind by coincidence and a little on purpose. Don't worry though, I have a lot of stuff lined up between Sarah and Elena later on. And I'm still more than likely leading towards Sarena end game. But slow burn... Plus this has also given me a chance to build on the relationship between Elena and Scarlett, which I felt like doing. However, fear not, as you are about to get a Sarena moment right here._

Atrinity: _Thank you so much, that's very nice of you to say! I too am a big fan of Vampire Diaries. And Originals. And now Legacies, though I'm thinking the last one will get better in its second season._

 _First off, thanks for all the reviews from the last chapter! Really loving the compliments and opinion being thrown out there. And also, surprise! Another upload! I'm on holiday next week so I won't be uploading then, but either the week after that, or the following week I'll be moving onto Kill or Be Killed. Depends on how much writing I do while away._

 _Anyway, this one is another original chapter, like Captive, but more filler in a way. It does have some important stuff though. Quite a few moments between Sarah and Ronnie, some Sarah/Elena and I even managed to get Scarlett and Caroline in there too. Had a lot of fun with this one, mostly fluff though, despite one scene with Scarlett. Though I did enjoy giving them both little nice moments to enjoy. I should probably do it more often... Oh well. You guys can always tell me if you want more, right?_

 _As always, feel free to leave reviews, all writers love 'em! Or PM if you prefer, I do my best to reply to you all, even if I'm sometimes a little late. So enjoy, and I'll see you all later!_

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Old Flames**

* * *

Despite the tension in the air over the last few days, Sarah found herself waking up with a smile as her supernatural senses picked up on the breakfast in kitchen. It was a full on English breakfast, Ronnie's preferred choice when cooking. Not Sarah's but she was never one to turn down something Ronnie cooked. He wasn't quite a master chief but he could still cook a damn good meal when the opportunity arose.

The past couple of days he'd stayed with her, though he'd stuck to simple things like the rest of the boarding house's occupants. Had Scarlett still been here he would have done his English breakfast four days in a row, but then there wouldn't be any tension in the house. Sarah was still glaring at both her brothers, ignoring Damon when he wanted her attention and giving Stefan the silent treatment. Ronnie was the only one she was speaking to and even then her conversations got interrupted half the time by her brothers, trying to catch her in a good mood. They were going to be waiting a while before that happened.

But for now she didn't think about any of that. She just got out of her bed and followed the smell to the kitchen. The table in the corner already lined with food free for the picking while Ronnie continued to work away in the kitchen. He did however look over when he heard Sarah enter, smiling at her in her nighty. Not her finest hour, first thing in the morning, but with the curtains drawn and the light minimum in the room she didn't have to worry to much about her appearance. One of the few benefits of having a boyfriend like Ronnie, you could hide in the dark with him when you didn't want to be seen, for whatever reason.

"Morning," Ronnie said as he turned back to his cooking, or rather fraying.

"I see you've laid out all your favourites," Sarah teased, grinning as she looked over the table.

"Don't even pretend like you don't like any of this," Ronnie replied with a pointed look, as he brought over a sizzling pan, and with the spatula, manoeuvred the contents on to an empty plate. Sarah knew it was fresh pancakes before she saw it, the smell alone almost filling up her empty stomach. She sat down and once Ronnie disposed of the pan, he joined her, taking up the opposite side.

"Fine, I'll admit, I love it," Sarah said grudgingly, hating to lose while Ronnie beamed away smugly. "Now pass me those pancakes," Sarah ordered. Ronnie chuckled and happily held up the plate, only for Sarah to scoop more than half the contents onto her own plate.

"You know there's more than just pancakes," Ronnie pointed out with a gesture to the rest of the food as he lay down the pancakes.

"And you know the only reason I keep sleeping with you are for these bad boys," Sarah said as picked up the syrup bottle and aimed it at her pancakes. After loosening the top she squeezed and watched the gold liquid dribble out over her pancakes before creating an equally golden puddle around the base.

"Will there be anything else?" Ronnie prompted sarcastically, as if he were her servant.

"Yeah, pass me the eggs while you're at it," Sarah added, as she slid a few strips of beacon onto her plate, forming a small stack on one side of the plate, keeping the syrup at bay for now. Ronnie obliged, handing her the eggs after taking one for himself. Then While Sarah proceeded to stuff her face, Ronnie busied himself with stacking his own plate. Sausage, beans, toast, it was all good for Ronnie who joined Sarah in stuffing his face. Groans of delight passing between the two as they ate.

"God, these are so good," Sarah sighed, her eyes closed as she leaned back in her seat, pure bliss in her mouth. At least she thought so. Ronnie had never liked his own pancakes but she adored them. "It's been far too long since you cooked for me."

"I wanted to do it the morning after I got here, but you were still…" He stopped, eyes moving awkwardly towards Sarah who slowed in her chewing. "Sorry," he apologised.

"It's alright," Sarah reassured him, before he got back to cutting up his beacon, only to then throw it into his mouth with a fork. "Besides, it's not your fault," Sarah pointed out, an angry frown forming as she continued to chew, albeit a bit more violently now.

"Hey," Ronnie said soothingly as he reached over, taking Sarah's hand in his. She swallowed and resisted the urge to take another mouthful of pancake as she stared back at his comforting blue eyes. "I made this to try and calm you down. So just relax for…five minutes, and enjoy, alright." Sarah stared at him for a moment before closing her eyes and sighing, letting it all float away for now. She could do that, as long as it was just them, she could let go. She smiled back naturally at him and the two continued with their morning meal for all of one minute before Damon then proceeded to enter.

"Morning," Damon sang out as he sauntered into the room, grinning away and looking very pleased with himself. Like he'd been doing since he kicked Scarlett out. Sarah remained silent, eating her breakfast while maintaining a constant glare that was aimed slightly to the side of Ronnie. He knew it wasn't for him, it was for Damon, but she couldn't very well glare at him and ignore him at the same time, so she glared while looking opposite where he was stood.

"Damon," Ronnie greeted politely, in between chews.

There was a moment of silence before Damon groaned, "Oh for crying out loud." Sarah grinned to herself, happy to be getting at Damon after what he'd done to Scarlett, but she didn't show it. "Are you seriously still mad about this." Sarah didn't answer. She did hear her brother's footsteps though as he approached her from behind. "What's the big deal? It's not like she's living out in the woods, she's the Gilberts problem now and we're better of for it. If anything you should be thanking me."

Still Sarah gave him nothing as he spoke to the back of her head. Finally Damon groaned aloud and leaned down next to his sister, glaring at her while she stared ahead at Ronnie. Though she could still see him in her peripheral. "If you want me to say sorry, it ain't going to happen. I'm doing the right thing here." Still he got nothing which only made him angrier. "You're the one always going on about family, and now that I'm finally putting my family first you're ignoring me?" Sarah reached forwards, calmly stabbing a strip of beacon with her fork before placing it in her mouth and chewing slowly. Damon rolled his lips in, angry with himself for letting his little sister get to him, but angry with her for pulling this childish crap with him. "You are aware she can kill us with one bite. Do you really want someone with that kind of power living down the hall from you?"

Finally Sarah opened her mouth to speak and Damon, grinned, thinking he'd finally provoked a response out of her. "Pass the juice will you, Ronnie," Sarah said as she indicated to the jug on the table. Ronnie smirked and picked up the jug before pouring the contents into Sarah's glass. All while Damon turned away, groaning through clenched teeth while also hitting his fist against the table, venting out some of the frustration.

He then turned back to the couple having breakfast, only this time looking across the table and at Ronnie. "Come on, you've got to see why I did this."

Slowly Ronnie nodded his head. The truth was he did see Damon's point of view, and as a vampire himself he wasn't too found of an animal with a one–bite–kill living in the same building as him. That said if Sarah trusted the girl then he had no quarrel with her, but even so he was going to play it safe, like he always did when caught in between two rowing Salvatores. If he didn't whole heartedly agree with Sarah, then he was neutral in the argument.

"I see where you're coming from, Damon," admitted Ronnie, catching both the brother and sister's attention. "I've heard about werewolves. Never seen one, only heard the rumours that I thought were just myths until recently. But if this one bite death mark thing is true, then everything else I've heard would have me worried too."

"Thank you," Damon said smugly as he looked to his sister, but Sarah remained calm, face expressionless. She knew how Ronnie liked to play in this position, which he'd been in a few times before.

"That said, this Scarlett seems like a pretty nice kid, and from I'm being told has saved your butts more than a couple of times and helped you out too," Ronnie pointed out before swallowing and pilling another load of breakfast into his mouth, chewing as Damon glared at him. Sarah let smugness take over her face while Damon was preoccupied with Ronnie, but reeled it in when he turned back to her.

His glare swung back to Ronnie, smugness returning, thinking he had him. "You can't remain neutral with everything." So he did remember his previous encounters with Ronnie and when he'd been in these positions before. When he'd remain firmly on the fence and not budge for anything, something which annoyed Damon for whatever reason.

"You're right," agreed Ronnie with a thoughtful nod after he swallowed. He then looked to Sarah, their eyes locking as he continued to nod. "And after much thought I think I'm going to go with Sarah. So when's Scarlett moving back in?" The question was of course rhetorical so Ronnie didn't bother waiting for an answer as he shovelled more of his plate into his mouth. And still he looked up as if expecting Damon to respond, staring back at the Salvatore's glare with wide eyed curiosity, even though he knew the answer.

Sarah sniggered, but shut up when Damon turned her way.

"When are you dumping him again?" Damon growled. Childish Sarah stuck her tongue out at him and the blue eyed vampire just rolled his eyes before standing up and leaving. "Whatever," he grumbled before subtly snatching the bacon plate from the table, bitting on a strip as he made his way out.

"So things haven't changed that much since I last saw you then," Ronnie said once Damon was gone, trying to restart the conversation. Sarah sent him raised eyebrow as a reward for pointing out the obvious before they continued with their breakfasts, chatting happily away until it was time for her to head off to school.

* * *

Waking up, Scarlett was hardly surprised when she picked up Jeremy's scent instantly. It was nice being the first thing she smelt each morning, his comforting scent. She was trying to be optimistic about having to stay with the Gilberts and that was definitely one of the bounces. Of course it then had a major downside, which was it made it harder for her to avoid Jeremy. But since she'd been staying with him and his family, she'd gotten more use to the feeling of guilt when he was around. She didn't consider that a good thing, but it made being around Jeremy a lot easier, now that she no longer wanted to kill herself. What made it a little harder was when she woke up one mornings like this and he was in bed with her.

They hadn't slept together, not since she'd temporarily moved into the guest bedroom, and yet half the mornings she'd woke up there she'd found Jeremy lying next to her, when she'd gone to sleep without him. It was nice, but it brought up a bile of guilt in her throat every time he was just suddenly there. The first time it happened she almost jumped right out of bed and had felt like she was going to throw up when she didn't. However, now that she'd grown more used to it, so she wasn't jumping ever morning.

She rolled over, finding him exactly where she suspected him to be. In the spot next to her on the bed. He wasn't even under the sheets, just in his t-shirt and pants that he wore when in bed, head perched against his hand as he just stared back at her smiling. "You really have to stop doing this," Scarlett said, allowing herself a small smile.

"Why?" Jeremy asked back in that innocent tone of his, grinning away.

"Because your aunt is going to kill you if she catches you again and I don't know what Elena will think," Scarlett answered, pointing out what he already knew.

"I don't care. It's worth it to see you wake up," Jeremy said with a dreamy smile as he brushed Scarlett's hair with his free hand. He got in two strokes before she swatted his hand away and began to grin at him, he beamed back, as best he could for that time in the morning.

"You know, one of these days that corny crap is going to stop working."

"Is that day today?" Jeremy asked, mild concern in his voice, as if it was all he had to offer.

"No," Scarlett answered, her grin growing as she leaned over and kissed him. "But that doesn't mean it won't happen tomorrow," Scarlett warned as she pulled away from him. He merely grinned back, stretching over to pull her towards him. If she'd been making the move she would have hesitated like she just did, but Jeremy mistaken it for her agreement and pulled her into another kiss, getting ready to make the move.

Then the door flew open to the guest bed room and loud air horns followed. Both teen rolled away form the other, Scarlett gripping her ears tightly while Jeremy did the same only to end up rolling off the bed and landing on the floor. Scarlett wasn't sure if she was grateful for the interruption or not until the air horns died down and she saw who had them.

She was no longer grateful in any sense once she saw Jenna and Elena laughing their asses off by the doorway.

"What the hell?!" Scarlett yelled, as did Jeremy from the floor. He was still on his back though so Scarlett couldn't see him. Their yells of anger however didn't seem to sway the two older women though, who continued to laugh away until they finally calmed down.

"You're right, that was fun," Jenna admitted to Elena as the remnants of their laughter began to fade from their throats. Scarlett glared ahead at the two women, half contemplating busting out her werewolf features and seeing how much she could scare Jenna in return. The two women just grinned back at her and Jeremy before heading off leaving the door open.

"I hate my family," Jeremy grumbled from the floor before he climbed up to his feet.

"I'm not too keen on them either," Scarlett added as she sat up on the bed and Jeremy sat down next to her. Then followed a silence as the two sat next to each other. Jeremy inching closer while Scarlett remained stationary. She knew she should stop him, tell him what had happened with Mason, but the wolf inside her was telling her to ignore it and deal with it later, do whatever she had to itch that primal urge.

Jeremy leaned over to kiss her when suddenly Jenna shouted, "If you two aren't down here in five minutes then I'm coming up there and throwing you both out on the street!" Jeremy groaned, a glare forming on his face before he slid from the bed and stomped out the room before heading down the stairs. Scarlett, lingered, playing with her necklace while imagining how things could possibly be worse for her. When she came up with nothing that could make this whole situation worse, that made her really depressed.

* * *

"You're sure you're okay though?" Sarah pressed, leaning against the locker next to Scarlett while the young werewolf punched in her combination. She was being tedious, she was aware, as she'd been asking this every time she'd ran into Scarlett since she had moved in with the Gilberts. But only because her egg headed brothers couldn't get over some stupid legend that they weren't even one-hundred precent sure was true.

Scarlett turned to face Sarah as she finished putting in her combination, the lock to the door sliding out. "I'm fine, I promise," Scarlett said, forcing her smile to be bigger than necessary as if to hammer in her point. Sarah smiled back showing she understood, but would undoubtedly end up asking again before the end of the school day. However, once that smile of Scarlett's returned to normal, it didn't take long for it to shrink again. In fact, it took the exact time it took for her head to turn back towards her locker.

"Though I could do without the air horn alarms," she mumbled, not thinking Sarah would pick it up.

"What?" Sarah asked with a face scrunched up in confusion.

"It's nothing," Scarlett reassured her as she took out the single book she needed. Unsurprisingly it was a music book, the only subject Sarah had noticed Scarlett taking any interest in and actually talk about outside of school. Not that they talked about school a lot. It had sort of vanished into the back ground as of recently and most of their little gang had been skipping more than enough days to get noticed. Compulsion helped with that, getting them all of the hook, but for the likes of Scarlett and Elena, they only had one shot at high school, and how they did would follow them for the rest of their lives. Unlike Sarah and Stefan who could just resit it all over again. But no pressure or anything. Sarah was confident that no matter what went down in school Scarlett would get what she wanted out of life, probably the same for Elena. But she didn't have badass werewolf powers to help her out in life.

"What we really need to talk about is this Ronnie dude who's taken my room," Scarlett teased as she knocked her locker shut with her hip. Sarah flinched a little at that remark. She knew Scarlett didn't mean it that way and that she was only joking, but she couldn't help but see it the way Scarlett described it. As them kicking her out to make room for Ronnie.

Thankfully, for Scarlett at least, she didn't have to hear another apology spiel as Caroline appeared beside the two, inserting herself into the conversation as all popular girls did. Being a vampire hadn't changed her that much, if anything it made her worse, now that she had the supernatural heightened hearing.

"Who's Ronnie?" Caroline all but demanded in the friendliest tone possible, but Sarah instantly spotted her preying eyes that wouldn't give up until she got what she'd came for.

Sarah opened her mouth to give her an answer that wouldn't have her pestering her for the rest of the day, but then Scarlett beat her to the punch. "He's Sarah's Ex but he's living with her while he's in town." Sarah's half closed eyes slowly rolled over to Scarlett, glaring at the girl for what she'd just done. She wasn't going to get one minute of peace now, at least not with Caroline around.

Scarlett just grinned back, as if getting even for something Sarah had done to her in the past, but for the life of her she couldn't think what it was… Besides the obvious compulsion and possibly turning her into a werewolf. Anyway.

"That sounds juicy," said Caroline excitedly as she turned her full attention on Sarah, her eyes on the edge of compelling her despite the fact it'd do nothing to the Salvatore. "Tell me everything."

"No," Sarah replied as a matter of solid fact.

"Please," begged Caroline, drawing out the word as she clasped her hands together.

"It's not going to happen so you can–"

"Please!" Caroline pleaded louder, her teeth now showing along with her desperation. Considering she was still getting used to the heightened…everything, Sarah knew she should just give in and give her something. But this was far too personal and although she was beginning to like Caroline a lot more, she wasn't about to spill something as personal about her life as Ronnie.

"That's not going to work on me Caroline!" Sarah shouted over her whining, ignoring the fact that half the hallway was staring at them with confused and irritated looks. When Caroline persisted, Sarah pushed her aside and began to storm off. Of course she made it about five paces before she heard the girl's heels clicking away as she power walked after her. She looked back seeing Scarlett was following the blonde, obviously not wanting to miss the show judging by that grin. Sarah made a mental note to make her suffer for this later.

She rounded a corner, still looking over her shoulder when suddenly she bumped into someone. The usual follow. Books hitting the floor, stammering apologise before they both recognised each other and stopped, shifting gears. "Elena?" Sarah said, somehow surprised even though she knew fine well Elena came to school here and walked the same hallways as her. Heck they shared classes together.

"Sarah," Elena greeted with a smile before noticing the look Sarah was giving her. "Is everything okay?" Elena asked, frowning.

"Yeah, I'm just trying to get away–" Sarah began, brushing aside her hair before Caroline rounded the corner, shouting at her to stop and come back to her. Elena, still frowning, looked past Sarah to Caroline before then returning to Sarah with a questioning grin. "From that," Sarah sighed out as Caroline caught up to them and Scarlett joined shorty after at a more causal pace. There was no way Scarlett could have lost her. With that nose and her ears she could smell and hear her anywhere in the building. Escape really hadn't been an option, as Sarah now realised.

"What's going on?" Elena asked, looking to Caroline and Scarlett for answers, seeing as Sarah hadn't given her anything so far.

"Sarah here was just about to tell us about her Ex Boyfriend, 'Ronnie', who moved in with her while he's in town," Caroline explained with a feisty grin and eyes like some kind of high school gossip predator. And now that she had her prey cornered she had no intention of letting go. Perhaps turning Caroline into an all powerful vampire was actually Katherine's biggest mistake of all, Sarah thought. Not that really helped her in anyway just now.

"Oh, yeah," Elena said with a nod as she turned back to Sarah. Her own eyes slowly filling with curiosity. Like a gentle steam compared to Caroline's tidal wave that had consumed her from the moment she arrived on the scene. "Stefan mentioned him to me before we…" The awkward pause followed, but to Sarah's surprise, Elena shook it off rather quickly and proceeded with, "So? Tell us about him then?" Now the once kind, straight haired brunette, that had dated her brother took on a feisty curious grin of her own. Somewhere in between Caroline and Scarlett, which was odd considering Caroline was in the middle, flanked by Elena and Scarlett. The three have surrounded her against the wall with Elena's books acting as some half made wall between her and them.

"I'd really rather go to class," Sarah squirmed. Normally she could have vamp speeded her way out, shouldering pass the three. But the hallways were crowded and if she tried anything at half strength then Caroline or Scarlett could hold her at by without attracting attention while the peer pressure threatened to drown Sarah unless she give in and tell them what they wanted to know.

"Since when do you want to go to class?" Scarlett asked accusingly, the three girls closing in on her.

"It's really not that big a deal," Sarah tried to sway them.

"Then you won't mind telling us," Caroline shot back, spotting Sarah's breaking point and seeing that she was almost there.

Sarah could easily just refuse to tell them if she wanted. Stone wall them out, wait for the bell and then walk away. But the truth was she did want to tell them, because she did like Ronnie and she was happy when he was around. She liked talking about him but part of her just didn't want to say anything and risk Katherine using him against her again, as if she didn't already realise his value to her.

"Relax guys," Elena said calmly as she turned to the other two girls. And for a brief moment, Sarah sighed, thinking Elena had actually saved her for once. "She clearly wants to tell us anyway." That made Sarah look up with wide eyed astonishment at Elena. It was like she'd just read her mind. And Elena just grinned back almost knowingly, or at the very least confidently. "We just have to give her a second…" She trailed off, again, almost knowing that Sarah was about to burst and tell them what they wanted to hear.

"Alright fine!" Sarah exclaimed as she leaned back against the wall behind her. Victorious and excited smiles formed on the girls around her. If she'd seen this moment ten years ago, Sarah might have killed herself. Now suddenly she was another of those gossiping high school stereotypes which she vowed never to be. But at the same time when it came to Ronnie…she couldn't help it.

"Me and Ronnie. We've been off and on for the better part of a century," Sarah began to explain as if it were some kind of fairy tale. To her it was anyway.

"A century!" Caroline gasped before being elbowed by Elena whose look was enough to tell the blonde to be quiet and listen. "Sorry," she replied sheepishly before pleading Sarah to go on. It didn't take as much to convince Sarah to continue, once she got started it was harder for her to stop.

"Like I said we've been on and off for a while. Usually ending on good terms which made it so much easier to slid back into bed with him." At that Sarah could see Caroline having to bite her tongue, holding back the squeal in her head. "But it's not the just the sex. He's kind. So kind. And you can see it in his eyes. No matter how bad things were, I could always look into those big blue eyes and know, somehow, everything would be alright… God his eyes!" Sarah steadied herself, not wanting to fall further into the stereotypical girl territory by raising her voice every time she talked about him. Even so it showed how much she cared for him, and that was reflected back at her by her smiling friends. "And he was thoughtful, always doing what he could to help me and treating me with respect. He surprised me, he'd take me away, he'd throw the stupidest parties and he'd cook. Oh, he's so good at cooking… And we'd help each other. If he was struggling with blood or depressed because he couldn't go out in the sunlight then I'd stay with him. Spend whole weeks cuddled up in bed just talking about anything and everything."

Sarah's vision blurred as she stared off into all those memories at once, the reasons why she had and still did love Ronnie. "He just felt like a dream," Sarah sighed as Caroline squealed, raising on her tip toes as she practically jumped up and down. She did love a good love story, and after the break up with Matt, she needed to rekindle her belief in romance. Which may not end up being such a good thing for Sarah. "And he gave me my baby."

All of a sudden, three girls' eyes around her widened as their jaws dropped, clearly misunderstanding what she was saying. She smirked for a brief second before she laughed at them all. Elena was the first to catch on to what Sarah was actually saying. "Wait…you mean your bike?" Elena asked, a giddy smile forming.

"Yep," answered Sarah with a smile.

"So Ronnie got you the bike that your super protective off," Scarlett stated, the meaning behind her words obvious to all of them.

"He obviously means a lot to you," agreed Caroline.

"I'd say I care about my bike more," Sarah said as she tilted her head to the side in sarcastic thought.

"It's obviously not that serious then," Caroline said dismissively. Sarah grinned back at her, hardly stupid enough to fall for her feeble attempt at baiting her into spilling her guts some more.

"Yeah," Scarlett agreed as she glanced at Caroline. "I mean, basically every boyfriend asks you to marry him at least once."

Sarah's eyes widened and then her eyeballs almost jumped out when Elena and Caroline shouted, "He proposed?!"

"How'd you know that?" Sarah asked Scarlett whose grin faulted before she recovered.

"Stefan might have let it slip."

"Well it's good to know he spilled all my secrets to you before he kicked you out the house," Sarah replied sarcastically, now even more annoyed with her brother, folding her arms in a pout as the bell rang for class.

"Tell us more, please," Caroline begged before she began to ramble. "When did he propose? How'd he propose? When'd you both meet? How many times have you broken up? How many times have you done it since he came back? Can we see him? Oh, please can we see him?"

"No," Sarah said, answering the last question she heard from Caroline before watching the last of the students clear the hallways. "And now if you'll excuse me, the Sarah, Ronnie, relationship Q and A is done. Bye, bye." And with that Sarah vamp speeded in between Elena and Caroline, using a burst of strength when Caroline tried to stop her before racing down the hallway and into her classroom, leaving the three girl's behind her.

After that Elena and Scarlett were sensible enough to leave her alone for the rest of the day. But Caroline refused to back down. Trying to ambush her in the hallways, corner her before and after classes, and whispering away at her all through class, knowing damn well Sarah could hear her thanks to her cursed vampire hearing. Thankfully she only had a few classes with Caroline and managed to avoid her for the better part of the day. Although things got really awkward in history class with Elena and Stefan. But that was when Sarah realised something. Things weren't awkward, which was strange. The two just sat in their usual seats, avoiding eye contact and going on as if it was business as usual. There was no drama, no aching hearts, no sad or hateful looks when the other was occupied. There was just nothing between them. Hardly right considering how they'd felt about each other, which only made Sarah suspicious.

But she didn't both to pursue her suspicions. Not to day at least, with Caroline on the hunt throughout the school and still acting as Katherine's eyes and ears. Then again so was she, but hadn't seen heads or tails of Katherine since she returned to town with Ronnie. That only made her worry more. As if Katherine was waiting for her to get comfy, to lower her defences before she pounced with another devious plan. Part of Sarah hoped that Katherine had just finally gotten bored of her, but she knew Katherine could never get bored of messing with her and her family.

When lunch came, Sarah decided all she wanted was some time to herself, and to get some peace from Caroline's endless questioning. So she made her way to the roof, breaking open the rusted lock with ease before making herself comfy by the edge. Falling was hardly a concern, she'd survive, though the same couldn't be said for the sandwiches Ronnie had made for her.

She'd been on the roof for about twenty minutes, happily nibbling away at the small meal Ronnie had prepared for her when she heard the door to roof open. She closed her eyes, groaning at thought of Caroline's continued interrogation when all she wanted was to enjoy her lunch. She turned, ready to give the hyperactive blonde a piece of her mind when she saw it wasn't Caroline and it was in fact just Scarlett.

"Don't worry," Scarlett said as she approached. "Caroline doesn't know where I am and Elena's keeping her busy." Sarah smiled appreciatively at that, before turning away as Scarlett sat down beside her. She went to grab one of the tiny triangular sandwiches from the plastic container, but Sarah's hand quickly whacked her away. When Scarlett looked up, she saw Sarah's disapproving frown.

"Ronnie made them for me," Sarah said with a mouthful of sandwich.

Scarlett smirked and replied with, "You know, you're really over protective of the things Ronnie gives you." Sarah knew what the girl was getting at but she didn't bite. She just picked up the plastic container and moved it to her other side, placing herself between Scarlett and the food Ronnie had made specially for her.

She turned back to Scarlett, ready for more verbal sparing but instead found the girl with her head lowered. Her long brunette locks partially shielding her face, her blue eyes just visible as they creeped ahead of the waves of hair. "I didn't come up here to bug you about Ronnie," Scarlett said, her gaze fixed at her feet. Sarah watched her patiently, waiting for Scarlett to continue as she swallowed what was in her mouth. "I actually need to talk to you about something pretty serious. I was going to tell you sooner but then I moved in with the Gilberts and I figured it could wait."

Sarah was about to push her on, wanting to know what Scarlett had been holding in for the past few days when the teenager spoke up. "That night, with the full moon…afterwards you found me…"

"I remember," Sarah confirmed when Scarlett paused. "You were a little jumpy as I remember." It had meant to be a small joke to lighten the mood, but when Sarah saw that Scarlett had no change in demeanour, she stopped. Now realising this was something very serious. "What happened, Scarlett?"

"I…I slept with Mason."

Sarah stared at the young girl who continued to avoid her eyes. For a moment she thought she'd miss heard but when her brain couldn't come up with anything better as a substitute her mouth began to open and close repeatedly. Eyes blinking away like she had some kind of erratic twitch. Then a thought flashed through her mind. A dark thought, one that made her entire body freeze and go cold. Slowly she asked, "Did he force you to–?"

"No!" Scarlett quickly jumped in, turning around to look at Sarah finally, obviously shocked by the suggestion. "No, he never…I mean he didn't…I wasn't…no," was what Scarlett got out before going quiet again, turning away to look at her feet once more. Fingers curling up as her nails dug into her palms. It was a little while before Scarlett continued, but Sarah was willing to wait.

"It was mutual. He wanted to sleep with me…and I wanted to sleep with him," Scarlett admitted shamefully. "But it wasn't as humans. It was when we were wolves, and it wasn't like I was choosing it. It was like a need. Like I just had to have it and I couldn't say no, even though part of me was screaming not to. And in the end I just gave in… Not to him though, more like…to the wolf inside me."

Once again Scarlett went quiet and Sarah could feel the struggle going on inside her, the conflict that was eating her up. It was like watching Stefan deal with his blood issues, only this was much more real. Scarlett obviously hadn't wanted to do what she did with Mason, but the supernatural primal part of her had, and that had been enough to push her. Now she was stuck between a rock and a hard place, the guilt threatening to drown her because she did love Jeremy and felt horrible for what she'd done. Sarah wished she could help her, but she couldn't compel this away like so many other problems. She couldn't fight it or threaten anyone other than Mason, and the damage had already been done. This was something Scarlett was just going to have to learn to live with. But Sarah would do everything she could to help.

For now, all that she had to do was put her arm around Scarlett and pull the teenager into a hug. Something she clearly needed. "What does Jeremy think about all this?" Sarah asked carefully. Part of her didn't want to ask but she had to be sure Scarlett was safe and felt secure where she was, not having Jeremy glaring at her all the time when she went home.

"I haven't told him yet. Elena and Caroline know but they've promised to keep quiet," Scarlett explained before she finally turned to look at Sarah once more. "What am I going to do, Sarah?"

"I don't have all the answers, Scarlett. I might be old, but even I can't tell you how to handle that weight you're now carrying around." That didn't help Scarlett much, and it killed Sarah to watch the girl's blue eyes fill with desperation. "What I can promise you, is that you're not alone. And that I'll be there if you ever need me."

"What about your brothers?" Scarlett asked quietly.

"Screw them," Sarah said with a shrug, making Scarlett grin a little. "Like I told them, your family, whether they like it or not."

"Thanks…and I'm sorry."

"About what?" asked Sarah as she looked down at the werewolf.

"Not warning you sooner." Sarah still wasn't getting what Scarlett was saying when suddenly the door behind her flew open and she heard the triumphant cries of Caroline.

"Ah ha! I've found you!" cried out Caroline as she pointed her finger at Sarah's back.

"We'll talk later," Sarah said with a smile.

"No, no, no, no! We're talking now!" Caroline declared.

"I wasn't talking to you!" Sarah called over her shoulder, grinning to Scarlett before flashing Caroline a smile.

"Well you might as well start 'cause there's nowhere to run," Caroline said gesturing to the roof around them.

"Oh, Caroline," Sarah said as she stood up, a sarcastic sympathetic look on her face, which then morphed into a teasing grin. "You've still got a lot to learn about being a vampire." And with that Sarah jumped backwards and fell over the side of the school. Caroline ran to the edge joining Scarlett before they both spotted Sarah taking off into nearby woods.

"Oh no you don't!" Caroline shouted after the older vampire before leaping off the roof and racing after her in a blur. Scarlett just laughed, taking in the cool wind as she watched and listened to her friends chase each other around the forest.

* * *

Thankfully Scarlett had been given free reign of the fridge by the Gilberts. Even more luckily, Jenna had just restocked. Werewolves had big appetites, a fact that Scarlett had only just begun to realise when her food source shrunk. At the Salvatores' she'd had an endless supply of food that never seemed to diminish no matter how much she took. She'd never really thought about it before but now she realised it must have been Sarah, once again taking care of her and keeping their food stocks up for her. As vampires they ate, but blood was fuelled them. Scarlett was the one that had really needed the food.

Jenna was in the living room, working from home happily while Scarlett prepared them both a snack, the least she could do since she was now mooching off the Gilberts. They didn't see it that way but Scarlett did and she wanted to be at least a little helpful. She'd made a small sandwich for Jenna, something that she wouldn't look at and see only the extra weight she'd be gaining. Scarlett's was like four of those stacked up, stuffed full with layers of meat and cheese and anything else Scarlett could think to put on a sandwich. It wasn't even the biggest she'd ever made but she couldn't empty the fridge out right after Jenna restocked. Elena and Jeremy might be willing to look the other way and share their food to stop Jenna getting suspicious, but Jenna wasn't a fool and Scarlett wasn't going to treat her like one.

Hopefully the sandwich would keep her full until dinner.

There was a knock at the door as Scarlett applied the finishing touches to her sandwich. She was about to get it herself when Jenna declared she would since she was closer. Both Elena and Jeremy were out. Elena with Sarah and Caroline and Jeremy was still working on a school project with some other students. So it was just Scarlett and Jenna. Which was fine until the door opened and Scarlett caught a whiff of who was at the door.

It was a good thing she wasn't holding the sandwiches otherwise she would have dropped them. She wheeled from the counter, heading to the archway to confirm her suspicions. "Mason, hey," Jenna greeted warmly as Scarlett cursed in her head. It was fine. She could sneak out back unnoticed. Mason wouldn't be here for her anyway, he had no idea Scarlett was here, and probably had only noticed her scent when the door opened, like she had with him.

"Hey, Jenna. Is Scarlett here?"

The teenager wanted to cry. Why was this happening to her? What had she done to dissever this? She still had a chance though, she could sneak out the back and hop the fence and be gone before Mason even knew what was happening. Or that would have been possible had Jenna not let him in right away. "Sure, she's in the back," Jenna said with a wave. Scarlett wanted to curse her for that, but it was a little hard considering she was letting her live in her home.

Cut off from her escape route, Scarlett backed up and made her way around the island. With Mason and Jenna coming down the hallway, she'd never make it to the back door without being spotted. She had two options. Face him or duck behind the island and hope they gave up and left the room, giving her a chance to escape. Shamefully, Scarlett gave a fair bit of thought to hiding behind the island before she realised that Mason would be able to sniff her out. She could still attempt it, but if she failed - which was most likely - then she'd be even more humiliated that she already was.

So despite what her brain was crying out for her to do, Scarlett stood firm and gripped the counter. "Why are you looking for her?" Jenna asked, frown clear in her voice as she followed Mason.

"It's a personal thing," Mason shrugged it off as he walked into the kitchen, startled a little when he found Scarlett waiting for him. "Hey, Scarlett," Mason said with a nervous wave.

She glared back at him. Jenna, having followed Mason in, suddenly began questioning her decision. She was on good terms with Mason, she'd had no reason to suspect that he wasn't on bad terms with Scarlett, but clearly from the glare she was giving him there was something going on between them. "Scarlett?" Jenna said, trying to catch the girl's attention, but she just glared on at Mason, as if trying to melt him with her gaze. "Is everything alright?"

Deciding not to make a seen, Scarlett turned her gaze ever so slightly towards Jenna, managing to plaster on a smile for her. "It's alright. Could you give us some privacy?" Scarlett asked sheepishly. Jenna nodded, offering a small smile back. She looked to Mason suspiciously, gears turning in her head before she backed out of the room. Scarlett waited until she heard Jenna grab her laptop and head up stairs, shutting her bedroom door before turning back to Mason. Even then she didn't say anything, just glare.

When it became clear to him that Scarlett wasn't going to make the first move, Mason decided to do it instead. He stepped around the dinning table and pulled out a chair, motioning to the one opposite him as he sat down. Scarlett waited a minute before moving over, arms still folded as she pulled the chair out with her foot. Then planting herself down, she slouched into the chair and waited for Mason to say his peace.

"How you doing?" Mason asked softly, his hands clasped together as they rested on the table, his thumbs moving nervously over one another. His gaze jumping up and down from her and his hands. It was a little relieving to know he was at the least feel awkward about what had happened, but if he hadn't then Scarlett would have been even more concerned.

"I'd like to skip the small talk if that's alright," Scarlett cut in firmly. "I don't see any need to drag this out. Say whatever you have to say then leave." That was her offer, he didn't like it, then she'd leave. Frankly he was lucky she was letting him speak to her after what had happened, but it wasn't just his fault she couldn't completely blame him. That said she wanted nothing to do with him and had no intention of forming any kind of relationship with this man. Just being in the same room was making her sick, thinking of how she'd betrayed Jeremy.

Mason let out a little chuckle as his eyes ducked beneath Scarlett's heated gaze. "Most girls like the small talk." He was trying to lighten the mood. Scarlett knew this but she didn't want the mood lightened. She didn't want a friendship or anything from this man. She was giving him one chance to say whatever he had to make himself feel better and that was it. This was made clear to Mason when he looked back up and saw the glare hadn't demonised. Not even an inch.

"Sorry," he apologised.

When he stopped talking after that, Scarlett nudged him, trying to get things moving again. "What is it you want?"

"Just…to talk," Mason answered lamely.

"I don't want to talk," Scarlett said simply, her gaze unmoving, her eyes unblinking.

"I get that. But still, I've got to try." He leaned forwards on the table and Scarlett felt herself tense. Just his proximity was enough to make her start sweating, like something might happen again. As if the wolf would suddenly rip its way out and take Mason like it had in the woods. Scarlett pushed her chair back ever so slightly, not enough to make Mason question her retreat but enough to let her breath and relax. Reassuring herself that the wolf wasn't going to want seconds.

"How is it you had control on the full moon?" he asked. That made Scarlett tense up again. "I saw how you acted that night, how you defended your friends." A soft chuckle as he leaned back. "I mean come on, you can't be that old and from your scent you've probably only seen a handful of full moons. So, how'd you do it? How'd you stop yourself from killing your friends. Any other wolf would have joined me in the kill. But you actively chose not too and chased me off. How?"

It was a fair enough question. Scarlett had some of her own she wanted to ask, but she had no intention of asking this particular werewolf. If another came along, she'd ask him or her. There was no way she was giving Mason a chance to worm his way into her life, for whatever reason. She couldn't tell him about her necklace and risk him taking it from her. It gave her more power and allowed her to change at will, that was something she didn't want to lose. She had to fight the urge to play with it as she stonewalled him, not wanting to give him any kind of leads on her power.

"I've always been like this," Scarlett answered quietly as her gaze fell. He didn't push. Just nodded along as his gaze also dropped for awhile. Then he looked back up, another question in his mind.

"Do you know any other werewolves?" he asked curiously. Scarlett shook her head, gaze still lowered. The only truthful answer she'd felt like giving him so far. "Do you know what a pack is?" Again Scarlett shook her head, but lifted her gaze to meet his, figuring he was about to give her an explanation.

"A pack is what a group of wolves is called. They live together, hunt together, have families together. Defend each other and attack as one. They're lead by an Alpha. Werewolves aren't so different in that regard," Mason explained with a thin smile, thinking of his own pack. "I have pack. I'm what's called a Beta… You would be called an Omega, because you are alone and don't have a pack."

'Alone'. It felt like a good word to describe Scarlett at the moment. She preferred it over Mason word, 'Omega'.

"Just like with wolves, I've got an Alpha that's in charge of the pack. She keeps an eye on all of us, makes sure we're safe and have somewhere to go if we need too. Rounds us up for the full moon so that we can go somewhere and not accidentally kill anyone." He paused there, looking at Scarlett, hope in his eyes. "If you want, you can come with me when I go back to them. I can introduce you to them. I'm sure you'd be more than welcome." His smile seemed genuine and sincere, but Scarlett didn't buy it. She was too cynical for that.

"I'm good thanks," Scarlett rejected, as if he'd been offering her a cup coffee. And that was all she had to say to him. Annoyingly that wasn't all he had to say to her and he seemed a little surprised that she'd turned down his offer.

"You're not good, Scarlett," Mason said lowly, his voice taking on a more concerned tone. "Last I checked, you were living in a town full of vampires, one of which wants you dead because of what you can do to them. How long until the rest turn on you."

Scarlett had had enough, as shown by her hand that suddenly slammed down on the glass table. The whole thing shook, but nothing broke, and Mason slide back an inch, startled by Scarlett's sudden show of force. "You don't get to come here and tell me what's best for me, got that!" Scarlett said firmly, her voice raised but not enough to have Jenna come running. "I've been stuck with a pretty crappy life, at least until a _vampire_ took me in and helped me. That was when I first turned and she saw me do it. She didn't kill me, she didn't run from me, she didn't lock me up! She took me in and gave me a home. I've been getting help through this whole thing by vampires and my friends, and were the hell where you and your stupid pack?! Not here, that's for sure! And now you want me to just give all that up and come with you! No. I am in a good place, I don't give a crap if you disagree, because it's taken you months to show up!"

"And I'm sorry," Mason said leaning forward and taking Scarlett's intense glare head on. "I really am and if I could change it I would, but I can't. But I am here now and I do want to help you, Scarlett. Trust me, the pack is the best and safest place for people like us. Don't throw that opportunity away because of whatever weird thing happened between us or because your pissed off."

"I'm good," Scarlett repeated firmly, her gaze level as she leaned back in her seat. "Now can you please leave me alone."

Mason sighed, seeing he wasn't going to break down her walls, at least not in this meeting. He rose, pushing his chair back and stepping around the table. He was heading for the hallway when he stopped and looked back. "If you change your mind, or just want to talk, I'm always available." Again Scarlett snapped, this time though she wasn't entirely sure why. This time he was just trying to extend an olive branch with no strings attached, just offering her another person to talk about her werewolf troubles, someone with experience. But Scarlett could only see his offer from one angle.

She shot out her seat, advancing on Mason as he wheeled around, backing up as Scarlett forced him back into the hallway. "You're not my boyfriend, so stop trying to act like one! I have a boyfriend and if I need anyone to talk to I have him, I don't need you! I don't want you to care about me! I don't want you to offer me any help! Just stay the hell away from me! Otherwise I'll kill you, full moon or not, you got that!" Scarlett roared, her eyes flashing in pure golden rage that sent Mason running from the door. She hadn't intended too, but her werewolf features were coming out, her face shifting as canines grew in, visible as she took in heavy breathes through her open mouth.

Mason got in one last plea before heading out the door, closing it behind him. Once he had, Scarlett shifted back, her breaths laboured before she suddenly found herself crying. She just wanted this nightmare to be over, to wake up in Jeremy's arms and find out everything since Katherine showed up had been a bad dream. She sank to the floor, landing on her knees and put her hands to her mouth. Trying to hold in the cries so Jenna wouldn't come and ask what was wrong.

She wanted her mother. She would have settled for Sarah but she really wanted her mother right now. It had been the first time in so long she'd wanted her mother. She just wanted her advice her help. Surely she'd know what to do, how to handle it all. But even if she did it didn't matter. She was dead and Scarlett had no one to turn too. She was alone, frightened and had no one to confide in over how she felt. It was only a matter of time until her world came crashing down around her, and after she'd worked so hard to make it one worth living. Maybe it already had crashed, and she was just waiting for the last of the glass shards to hit the ground, shattering like her mind and heart.

* * *

With the sun having set about half an hour ago, Sarah was eager to get home. She'd been spending most her day avoiding Caroline, even after school. Eventually though she'd gotten a text from Elena pointing out that the longer she ran the more Caroline was going to take it personally. In the end Sarah met them at the Grill and with the help of Elena, Caroline managed to hold back some of the more personal questions about Ronnie. Once that was over they had a fairly good time though, spending the rest of the day together until Sarah realised what time it was. The two girls had teased her as she left but she didn't care, she just wanted to get back to Ronnie.

She couldn't then help the smile that came over her when she spotted Ronnie standing in the front door grinning away when he saw her coming. "How long have you been standing there?" Sarah asked as she approached.

"I heard you coming," Ronnie answered. Sarah shot him a knowing look, planting her hands on her hips as she stopped before him. He tried to avoid her gaze and keep smiling confidently, but he caved soon enough. His smile faltering as he chuckled nervously. "Alright, maybe I've been standing here since sundown waiting for you."

"You're so sweet," Sarah said as she stepped up to him, grinning until she planted a kiss on his cheek. "Horrible lier though." She had been expecting a snappy comeback. Instead he took hold of her and twirled around into the house. Sarah shrieked, then laughed, even harder when Ronnie dipped her back into the hallway. The room turning up side down as her hair trialed down to the floor.

"How mad would you be if I let go right now?" Ronnie asked.

Sarah shrugged awkwardly from her leaned back position, head still tilted back as she looked into the upside down living room. "It wouldn't be the first time you did. But you would lose any chance of sex." Suddenly she found herself being pulled back up, Ronnie's hands going around her waist as hers clasped around his neck.

"Well, I wouldn't want to lose sex," Ronnie admitted as he and Sarah stared into each others' eyes. "Especially after I went through all the effort of making dinner."

"You made dinner?" Sarah asked eagerly, her eyes widening like an excited child.

"I did," Ronnie confirmed with a charming grin.

"What'd you make?"

"Come and see," Ronnie said with a grin as he swung around, letting Sarah stubble towards the front door before he took her hand and pulled her along after him. They headed through the living room, cutting across towards the dinning room where Sarah found the lights turned down and a few romantic candles lit around the room and on the table. It had a clear air of romance, making Sarah smile at Ronnie who returned it with a smile of his own. He'd set the table too, placing them on either side of the table's centre, but not at the heads. They'd be too far away if they sat there and it'd spoil the mood. This was much better.

In between the two empty plates was an array of food. The main thing being steak as well as several small dishes around the centre piece for them try in association with the meat. "I may have gone a little overboard," Ronnie said slowly as Sarah looked out across the table.

"Eh. I like it when you spoil me," Sarah said with a grin as she turned to Ronnie.

"Can I take your coat, M'lady," Ronnie said teasingly as he slide behind Sarah, hands going to her shoulder to remove her leather jacket.

"Now you're just being stupid," Sarah said with a giggle, but let him take her jacket all the same. He placed it on the chair next to hers, since it wasn't going to be used, and then pulled out Sarah's chair for her. He gestured and she nodded in thanks before sitting down. He then dashed around to the other side at vampire speed and sat down in his own chair at normal speed. It was the kid of thing newbie vampires might do to show off, thinking they're hot stuff. Ronnie did it because he knew that Sarah thought that and found it cheesy. So she laughed as he grinned back.

"Where do you want to start then?" Ronnie asked, arms spreading out in a wide gesture across the table. After picking out a few things, along with a few suggestions from Ronnie, Sarah took a slab of steak and dropped it onto her plate along with everything else she'd gathered. Ronnie did the same and they dug in, pocking fun at each other as they did. It was like they'd never been apart, falling into old patterns as if it was a simple dance they'd all but mastered.

After a few glasses of wine, the pair began to reminisce, still enjoying their meal as they did.

"Do you remember how we met?" Ronnie asked as he carefully swirled his red wine around the glass, watching it twist into a mini vortex as he did. As if by just looking into the centre of his glass, he'd be transported back to that very day.

Sarah chuckled at the question, "Of course I do. In that little place in New York."

"That was all the way back in 1902. I'd just turned a couple years back," Ronnie remembered fondly.

"That you had," agreed Sarah as she let her mind drift back.

* * *

Drinking alone was never easy for Sarah. She'd never gotten to experience it as a human, turned at the age of seventeen, she'd never gone into a tavern of any kind. Her father had granted her the occasional drink, but only under his strict supervision. And for a woman to enter a a tavern alone was unheard off. The only reason she'd even gotten served was thanks to her compulsion. She'd only compelled the bartender though, so she was still getting stares from all around the small room gloomy room lit only by three or four candles. She didn't care though. It was this, or draining them all dry.

The cravings were starting up again. They did so every now and then, at least once a year or when she went too long without a good drink of blood. Lexi had been the one to introduce her to alcohol, a self proclaimed expert despite the fact she shouldn't have been allowed near the stuff. But as Sarah had come to learn, as a vampire, the rules don't apply to them. She was to use every tool at her dispose to not only survive, but as Lexi stated, to have fun. There wasn't a lot of fun going around. Hadn't been since her family broke apart. Even after all these decades, it still hurt like it was yesterday. The ageless face wasn't helping either. Every time Sarah looked in a mirror she thought she'd suddenly returned to 1864 and was human again, living with her family. Then she'd remember it all and realise it was almost forty years later and she hadn't seen either of her brothers in years.

Stefan, on his blood free diet, couldn't stand to be around Sarah and had taken off one night abandoning her. She'd been lucky Lexi was there, otherwise things could have turned out a lot worse. Thinking back Sarah remembered how easy it had been, just flicking that switch and letting everything just slip away. How simple it had all been. But Lexi had warned her never to do it again, and every time Sarah considered it, she reminded herself of what she'd done. Her poor brothers…what might have happened had Lexi not got to her in time.

Another reason for her to keep her distance from them both for now. Unfortunately that meant keeping distance from Lexi who was keeping an eye on Stefan. She moved back and forth between the two, taking care of them both like the best friend she was and having her own adventures in between. Sarah knew Stefan needed her more, but all the same she was lonely and missing her best friend. She'd come to New York after a suggestion from Lexi, saying it was a good place to meet people. The other option had been New Orleans since Lexi had some friends there, but said it'd be better if they showed up together. Sarah was fine to wait and had gone to New York, agreeing to stay there until Lexi sent word that she was ready to meet up again. They did there best to keep in contact but it wasn't easy and sometimes it could be weeks if not months before Sarah would hear word from Lexi or even Stefan. He too liked to check up on her from time to time. She hadn't heard from Damon since their last encounter, and she figured that was for the best. Give the wounds time to heal.

But despite all that, she still missed them all and felt alone in the great city of New York. She ordered another drink. Some men across the room, surrounding a small wood table, tutted in disapproval. The only other woman in the place, whispered something to her husband who nodded along. Sarah didn't care enough to listen in. The bartender swiftly poured her another drink and left to serve another gentleman, clearly not happy with the fact that a woman was being served over him. Maybe Sarah could give into her cravings for one night and kill that one. Didn't seem like anyone was going to miss the loud mouth moustached idiot.

She looked over, ready to size up her pray and decide if he was worth the trouble or not, when her eye caught someone else. A man, older than her, but not by much. Good looking, finely shaven, gorgeous blue eyes and his hair hidden beneath a rounded hat. Like most of the men in the room, he wore a white collar dress shirt, black tie around his neck and an unbuttoned jacket over that.

He looked back at her.

Sarah tried to seem dismissive but her eyes kept coming back to those baby blues, as if they were at the centre of a vortex that was pulling her in. He was down at the end of the bar, while Sarah was at the other end, alone, leaning against the wooden counter. Most of the gentlemen had cleared down the other end when she arrived on her own, all sure her man would arrive at any moment and explain when she'd been ordering drinks on her own. Still no man had come and there would be none. Most had figured this out by now and were avoiding her just for breaking the social protocol. They all had been avoiding eye contact with her, but not this one. This one was staring back at her in awe.

To her own disbelief, Sarah found herself smiling at the man. She didn't want to, it was reflex out of her control, an experiment by her subconscious. Surprisingly the man smiled back, before taking his glass and working his way around the bar to join her. All eyes were on them both now, the occupants half wondering if he was her man and if so why he'd stood on his own for so long. And if he wasn't her man, then why on earth was he approaching her.

As he came to a stop next to Sarah, he looked her up and down. She wore a dark dress reaching down to the floor, belt strapped around her waist, pulling the upper material tightly against her chest with a blouse over that which was tied off at the front by a nice large, silk, bow. And atop her head she donned a large matching hat with large feathers nesting atop, the hat resting just high enough to show off her raven hair that was tucked beneath.

His smile grew when his eyes returned to her meadow green. "Now what's a lady like you doing in a place like this all on her own?" the man asked.

"Getting a drink. Is that a problem?" Sarah inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course not," the man said with a quick grin. "May I buy you another?"

"No, but if you like I can buy you another," Sarah replied curtly, as she nodded to his near empty glass.

"I hardly think that's appropriate," the man chuckled.

"Is that a no?" Sarah asked, mock disappointment in her voice.

"No…but I would need to find someway of paying you back. I wouldn't want to risk losing my manhood."

Sarah hummed, thinking for a moment before her eyes landed on the loud gentleman from before, making his opinions of her very clear to the room. "See that gentleman there, the one with the big mouth and the even bigger moustache?"

"Yes," the man with the blue eyes replied.

"You can get me a drink from him," she said it so simply that most people would think she was joking, but this man turned back with a smirk at his lips. Was he actually taking her seriously?

"I'll be right back," the man said with a tilt of his hat before heading over to the moustached gentleman. "Excuse me, Sir." The moustache turned to face the blue eyed man and Sarah watched as the moustached man's face dropped, eyes becoming dazed. "If you'd be so kind as to give me your wrist." The moustached man raised his wrist and the blue eyed one thanked him before biting into his wrist. He then pulled away letting the blood dribble into his glass, filling it up before moving the man's arm aside. "Thank you, that'll be all."

With that the blue eyed man returned to Sarah and people began to notice the moustache's bleeding wrist, all seeming to think he'd caught his wrist on something. All ignoring the bite mark. Sarah's grin broadened as the blue eyed man handed her the glass of blood. "Very nice," she complimented, inhaling the scent of the blood before taking a sip. Not the best she'd ever had, but it was the gesture she was interested in.

"So you're a vampire too I see," the blue eyed man assumed.

"Indeed," Sarah agreed, taking a large gulp fo the blood before setting it down between them. "But now we have a problem you see," Sarah explained as she looked up at the blue eyed man. "I no longer want to buy you a drink."

"That's quite alright," the man said, bowing his head as if he'd just lost the battle, taking it rather gracefully too.

"But I'm more than willing to offer you something else," Sarah continued, eyes dancing with mirth and lust. The man looked down at her, the same look in his own eyes as he grinned back at her.

"Such as?" the man asked.

* * *

"That was quite the night," Ronnie reminisced with a grin.

"Yeah," Sarah agreed, head tilted as she stared up at the ceiling as if it was all playing on an invisible screen for her own personal pleasure. "Shame you needed a break. I could have gone all night."

"As I remember it, you were the one that told me to back off because you wanted some sleep," Ronnie shot back with a chuckle.

"Only because you stopped first! I was good to go but you wanted to get a drink from those maids. It's not my fault an hour later I was ready for sleep and you were suddenly in the mood again," Sarah shouted back mockingly before they both broke down into laughter. "You didn't even tell me your name until two days later," Sarah pointed out as she sipped the last of red puddle in her wine glass.

"I don't remember there being much need of names in that room. And with those maids popping by to check on us we had free room service for forty-eight hours straight," Ronnie reminded her.

"Sex and a never ending blood supply. Can't argue with that," Sarah said as she rose her glass.

"Here, here," Ronnie agreed as he raised his own glass and tapped Sarah's. He then downed his wine before throwing the glass aside smashing it against the wall. "Now," he said before suddenly speeding over, leaping across the table and tackling Sarah. The woman shrieking in delight as Ronnie knocked her out her chair and pinned her wrists to the floor, straddling her as he landed on top. "You never did say how you were going to pay me back for that drink."

"Well considering you just broke that glass, I think we're even," Sarah said sarcastically as Ronnie grinned back at her. He then came down on her, claiming her lips with his own as they began to make out. In one swift move Sarah then overpowered him, lifting him up and throwing him down on to the dinning table before mounting him. Taking his lips like he had with her. He didn't fight, just pulled her back towards him when she tried to stop for breath. They then proceeded to bounce around the room, each fighting for dominance over the other in another of their little games. It was just something they did to spice up the sex, the only down side was by the time they were done the dinning room was completely wrecked.

Oh, well…her brothers could clean that up. It wasn't like either of them had a girlfriend to occupy their time with. And cleaning could be a good distraction from the loneliness. Plus it would keep them from bothering her and Ronnie, as they caught up for the umpteenth time since she'd saved him from Katherine. What could she say, she wanted to make sure she hadn't missed anything.


	10. From One Predator to Another

_Review responses:_

Only reviewer: _Thank you, and we'll see more of Sarah's past as the story goes on, have no fear. And yeah, I agree, Caroline is noisy, but as you pointed out, that's Caroline. I'm just glade I captured that aspect about her. :) Don't worry, we'll get to Sarena someday. Until then I'll give you vampires jumping off roofs, because I too missed that in the later seasons of the show. And as for your previous review, sorry, probably not gonna find out this week. :(_

Charmedbycharmed: _Glad you enjoyed it, as that was my goal. I really wanted to do a scene like that were it put Sarah in a position we don't normally see her in. Plus high school gossip is always a good laugh. Just this time it was at Sarah's expense. Guess now she'll have to kill someone, wonder who?_

 _Sorry! I know, I'm late again. Meant to have this up yesterday but stupid technical problems got in the way. Not for this but for something else I was working on for college._ _Anyway, problems aside, although this isn't one of my favourite episodes (Just an opinion, don't shoot me) I've been really looking forward to this one, as I have with most of the first Arc in season 2. So while we wait for Sarena to get their act together, we have Scarlett/Jeremy! Who I absolutely loved writing, particularly the cute little scenes that are coming up. Awe, I just love 'em. And then we have Sarah dealing with everything else; from a little detective work, to making sure the everyone else knows there place. A good lead up to next week, so enjoy!_

 _Oh, and as for the Tenth chapter shout out, I did have another story in mind, but then I started reading this another story called, '_ **Spider-Man: A Different Web** _' by '_ **NoirValor** _'. It's about a Spiderman who ends up with Black Cat and the two fight alongside each other as superheroes. Very well written with a lot of heart in it, and a great arc structure that makes it so much easier to digest than other stories like it. A good time if your a Spiderman fan, even more so if you ship Spiderman/Black Cat like me! I highly recommend it. So there's my shout out for this milestone._

And thanks for all the reviews, favourite and follows since last time! You guys are the best!

* * *

 **Chapter 10: From One Predator to Another**

* * *

"I can't believe Tyler Lockwood is a werewolf," Jeremy said, standing against the door frame that led from his room into the bathroom he and Elena shared. His sister was in the middle of getting ready for some public park building thing, applying light makeup as she stared at him through the mirror. And stood next to Elena with her back to the mirror was Scarlett, leaning against the counter.

She'd come in to talk to Elena about her betrayal some more, looking for advice on how to tell Jeremy. She just wanted to get it over with now, the guilt was becoming too much and she had a sneaking suspicion that if she didn't tell him sooner she might never tell him. It wasn't helping that he'd been suggesting they go out on a date, in public, where everyone would see them. Scarlett wasn't against the idea, but she hardly wanted to break his heart in front of half the town. It was just another excuse to put it off, so she'd gone to see Elena.

But after beating around the bush for five minutes while Elena got ready, Jeremy had arrived and then things went quiet, Elena made sure he was caught up on everything supernatural. Since she'd promised not to keep secrets from him anymore…well, at least secrets about the supernatural. Though Scarlett was dangerously poised on that fence between the supernatural and "normal". Sure cheating was normal…but doing it as a wolf. Thankfully though, Elena was giving Scarlett time to handle this in her own way. But every time they were along the past few days, she'd try and get Scarlett to go and talk to Jeremy. Her words usually did encourage Scarlett, up until she saw Jeremy. Then all that courage just slipped away and the cracks in her heart threatened to break the thing in two. And every time she chickened out.

"He's not a werewolf," Scarlett said, both Gilberts looking to her. "If he was, I'd know. Just like I knew with Mason."

"So he's not turned yet, like you?" Jeremy asked, for clarification. Scarlett nodded, offering him a smile for keeping up. That made him happy, knowing he was cementing the knowledge in his head. "Do we know if there's a reason for the change to happen?"

"A theory for me and Sarah is that it has to do with killing. But we're not one-hundred precent sure on that," Scarlett explained, her mind going back to when her first change happened. Right after she'd killed her uncle.

"And we're not even sure Tyler can become a werewolf," Elena added, looking at them both through the mirror. "We just know that Mason is." A look to Scarlett made the werewolf lower her gaze as Elena began to apply her lipstick. Thankfully Jeremy didn't notice, or if he did he didn't think that much of it. He was too caught up in the supernatural briefing they were having.

"It should be easy enough for us to find out," Jeremy said with a confident look to Scarlett.

It made her uneasy but she didn't want to say anything. Thankfully, Elena did. "There is no us, Jer. I said that I wouldn't keep things from you anymore. That doesn't mean that I want you involved in any of this."

"I'm already involved just by being in this family," Jeremy pointed out, holding up the Gilbert ring on his hand to show his point. "And my girlfriend's a werewolf on top of that. I'd have to actively try to _not_ be involved in this." He smirked, seemingly pleased with himself. Scarlett wasn't sure how to feel about that. She liked him standing up for himself and being more confident. But did she really want him involved in the supernatural world? The ring would protect him but only when he wore it, and if John was any proof, it could easily be removed. She could see Elena looking at her for support but she remained silent. She really didn't want to be the type of girlfriend that took away Jeremy's choices. If he wanted to get involved then that was his choice, but he should be aware of the risks and dangers. Something he didn't seem to fully understand yet.

"This is dangerous, Jeremy. You have to stay out of it. You're not like Scarlett, you can't defend yourself," Elena explained in a level but clearly concerned tone.

"But you're just like me, and you don't even have a ring," Jeremy argued, wiggling his ring finger.

"I don't want to be involved in this. I'm getting dragged into it, Jer," Elena said, frowning as she turned to face him.

"And now so am I," Jeremy said simply, closing the matter. Elena looked like she contemplated arguing some more but then just sighed. She already had a lot to deal with, what with breaking up with Stefan and all. Maybe she just couldn't take arguing with Jeremy at the moment, and since there was no immediate threat, Supernatural wise, she just decided to put it off until a later date. She made her way back into her room, closing the door that lead from the bathroom to her bedroom, leaving Scarlett and Jeremy alone.

"I think you pissed her off," Scarlett said as she turned from the closed door back to Jeremy.

"Yeah," Jeremy sighed. He obviously didn't want to fight with his sister anymore. He'd forgiven her for lying and was visibly happy that they were talking again. He'd missed his sister, even if he wouldn't admit it. But he didn't want her blocking him out of what he felt he had the right to be involved in. It was his family legacy to kill vampires. He might not want to do that but he clearly still wanted to do something, and dating Scarlett made him even more determined to get involved. If anything just to help and support her. But Scarlett didn't deserve that support.

Jeremy quickly brightened up, lifting his head back up with a smile. "You ready to go?"

Scarlett couldn't find the strength to answer verbally, so she just nodded, plastering on a soft smile. She tried to force some excitement into her eyes, which wasn't terribly hard. She was excited to be going on a real proper date with Jeremy. They hadn't really done that since the carnival, and that ended up with them arguing and storming off. Not exactly the best first date in his history, but they were still together and happy to go on another date. Excluding the whole her lying to him thing anyway. But they needed a break from all the drama, even the drama he didn't know about.

Jeremy returned to his room, grabbed his backpack from his bed and then met Scarlett out in the hallway with a grin. "Let's go," he said, taking her head before they headed down the stairs. Scarlett smiled and happily followed, and for the first time in a while, there was no linger guilt over what she'd done. Maybe they could make leaving the drama behind a permanent thing, Scarlett thought hopefully.

* * *

Like with everyone of these Mystic Falls social events, Carol Lockwood had to make speech. As far as Sarah was concerned, it was just a park. A park that probably wouldn't even be used that much since it was on the outskirts of the town. But it was an excuse to get the community working together, to show that the Founding Families were just like everyone else and not as high and mighty as they claimed with their exclusive parties. Now even the common folk could join in, and get a free speech from Carol Lockwood. Honestly Sarah wanted nothing to do with this joke of an event. She was envious of Scarlett for getting out of it, and couldn't bad mouth it without upsetting Caroline since she was one of the people who helped organise the thing. But there had been one reason for her to show up.

Mason Lockwood. The werewolf that was causing her an awful lot of trouble. If she followed the string back though, she found it was actually Damon causing the trouble, no surprise there, but Mason wasn't helping. At Damon's get together barbecue he'd outed Scarlett to Damon which lead to her getting kicked out of her home. Not only that but he then got into a fight with Damon. Alright Damon attacked him first but he could have at least rolled over and just died. It would have made all their live easier, especially Scarlett's.

Sarah had wanted to kill him, but Stefan was on the peace route. And maybe it was a good idea to have another werewolf around, especially one with factual knowledge on werewolves and had been living with others, unlike Scarlett. It meant they could go to him if anything strange happened with Scarlett, though after what Sarah had heard from Scarlett, the suggestion of that idea might just land her a fresh werewolf bite. But with Stefan putting forward the same point, Sarah grudgingly conceded. Shame too, she'd been looking forward to killing someone. Katherine's lack of action was starting to put her on edge and if there were two things that made her feeling in control, it was compelling and killing. Maybe there was someone else she could drain dry before snapping their neck. Would anyone really notice if Carol Lockwood died?

A nudge from Stefan broke her daydreams of offing Carol Lockwood. She turned to him and followed the direction of his nod. Stood at the back of his car, unloading boxes, was Mason Lockwood. Just the man they wanted to see. Stefan began to walk first with Sarah following. In negotiation matters like this, it was best to let Stefan lead. If he wasn't available, then Sarah would lead. She could have a calm conversation but got worked up a lot easier than Stefan did and was far more likely to kill someone than him. She was still better than Damon though. He'd ask once and if he didn't get the answer he liked, he'd kill you. In fact, he might just kill you, forget the request.

Mason spotted them and brought out one last box before turning to face them as the two Salvatores stopped before him. "Stefan, right? And Sarah? The other Salvatores," Mason greeted. Not so warmly as Sarah noticed. Hardly surprising, but she'd be lying if she didn't find it a little personal.

"The nice one," Stefan said with a smile, referring to himself.

"And the one in the middle," Sarah introduced herself, arms folding as a smirk played at her lips.

"We're here to offer you an apology," Stefan explained.

"Not interested," Mason replied with a shake of the head. _Oh, well, they tried, time to snap his neck_ , thought Sarah. It was times like this Sarah thought Stefan could read her mind because he shot her a taming look as his hand reach out to block her path. She glanced at him and huffed before both turned back to Mason who stared at them both. Alright, Sarah thought, one more chance.

"Look, my brother acted impulsively," Stefan began.

"You think?" Mason snapped.

"But if you and Damon keep at each other's throats, somebody innocent is going to get hurt and I don't want that. You have family here so I can't imagine you'd want that either. So what do you say we just quit the whole alpha male fighting thing and call a truce?" Stefan suggested hopefully.

Mason stared at him for a moment, his gaze flickering over to Sarah ever few seconds. His gaze then settled on Stefan as he pointed to him, "You know, I made that same offer to your brother. He turned it down, with a knife."

"Then you should have no trouble accepting the truce then," Sarah said with a smug little grin, as if he should be more than happy to agree since he'd made the offer before. If he was smart, he'd take their apology and the offer he'd originally been pitching and go on his way. If he was a stubborn alpha male idiot, he'd be offering himself up as Sarah's kill for the day. One Lockwood was as good as another, she supposed.

"We're not wanting any trouble. So can we please just agree that a mistake was made, and that we all want to move on," Stefan asked, a bit more friendly and pleading than Sarah. Trying to appeal to the alpha male inside Mason, the same alpha male that was likely to turn them down.

Mason's stare turned to glare, capturing them both at once. He grabbed a box from the stack by his car and said, "Tell your brother to watch his back," before walking off. He didn't get far though. Sarah grabbed his arm as he tried to pass, stopping him in his tracks, and there was no sign of Stefan stepping in to scorn her. No help was coming. Sarah shoved him back before them, her smug smile now more powerful and warning as Mason stubbled, struggling to keep on his feet and hold onto the box in his hands.

"He won't have to, because we'll be watching it for him," Sarah said before taking on a look of mock concern. "But who's going to watch your back Mason. Last I counted there was only one werewolf and three vampires."

"You might want to recount," Mason snarled, a hint of the wolf inside him. Sarah wasn't scared. She knew that Scarlett was the only one who could shift outside of the full moon and that was thanks to her necklace. Mason had no necklace or ring that allowed him that privilege. He didn't stand a chance against them.

"You referring to Scarlett?" Sarah asked. Mason smirked, thinking he had her on the ropes as he began to nod. Sarah began to chuckle, darkly, but Mason smirk remained firm. He obviously thought she was trying to downplay the situation, trying to seem tough. That's why he was caught off guard when Sarah sudden clamped her hand down on his shoulder and squeezed. He dropped the box and the thud of it muffled his initially groan of pain before he clenched down on his jaw to hold it in.

"Let me make this perfectly clear. I know what happened between you and her. I know she hates your guts because of it, so don't be expecting any help from her. Truth is the only reason you're still alive is because you might prove helpful down the line for her. Otherwise I'd kill you now for what you did to her," Sarah snarled lowly so no passers by could hear.

"I never forced her…" Mason began but Sarah shut him up with a press of the thumb against his shoulder, threatening to dislocate his arm.

"I know. But you've complicated her life, and I don't appreciate that. Now I'm sorry we've gotten off on the wrong foot here but I don't take any threat against my family lightly, and that includes Scarlett. You want to be the big bad wolf, that's fine. Just keep in mind you're not like Scarlett, you're only dangerous one night a month. The four of us are always dangerous." Again Sarah's grip tightened and Mason almost dropped to his knees, but was just managing to stay on his feet despite the pain. He could try and fight her off, but not without causing a scene. She had the superior strength and she was going to use it.

"So I'm going to make you a deal, as long as you don't come at us, we won't come at you. We'll keep Damon off your back since no one else will." She then suddenly jerked Mason towards her, her lips going for his ear as she snarled in a low whisper, "But harm anyone of my family, and I'll turn you into a wolf skinned rug. And I know Scarlett already told you this, but I'm making it doubly clear. Stay the hell away from her. You go near her again, and I'll personally consider that an open invitation to wolf season, specifically Lockwood wolves. You want to offer her help, you send someone else to talk to her, but not you, got it!"

Grudgingly Mason nodded before Sarah shoved him away. He stumbled a few steps before finding his feet, and then stood firm. Glaring back at her. The smug woman that had stood before him a moment ago was now replaced by her identical twin, who had a much darker, serious and deadly look on her face. His face might not have shown fear, but Sarah could see it creeping into his eyes. Just where she wanted it.

Having seen that she switched back to her smug face and held out her hand. He'd stared at her for a moment, before finally taking her hand, shaking it carefully as he watched her. Then doing the same with Stefan. "Enjoy your time in Mystic Falls, Mason," Sarah said. Mason didn't respond. Just picked up the box he dropped and walked off to find some work, or more likely to get away from the vampires. Sarah and Stefan both watched him walk off before they felt a presence behind them. An unmistakeable one.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked, his icy blue eyes moving between his siblings as he stood behind them.

"Negotiating peace on your behalf," Stefan answered with a glance back to his older brother.

"You'd have liked it," Sarah said with a smug smile over her shoulder.

Damon clearly didn't like it though, judging by his child like responses. Practically stomping his feet as he said, "But I don't want peace."

"Well consider it opposite day," Stefan said as he turned around to face his brother.

"Guys, come on, please tell me you don't seriously think a hand shake just solved our problem," Damon said as he looked between his siblings, as if they were a couple of gullible idiots.

"No, actually I think that the first chance Mason Lockwood gets, he's gonna drive a stake through your heart," Stefan said with an irritated smile. "Then through my heart, and then through our sister's heart, and all because you took it upon yourself to try and kill him. So thank you, because we don't have enough problems to deal with." If the irritation wasn't enough to make it obvious that Stefan was frustrated with Damon, the light slap to the face should have. Stefan then plastered on a smile before walking off, looking for something to keep him busy.

"Please tell me you agree with killing him?" Damon said as he stepped up to Sarah's side, folding his arms like she had, taking up a similar stance.

Sarah hummed and Damon turned to look at her with curious blue eyes. "Now see, this puts me in an awkward position. Because I do agree with you–"

"–Thank you," Damon said with a smug grin and a half bow.

"But since you're an idiot and you couldn't even murder him properly, I'm inclined yell at you. And since you threw Scarlett out the house, I'm basically eternally mad at you, so… I guess I'll just have to agree with Stefan for the time being." She knew that would irritate him, her agreeing with Stefan over him. And his glaring eyes that followed her as she sauntered off were certainly evidence of that.

"You're seriously still this up set about me kicking the dog out?" Damon called after her, but Sarah didn't respond. She wasn't going to let him get to her and ignoring him would only irritate him more. So it was a win, win, at least for now.

* * *

Ordering food may have been a bad idea, Scarlett thought in hindsight. She'd been stuffing her face since they sat down. Not that Jeremy seemed to mind, if anything he found it cute. Smiling away with his sketchbook out before him as he watched Scarlett chomp down burger after burger. She would have to thank the manager for their two for one burgers if you were under eighteen. They might be tiny enough to finish in two bites, but they were good. Although from the looks the staff were giving her, the offer might be revoked next time she popped in.

"You're not drawing me are you?" Scarlett asked with a frown as she peered towards Jeremy's sketchbook. He had it resting on his lap, risen up against the table and just out of Scarlett's sight. When she leaned over to try and get a peek, he pulled it back, blocking her view.

"No peeking," Jeremy teased, holding the book against his chest with a grin.

"Jeremy," Scarlett growled lowly. The threat didn't seem to register though as he smiled back.

"I promise, I'm not drawing you."

"Thank you," Scarlett said, sitting back down before finishing off the half eaten burger on her plate.

"At least I'm not drawing you with all that food on your face." Scarlett glowered at him from across the booth, sliding down as she wiped her face down with the back of her arm. Her look and child like pout only made him chuckle some more as he continued to draw. "Do you want some more?" Jeremy asked, looking up from his sketch. Scarlett shook her head. It was nice of him to offer, even if it was for the fourth time, but it reached a point were Scarlett had to say no. Her stomach might be bottomless but all that energy would need to be burned off later. She was planning to go for a run in wolf form and muck around with Jeremy, but she didn't want to have to really work out. She just wanted to play, and for today to be fun. That was all she wanted.

Which was why it was becoming really hard not to take it personal whenever Jeremy looked over at Tyler Lockwood. Sat on his own, typing away at his phone. "Is there something you'd like to tell me or are you just attracted to werewolves?" Scarlett asked once she was finished cleaning her face. Jeremy frowned in confusion before Scarlett jabbed her thumb in the direction of Tyler. Once Jeremy got it he shook his head, still grinning.

"No, it's just…don't you think we should talk to him?" Jeremy asked as he leaned over the table between them.

"I think this is supposed to be a date, and third wheels usually lead to bad dates," Scarlett pointed out.

"I thought you hated dates." Another glower was sent Jeremy's way. "Seriously, if anyone should talk to him it should be you."

"Well I don't want to talk to him, or any other Lockwood for that matter," Scarlett said firmly before grabbing her juice and downing what was left, as if it somehow helped make her point. She'd never been a fan of the Lockwoods before, and the business with Mason hadn't helped, but obviously Jeremy didn't know that. As far as he knew Scarlett had only had a few brief encounters with the man, nothing like what had actually transpired.

A fresh wave of shame and guilt washed over Scarlett, and as the juice slid down her throat, it was like the salty sea water. Burning her throat as penance for what she'd done. She should tell him. She had to tell him. But she couldn't do it to him here. It wasn't fair.

Fair for who? For for him? Or was it just another excuse to get out of telling him?

"I think it would be good for you to get to know some other werewolves," Jeremy suggested, snapping Scarlett from her guilt infected thoughts.

"Jeremy, I don't want to know Mason. I've been fine on my own so far, I don't need his help." The sudden serious and angry tone her voice took on seemed to startle Jeremy as he looked back at her with both confused and hurt eyes. She didn't want that, she didn't want to hurt him, that was the whole reason why she couldn't tell him about what had really happened. She back tracked, desperate to stop him from feeling hurt.

"And I've heard nothing but bad things about Tyler. And after spending even a little bit of time with his family, I can't image Mason's any better, werewolf or not." Scarlett sat back, folding her arms, hoping to end the argument and get back to their peaceful little date. But somehow she knew that ship had sailed.

"I know it must be scary, and intimidating. You don't know what other werewolves are like or how they're supposed to act. But that's why you should talk to Tyler, see if he can help you and maybe even Mason," Jeremy explained. He did have a point, much as Scarlett hated it, but she was still never talking to Mason Lockwood again. Not when she finally felt like she was moving on from what she'd done. That shout she'd had at him had done her more good than she thought.

"And you can walk away whenever you like, I'll make sure you can. But I really think this is the best thing for you." God this was killing her. He was trying so hard to help her, to try and make her comfortable when he couldn't even see what was making her so on edge. Despite that though, he still wanted to help and seeing Scarlett scared only made him want to help that much more. She had to tell him, now, it'd gone far enough, otherwise she'd risk breaking down in front of him and she couldn't have that. Time to grow up and accept responsibility.

"Jeremy…" Scarlett began to say, but the second she caught his doey brown eyes she was helpless. She couldn't hurt him, not after everything they'd been through, it wasn't fair, on either of them. Why should they both suffer because of one mistake. Scarlett was serving her penance with the guilt she felt, no sense in making things worse and hurting Jeremy in the process. Would it really hurt more if she kept it from him? It was going to hurt even if she told him, and wouldn't he be better off for not knowing, wouldn't they both?

He stared at her, waiting for her to continue. She had two options. Keep going, or take the one way out she could see, even if she hated it. "Alright," Scarlett sighed, letting her head dip backwards. Her eyes slammed shut, Jeremy probably mistaken it for grudging acceptance, when really it was Scarlett hiding the self hating look in her eyes. "Let's go and talk to him."

Jeremy smiled as he began to pack away his things into his backpack. He and Scarlett then slid from the booth and made their way over to the table Tyler was sat at all on his own. "Hey man, how have you been?" Jeremy asked as he sat down opposite Tyler with Scarlett taking a seat next to him, offering a half arsed greeting smile.

"Since when?" Tyler muttered without looking up from his phone. _Strike one dipshit_ , Scarlett thought, holding back the urge to glare at the older boy.

"I don't know, I haven't seen you much since your father's funeral. I just figured maybe you'd want-"

"I'm fine, Gilbert," Tyler snapped, looking up with a glare.

"Clearly," Scarlett muttered, Tyler's glare then falling on her. She didn't waver, which startled him a little, meeting his gaze straight on and glaring right back at him. This loud mouth didn't intimidate her. He had nothing on her.

"It's okay, Scarlett," Jeremy said, taking her hand, and when he did she visibly relaxed a little. "Sorry to bother you." Tyler was lucky Jeremy was polite and nice. If it had been just her she'd have punched him for snapping at her, but with Jeremy around she was able to keep herself in check. It was also why when he stood up, pulling her along wit him, she willingly left, happy to have gotten that little chat over and done with.

But as they were walking away, Tyler called them back. "Wait, hold up." Scarlett rolled her eyes when Jeremy stopped and both turned around to see what Tyler had to say. The surprise was he genuinely sounded sincere when he said, "I'm sorry. Bad day, bad month."

"Try a bad life," Scarlett growled. She was surprised again when Tyler tilted his head, almost as if he was admitting fault and apologising for that. He was actually making an effort. Jeremy led her back over and oddly enough Scarlett found herself following without resistance, or even complaint. More evidence he was a good influence on her…she didn't like it.

"Listen, Gilbert, you were cool that day, at the wake. Thanks for that. I felt like kind of a freak show," Tyler explained.

"Yeah," Jeremy said, sharing a look with Scarlett before turning back to Tyler. "We know the feeling well. What are you doing here?"

Tyler held up his phone, gesturing to the screen. "Distracting myself." As he answered two girls approached the table, both cute, both a year ahead of Scarlett and Jeremy, if she was correct. Though she was usually wrong about these sorts of things, she didn't pay much attention to anyone else in school, other than her friends. Everyone else was just there. When she'd first been developing her sense of smell as a werewolf, she'd track scents to faces and then try and find them again. It would have worked better though had she been able to remember faces and names, but it did help her sense of smell even if her social skills continued to reach new lows.

"Hey, thanks for the text," the darker of the two girl's said with a grin to Tyler. "Where too?"

"My place. My mom's gone all day. Empty house, fully stocked bar," Tyler listed off.

"Margaritas?" the girl said eagerly.

"Sure," Tyler said, obviously not caring that much. He was getting what he wanted no matter what the girls drank. His distraction as he put it. Tyler then turned to Jeremy and Scarlett, leaning over as he asked, "You guys in?"

"Eh…?" was all Scarlett could get out, shocked to even be invited to a party. Most parties she was forced into going to because it was a school thing. She'd never actually been invited to anything before, certainly never something with such a small crowd. That was…intimate.

She looked to Jeremy, hoping he'd get them out of it, but he'd already made up his mind. He saw a chance to get some information, and mixed with his determination to prove himself she could see which way he was swinging. Personally she'd rather swing the other way, but from the sound of things it was just going to be the five of them, no Mason. Even so Scarlett still wanted to say no, but couldn't seem to find the word as she stared into Jeremy's pleading eyes.

Doing her best to keep the grudge from her voice, Scarlett turned back to Tyler and the girls. "Sure. Why not?" It was enough for Tyler who nodded before grabbing his jacket, leading the way out with the two high school girls eagerly following behind him. Jeremy and Scarlett brought up the rear. "If I happen to kill them all, promise you won't hold it against me," Scarlett muttered as she walked side by side with Jeremy, his arm around her waist as he chuckled.

"I would never hold anything against you," Jeremy said with a grin as they left the Grill.

Scarlett just wished that was true.

* * *

Whoever said painting was therapeutic had clearly never spent a day painting a newly built park. Then again, said person probably wasn't a vampire with heightened emotions, who was angry at her brothers, and was now watching her back, not only for multiple vampires attacks, but for a werewolf who wanted to get even. Sarah had been keeping an eye on everyone, watching them move around. The sheriff had been chatting with Mason but she hadn't been able to catch anything as they were parting ways when she noticed them. She'd mentioned that to Damon who said he'd take care of it, heading over to the sheriff while Sarah finished off the painting of a bench. Well, finished in the since that she grabbed two men and compelled them to finish it while she went to get herself a drink. Just a little one, and she'd heal up whoever she drank from, no need to cause a scene.

Unfortunately before she could pick out a target, Caroline nabbed her. Apparently the pretty blonde community spirt had seen her compelling off her work and wasn't happy about it. Sarah had grumbled for a bit but Caroline obviously wasn't taking no for an answer and fighting was just more effort than it was worth. Plus she could find out if Katherine had been in contact with Caroline lately, or if Caroline had been enjoying Katherine free pleasures like she had been for the last few days.

Sarah didn't get a chance to ask though because Caroline then grabbed Elena. Almost a strategic move, Sarah thought, and while Caroline was clearly bright, Sarah wasn't about to give her that much credit. More than likely it was to try and please Katherine, stay in her good books and keep an eye on Elena. In truth Sarah hadn't really give much thought to Caroline as of recently, at least in relation to Katherine. Since returning with Ronnie that had been Caroline's main topic of discussion with her. She really needed to check in with her about Katherine, make sure everything was okay and she wasn't suffering alone. Like she had back in the 1800s.

The three women then proceeded over to a sheltered platform covered in flowers. A storage area for the time being, the flowers were going to get moved, but the shelter still needed to be painted so that was what they were doing. Sharing a paint pot with Caroline, the two vampires set to work on one support beam while Elena took another on her own, crouching down as she started from the bottom. To no surprise Caroline was the first to start up a conversation, oddly enough about her mother, a topic Sarah hadn't heard much about. So she listened for the sake of gathering information, something that was always useful.

"So suddenly, she's in the running for Mother of the Year just when I'm trying to avoid her the most," Caroline grumbled as she slapped paint against the beam, running her brush up and down. Sarah had been listening without a word said for the previous seven minutes of Caroline bashing her mother, but it was obvious to her that Elena wasn't listening. Maybe this wasn't as rare an occurrence as Sarah thought and she'd just been lucky to miss out on it for as long as she did. "I mean, seriously, where was she before all this started? When I was organising all these events and she was too busy to go, why now that I can't risk being around her, she suddenly wants a deeper relationship." Caroline clearly still had a lot of steam to let off but she'd finally spotted Elena and her dazed gaze as she painted the same spot over and over.

"Sorry, Elena, I'm babbling." At the mention of her name Elena perked up, snapping from her trance like cycle and turning to face Caroline and Sarah, both of whom were watching her. "You don't want to hear all this, do you?"

"Oh, no, sorry," Elena apologised and she dipped her brush in the paint, picking and new spot and applying the coat. "Then what happened?" Sarah could tell it was half arsed, something Elena was just saying to keep the conversation moving despite what had been said before. Even so, Caroline seemed to run with it, any excuse to talk.

"Well, I was a bitch which is par for the course with us." Then there was an odd pause, as if she was mentally reminding herself of something and trying to get back on track. With a sidewards glance, Caroline asked, "How are things with you and Stefan? Has he said anything?"

That made Sarah frown. Caroline didn't catch it, her focus was Elena, and Sarah was on her other side. Even so Sarah made sure to wipe it off her face as quickly as she could, so Elena didn't catch it either. It wasn't totally unnatural. Having talked to Caroline before she was a vampire, even then she had a tendency to get wrapped up in her own drama. Especially when she talked which then led to rambling, and sometimes she did need to remind herself to ask about other people's lives and problems, even with her friends.

Even so, it didn't sit right with Sarah.

"No, not since the fight. He's been pushing me away because he thinks that Katherine might get jealous enough to hurt me," Elena explained before looking to Sarah. "Has he been saying anything?"

The question caught Sarah off guard a little and as such took her a minute to get herself together and respond. Not because she hadn't been expecting Elena to ask her about Stefan. But because of how little she seemed to care, just from the way her voice sounded. Now that Sarah really thought about it, surely Elena would have come to her awhile ago about this, if she really wanted to get back together with Stefan, which is what she claimed. Sure it might be weird going to your ex's sister and asking her for help, but Sarah had made it clear from day one if Elena wanted to know anything about her brothers then all she had to do was come to her.

"No. He's been pretty quiet on the subject," Sarah answered finally. Elena nodded and went back to work but Sarah continued to stare at her, contemplating her question. "Is that way you both broke up? Because of Katherine?"

"I guess," Elena answered half heartedly.

"Well, maybe it's for the best," Caroline said in naive support, catching Sarah's attention. "Katherine does seem pretty dangerous. Right, Sarah?" When Caroline turned to her, obviously expecting instant support, she only found Sarah staring back at her. A flutter of panic passed through those green eyes before Sarah then answered to Caroline's relief.

"Yeah, she's dangerous alright." Caroline's tense shoulders relaxed, but only a little. Something was definitely going on with her and Sarah was certain it had to do with Katherine. But she couldn't talk about it here and risk Elena catching wind. That wouldn't end well for Caroline and possibly even for herself.

"I know she's dangerous. That's why he's doing this, because he wants to protect me. It just feels like giving up is all," Elena mumbled silently. Again Sarah studied Elena. This wasn't right either. Caroline she could explain but the way Elena was reacting just felt like an effort. When your heart got broke it was never an effort to cry about it, it was an effort to keep it in, to keep your emotions in check. Elena was trying to force them out.

While Caroline continued to be supportive in her own strange way, Sarah looked out for Stefan, spotting him walking towards a work bench, his eyes on Elena as he passed. Whatever Elena was spouting off, it wasn't true. The looks Stefan was giving her wasn't of a man being forced to push his girlfriend away for her own protection. There'd be regret and pain in those eyes and he'd be avoiding Elena all together if it was to please Katherine. No. There was happiness in those eyes. That combined with Elena's broken heart act led to one very obvious conclusion. They'd never really broken up. And if Sarah could spot it, so could Katherine.

There was no denying Sarah had a knack for observation and stalking, more so than your average vampire, but Katherine was either on par or even more skilled than her. And had the added perk of being a purely evil manipulator. There was no way this pathetic show of broken hearts was going to work for her, even if it managed to fool Caroline. But she just wanted to tell Katherine what she wanted to hear. She wasn't going to dig any further after she found what she knew Katherine wanted.

As Sarah continued to observe both her brother and Elena, the two quickly caught each others' eyes and after that hardly let go. Elena continued to paint, but it was the same spots she'd already done. And Stefan was very slowly drawing lines on a piece of paper…for whatever reason. "Uh, oh. Longing looks are being exchanged," Caroline said with a warning look to Elena. The human girl looked up nervously, as if being caught. She shook it off though, standing up and dusting off her hands as she dropped her paint brush into her pot.

"I'm gonna go talk to him," Elena declared.

"No, Elena. I think it's a bad idea," Caroline said but Elena was already halfway across the gap between them. With a sigh Caroline turned back to Sarah who was still painting away at her own leisurely pace. "Why didn't you help me stop her?" Caroline asked with an irritated look.

Sarah didn't care, her green eyes still on her brother and Elena. "Just wanted to confirm a theory," Sarah said to herself, though loud enough for Caroline to hear.

"What theory?" Caroline asked with a frown. Sarah's eyes briefly moved over to her, but she remained silent until her focus returned to Elena and Stefan. It was then Damon arrived, appearing beside Caroline as she turned back to watch the broken up couple.

"What's going on over there?" Damon asked, blue eyes also on the 'former' love birds.

"Don't worry about it," Caroline answered without so much as a glance.

Damon then grabbed Caroline, turning her to face him as he turned to her. That caught the corner of Sarah's eye, but her main focus was still on Stefan and Elena. She had to know the truth about what was going on so she could help them later on. At least with her help they might stand a chance of fooling Katherine. But if this joke of a fake break up continued without her intervention, it would only further aggravate Katherine and put them all in even more danger.

"Why are you being such a bitch to your mom?" Damon asked Caroline. Sarah had to admit it was nice to hear Damon apparently taking an interest in someone else's life, even if it was the sheriff's. Who Sarah cared little about. But obviously he'd gotten close to her otherwise he'd never of heard about the drama with Caroline. And he obviously cared about her to some degree otherwise he wouldn't be asking Caroline questions like this.

With a cold stare Caroline repeated herself. "Don't worry about it." She the stepped away from him, returning to the beam Sarah was still painting and picking up her brush. They both dipped their brushes back in the paint and started to apply it, but their focus was completely on Elena and Stefan with Damon standing right beside them.

"Do you still care about Katherine?" Elena asked. All three could hear her since they were all vampires with supernatural noisy ears.

Stefan looked up from his work, making a show of effort before turning to his 'ex-girlfriend'. "Don't do this. Please don't turn this into something that it's not," Stefan pleaded as he looked down at Elena.

"So this isn't up for discussion. That's what you're saying?" Elena asked, challenge in her voice.

Stefan sighed, again forced but a little less obvious. Sarah gave him props for that. "No, I'm saying that this isn't up for discussion right now because we have ears on us," Stefan explained before deliberately looking at the three eavesdropping vampires. All at once they turned away, Sarah and Caroline focusing on their painting while Damon looked over their shoulders as if he was critiquing their work.

"Okay, when?" Elena sighed as she turned back to Stefan.

"I don't know," Stefan said with a deflecting shrug as the three vampire looked back over to the arguing couple.

"I saw her, Stefan. It's like we're the same person. How could you hate her and be in love with me?" Elena asked as if she were that shallow, jealous and deranged. Now that, in Sarah's opinion, was pathetically grasping at straws. Elena had known about Katherine's identical face for months now and it'd never bothered her. She'd always been able to understand that she and Katherine were different people in the eyes of the Salvatores. And, if Stefan was the one to break up with her, and Elena so desperately wanted to get back together, then why was she picking a fight with him over this issue.

God, these two had a lot to learn.

"You're reaching. I'm not…I'm not Damon," Stefan said.

"How about we don't bring Damon into this right now?" Elena asked with a careless wave over to the vampires who they no longer seemed to care about. Even though all three were staring at them, as if watching a climax to a movie.

"You know, I can't… I can't do this anymore, Elena." And right there Sarah saw it, the pointed look in her brother's eye with a hidden and obvious meaning. _Oh, god_ , Sarah groaned in her head. _Please don't tell me they were stupid enough to assign love messages behind words that were meant to be hateful._ This was the kind of crap Sarah had caught numerous high schoolers pulling over the years. Did these too really think that unless they dedicated to it, they could fool Katherine?

"Fine, Stefan…whatever," Elena said before walking off.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Sarah groaned, practically wanting to slap herself as Caroline and Damon looked over to her.

"What?" Caroline asked with dazed and confused frown.

"Never mind," Sarah brushed off with a wave. "Just go and comfort Elena. I need to have a word with my idiot brother."

"Well he's right here," Caroline said with a back hand to Damon's chest before she strode past him and after Elena.

"Watch it, Blonde," Damon warned after her, while Sarah smirked at Caroline's attitude. Damon waited until she was a suitable distance away then turned to see Stefan walking off to do some other task. With all the local vampire ears now away from them, Damon cosied up to his sister with his arms folded. "So you totally saw through that too, right?"

"Yep," Sarah said with a pop, dropping the brush into the paint pot. With a sigh, she moved her hands to her hips, shaking her head as she watched Stefan. "They're both complete idiots." She looked up at her blue eyed brother, seeing an agreeing smirk on his lips. And if Sarah knew one thing, it was that when she and Damon agreed on something, it was never a good sign.

* * *

Both Aimee and Sara shrieked as they skidding through the main hallway of the Lockwood house. Those were the two girls Scarlett and Jeremy had come back to Tyler's with. Was it odd one of them was called 'Sara'. Sure, but Scarlett didn't exactly see herself forming a lasting friends with either of these girls so it didn't feel like a problem to address. They were playing nice because it was just the five of them, but Scarlett knew come Monday neither of these girls would be saying 'hi' to her in the hallways.

That said, it wasn't quite as bad as Scarlett thought it was going to be. For starters, Tyler had alcohol, which he was more than happy to share. They'd had alcohol back at the Salvatore house but Scarlett had never bothered to ask for it. A, because Sarah probably wouldn't let her and B, because Damon probably didn't want her touching his drink. Good or bad.

So Tyler offered Jeremy and Scarlett and drink and they happily drank. Jeremy leaning against the piano while Scarlett sat on the stool, her feet up on the closed case. And while the two 'normal' girls danced away, clearly having a good time, Jeremy cracked jokes and Scarlett laugh. All while Tyler stood off to the side, leaning against one of the archways drinking quietly as he watched Aimee and Sara.

"Where's mine?" Aimee asked as she grinned at Tyler, eyeing his drink.

"Have at it," Tyler said with a grin of his own as he led Aimee into the next room to fetch her a drink.

"Remember when you used to talk to me like that?" Jeremy asked teasingly as Sara joined him and Scarlett around the piano.

"In your dreams," Scarlett said with a skeptical look, prompting Sara to laugh. "In reality you were chasing me around like a lost puppy for ages."

"That sounds adorable," Sara said with a giggle.

"Yeah, it was," Jeremy said, trying to sound tough, but his grin gave him away, even when it was hidden behind his glass. Another skeptical look from Scarlett made Sara burst out into laughter, before she made her way into the next room to get her own drink. But under the archway, she paused, noticing Jeremy's open bag. She looked back at the couple with a mischievous grin and then ran for Jeremy's bag. Seeing this Jeremy began to follow and Scarlett followed, leaving her untouched drink behind on the piano.

"Can I see?" Sara asked eagerly, holding Jeremy's sketch book in her hands.

"No, no, no way," Jeremy said quickly rushing over and taking his book back. Although disappointed, Sara handed the book back over. Scarlett stepped up to Jeremy's side, frowning a little at how over protective he was being of his work. True he didn't exactly like showing it off, but he'd let Scarlett and others see a few of the things he sketched from time to time. There was however, his privet stash of drawings that he had in his desk, and he never let anyone near those. Scarlett didn't mind, nor really care what the drawings where off. She understood you just needed to let some people have their secrets.

Much like her own secret about her and Mason.

Thankfully that thought was shoved aside when Aimee joined them, also wanting to see Jeremy's sketch book now. "I want to see."

"Yeah, let's see," Tyler agreed, making his way over with a lazy grin. "What's van Gogh got going on?" For a moment Jeremy looked at Tyler, then to Scarlett as if she knew what he was thinking. He was trying to get it across but Scarlett just wasn't getting it so he made the decision himself.

"Okay, yeah. Check it out," Jeremy said handing the book over to Sara who happily flicked through it. Although the first drawing caught them all by surprise, even Scarlett a little bit. It was the face of some kind of wild animal, clearly hungry and looking to kill, at least from Scarlett's angle.

Things were then cleared up a little by Sara when she said, "Ooh…scary, demon, wolf, thing." Scarlett looked to Jeremy who shrugged sheepishly. There would be a talk about this later, including his sister who Scarlett was sure would love to hear about how he was drawing mysterious wolves.

Scarlett remained silent though, since they had company and went back to looking at the sketch book as Sara turned the page. Yet another demonic looking wolf. This one had claw like hands and was obviously standing up. It resembled Scarlett more like she was when she shifted her features but remained in human form, but it had none of the features that could identify her. At least he wasn't a complete moron, Scarlett thought thankfully.

The one after that was a fully monstrous werewolf, like nothing Scarlett had ever turned into. It was more like something out of a movie or a video game. On both legs with its hands trailing the ground as a full moon shone overhead, its mouth so wide it could probably swallow a man whole. Scarlett couldn't imagine herself doing that, but even so it wasn't a pleasant thought. However the next page was at least a little better. It was just the outline of a normal wolf running past a tree. Quite nice actually, in Scarlett's opinion.

The one after that made her cheeks flush and the other girls awe. It was off Scarlett, looking over her shoulder. The page after that was of Scarlett laughing. The one after that was yet again of Scarlett, this time sitting beneath the moonlight. The sketch hadn't captured it all that well because it was just in black pencil, but Scarlett could tell Jeremy had tried to make her eyes glow, like they normally did when she tapped into her supernatural side. And the last one was from today, from when they were at the Grill and Scarlett had asked if Jeremy had been drawing her or not. Turned out he'd lied, he had drawn her. But it wasn't off her eating the sloppy food she'd loved. It was of her in the booth, from Jeremy's perspective, her head turned so most of her face was hidden behind her brunette locks, but even so she still looked marvellous.

All the sketches had caught her likeness so well. The embarrassment had quickly worn off the more she saw and she couldn't help but admire Jeremy just that little bit more for what he'd done. He was so sweet and had such talent. Knowing that was the last sketch, Scarlett leaned over and turned Jeremy's head slightly so that she could kiss him on the lips. Jeremy pulled away with a smile as the girls awed again. "You, Jeremy Gilbert, are far too sweet," Scarlett said, her hands resting on the side of his head as she smiled lovingly back at him.

"Thanks," Jeremy said with a surprised smile, while around the couple Aimee and Sara smiled away as if they were watching the ending to a romantic comedy. However, unlike them, Jeremy seemed to get distracted a lot quicker, his eyes moving over to Tyler suspiciously. "So, uh, Tyler, do you still draw?" Scarlett frowned at her boyfriend, but he just continued to look at Tyler. She turned seeing him snap from his trace like stare at Jeremy's sketch book.

He looked to Jeremy and although his lips started to move it took a second for his brain to catch up and give him some words to say. "A little, but not much." He seemed to stop, thinking for a moment before they adding, "You know, I've got something I'm actually working on. Come on, I'll show you."

"Yeah. Okay, sure," Jeremy said as Tyler gesture for him to head into the study which was across the hallway.

"Feel free to look around," Tyler said to the three ladies before following Jeremy into the study, closing the doors behind him.

"Come on, let's go and check out upstairs," Aimee said eagerly, taking Sara's hand before heading into the stars and dashing up to the next floor.

"You coming Scarlett?" Sara called back, her voice already vanishing as they reached the next floor.

"Just a sec," Scarlett called after them, going to get her drink when she heard a thud from the study. Her hearing focused instinctively and heard Tyler growling at Jeremy in sudden anger.

"What were those pictures about, huh?" snapped Tyler, the faint sounds of a struggle coming through.

Then Jeremy's tight and quiet reply of, "I can't….breathe…" That was all the excuse Scarlett needed. Dropping her glass back onto the piano, she ran towards the study. She then threw open the doors and charged in, finding Tyler holding Jeremy against the wall, hands around his throat. He was so caught up in his anger that he didn't even notice Scarlett entering.

"Answer me!" Tyler yelled into Jeremy's face. The idiot was so lost that he didn't even realise that Jeremy couldn't answer him, because he was choking him to death. There was a chance Jeremy would come back if killed by Tyler's hands, but since he might still be classified as a human and not supernatural, she wasn't even going to contemplate risking it.

She ran at Tyler, grabbing his shoulders and in one might heave she yanked him from Jeremy and set him sailing across the room. He landed against the couch before rolling onto the floor, knocking the coffee table over slightly as he did. "Are you alright?" Scarlett asked Jeremy, bending down as he sat back against the wall, taking in deep laboured breaths as he did. He nodded before his eyes widened and he pointed, unable to warn her verbally. Scarlett turned to find Tyler advancing on her, eyes wide in anger and fists at his side. He was practically foaming at the mouth.

"Tyler," Scarlett warned, raising to her feet. He did't stop and took a swing at her. Scarlett ducked, grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back before shoving him away. "Will you just stop and listen you idiot," Scarlett snapped as Tyler grabbed onto the couch to steady himself. He pushed off it, turning and swinging and Scarlett again. This time she blocked and throat punched him, just like Sarah had taught her. He staggered back, clutching his throat but still looked undeterred. He'd lost his mind, over come by anger. He charged again and this time Scarlett got ready to stop him once and for all.

"Tyler!" she said firmly. He kept coming. So she let her eyes glow, her voice turn to a growl and the rest came naturally. "Stop!" she roared and Tyler stumbled back, landing on his back with eyes wide and confused. Then they turned to horror as he stared up at Scarlett, scurrying back to the couch as her features returned to normal. She sighed, glancing to the door to make sure Aimee and Sara hadn't seen anything. If they had heard something, they were in no hurry to check on them, and after a second, Scarlett was positive they weren't coming down, for whatever reason. She looked back, double checking Jeremy was okay before kneeing down next to him. She let him hug her, silently thanking her for saving him before they both turned to look at Tyler, who just stared back at them. Clearly he was shocked over what had just gone down, but less so than a normal person. Which could only mean that Mason had told him about werewolves, even if he wasn't one himself. Or at least not yet anyway.


	11. Kill or Be Killed

_Since I was late last week, I'm once again posting a little early this week. But after this it'll be another two week gap before I move onto the Plan B episode. Sorry. This should change come June. But anyway, this definitely has some of my favourite Damon moments in this chapter, two biggies for him which add on to his development through Sarah's eyes. And Scarlett and Tyler talk I guess. All the good stuff really happened in the previous chapter for her I feel. Sorry about that. But I think you'll all enjoy the Sarah portions in this chapter._

 _And as always if you want to, please leave a review, they are deeply appreciated and I do my best to reply to everyone, same goes for PMs. Thanks also to the new followers of the story, hope you are still enjoying the story where ever you are!_

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Kill or Be Killed**

* * *

When Sarah next saw her brother, he was talking to another of the volunteers, probably one of the ones in charge. The conversation wasn't exactly long or exciting Sarah didn't both with eavesdropping. What she did catch was mostly just Stefan offering to help and the volunteer explaining where he would be most useful. When it was over, Stefan thanked him for his time and the volunteer walked off as Stefan turned to find Sarah in his path.

"Hey," Stefan greeted, oblivious to the 'we need to talk look' Sarah was giving him. "I was just heading over to help with the painting. Want to join me?"

"Actually…" Sarah began before then spotting Damon over Stefan's shoulder, and more importantly Mason, who he was talking too. "Oh, crap," Sarah sighed, realising she now had potentially another problem on her hands. Stefan turned and when he saw the same thing quickly began making his way over with Sarah at his side. By the time they reached the pair though, the conversation had run its course and Mason had marched off, leaving Damon at the lemonade stand.

"Please tell us that you were just bonding," Stefan said, already knowing that wouldn't be the case.

"Or at least that you were agreeing to the hate each other in mutual silence." Sarah's option seemed more likely, but even then she knew her brother too well. Damon never did anything silently.

"You mean like Stefan and Elena are doing right now?" Damon asked as he turned to face his siblings.

"What are you talking about?" Stefan said calmly, shrugging it off as another of Damon's mind games. Or at least that's what he wanted Sarah to think. But she had a problem with both of them and right now, and Katherine was a much bigger threat than Mason since there wouldn't be another full moon for weeks. Katherine could stumble upon Stefan and Elena's fake break up at any second. Mason couldn't do anything against them, no matter how pissed off he was at Damon.

"He's talking about your incredibly _fake_ break up with Elena. I mean come on. ' _I can't do this anymore, Elena_ '," Sarah said in her mocking Stefan impression. "' _Fine Stefan, whatever_ '," she then said in her Elena impression before going serious again. "What are you two, twelve?"

"Just drop it," Stefan snarled with a warning glare.

"What, you worried Katherine's going to find out?" Sarah asked mockingly. "Stefan, I've got some bad news for you, you're acting, isn't that great. Katherine will see through you in a second if she hasn't already."

"I though you were mad at him," Stefan said, pointing to their older brother, trying to get the conversation off his fake break up, in case anyone was listening in.

"I am," Sarah said.

"Excuse me?" Damon said as he turned to his sister.

"Well if you'd thought this through, for once in your life, then we wouldn't have a problem with Mason right now, and we could all focus on Katherine. Now our attentions are divided," Sarah snapped angrily at her brother.

"I think if anyone's divided her, Sis, it's you," Damon said with a smug grin that didn't reach his eyes as he pocked Sarah.

"Excuse me?" Sarah snapped back in offence.

"As I recall, weren't you the one that brought a killer werewolf into the house."

"Scarlett wasn't going to kill you!" Sarah snapped, her teeth practically grinding against each other with rage. Why was her brother so damn paranoid, why couldn't he trust anyone, even his own family? Answer, he was a complete and utter idiot, as Sarah had concluded several times over her life. But pointing it out again wasn't going to help her point.

"But she could have by accident," Stefan pointed out.

"Oh my God!" Sarah shouted as she wheeled on her other brother. How could they be so separated right now, and all for such stupid reasons. Stefan because of his fake break up, Damon because he was out for pointless revenge, and Sarah because her brothers had kicked Scarlett out. All of which would simply be fixed if they just talked, but if Katherine's return had proved anything, it was that Sarah's family wasn't as tight as she thought it was. She'd been wanting them back together for so long, that when it finally happened she just decided to ignore the cracks in the foundation, hoping they'd fade with time. Now Katherine was exploiting those cracks, and it seemed like she wasn't even trying to do so. They all knew they had to work together to stop Katherine, and yet they couldn't bring themselves to do it for such childish reasons, despite their age.

"You know if we're going to keep arguing like this, then I'm going to need a drink," Damon said as he plastered on a delightfully and friendly smile.

"We're not arguing," Sarah growled.

"Look up the word in the dictionary, Sis," Damon grumbled, keeping his smile in place as he turned to the young girl behind the lemonade stand.

"Would you like some lemonade?" the girl asked with the naive smile only a child could have.

"Thank you, sweetie," Damon said with all of his usual charm as he took the plastic cup the girl had filled for him. With an ever present grin, Damon took a sip of the lemonade, only to then spit it back out the next second. Both Sarah and Stefan frowned at their brother, thinking it was nothing more than a bad batch of lemonade. But then he continued to cough, and stumbled as if he was about to fall over.

"What's wrong with you?" Stefan asked as he took Damon by one side and Sarah caught him on the other.

"Vervain… Vervain…" Damon spluttered. Alarm swooped in over both Stefan and Sarah's faces. Sarah released her hold, picking up the pitcher of lemonade and sniffing. Vervain. It was full of it. Sarah sat it down, eyes scanning the crowd for anyone watching. It didn't look like anyone was watching them that closely, just looking over in concern and wondering what was going on. No sign of Mason either. Sarah doubted that was a coincidence.

She turned back to her brothers, finding that Stefan had sat Damon down on a nearby bench. Grabbing a bottle of water from the same table, Sarah made her way over to her brothers. She twisted off the top and gave the water a cautious sniff, just to be safe. No trace of vervain. She handed it off to Damon who snatched it. He took a swing, pushed the water around his mouth for a bit and then spiting it out before doing the same again, making sure to get all the vervain out of his mouth.

"I'm gonna kill him," Damon panted out, already having come to the same conclusion as Sarah. He moved to get up but Stefan shoved him back down.

"Listen to me. Sit. Sit," Stefan argued while Damon tried to fight him off but with his recent hit of vervain he couldn't take Stefan on without attracting attention.

"I'm not listening to anymore of your 'give peace a chance' crap. He's dead!" Damon snapped trying to get up once more but Stefan managed to plant his hands firmly on Damon's shoulders and push him down.

"Okay," Stefan finally sighed out, catching both his brother and sister's attention. "I don't like it. But he's making threats. He could expose us. We need to put him down," Stefan finally decided.

"Well this makes a nice chance of pace for once," Sarah said with a satisfied smile as Stefan glanced over at her. He obviously wasn't happy about her enjoying this, but the fact was killing was part of being a vampire. It didn't mean you had to go on a killing spree or even murder everyone you disliked, but it was nice to do it ever now and then. Especially if it was to someone like Mason Lockwood who was just making life difficult for everybody.

"So, how we killing him? Neck snapping, limb extraction, draining him off blood, poison," Sarah began to list off gleefully.

"Sarah," Stefan snarled. He was already uncomfortable with just murdering Mason, there was no way he was going to participate in any form of torturous murder. That was fine though, Sarah had Damon and she'd even let Scarlett get in on the action if she felt it would help her move on.

"I know, how about a good old fashioned burning alive? Haven't seen someone burned alive in awhile."

"Sarah," Stefan snapped again.

"Well, he's heading into the woods now," Damon pointed out through heavy breaths. "So my vote goes for burning him alive."

"That sounds like fun," Sarah agreed, grinning when Stefan sent her a warning glare.

"Great," Damon said as he stood up, patting Stefan's back. "Let's go." He staggered off ahead and Sarah followed with Stefan reluctantly bringing up the rear. Continually looking back to make sure they weren't being followed or that anyone was watching. Normally Sarah might have done the same, but at these sort of things, if you look like you know where you are going and belong there, no body gave you a second glance. Her only focus was making sure the area was clear when they went after Mason.

They found him in a clearing with two trash cans, getting ready to dispose of the waste. Not another soul in sight. The trio quickly surrounded him and then stepped into view. He spotted Damon first, then turned to see Stefan and lastly he looked to a glaring Sarah. "Don't look so surprised. You knew this was inevitable," Damon growled as Mason looked from vampire to vampire.

"I did warn you," Sarah said simply, though she hardly cared. If anything this was going to make her life just that little bit easier, which was always nice.

"Go ahead, run," Damon snarled. "I'll give you a head start."

"Maybe you will," Sarah said, letting her vampire features come out as she hissed at Mason. He looked like he was about to run then, but instead collapsed onto the ground. Was he seriously playing possum? Sarah wondered right before a strange sounding shot was fired. She heard the impact and Damon's groan and turned to see him staggering, blood seeping from a wound on his chest.

Wooden bullets, Sarah realised. She and Stefan turned only to receive several shots themselves. Sarah got one in her right knee, one in her chest, close to the heart and third to her left shoulder. Stefan got it far worse, three precise shoots to his chest. He dropped like a log. Sarah managed to stay standing a little longer, but only long enough to take another shot along with Damon before both collapsed onto the ground.

It was then their attackers emerged from the woods. The sheriff and two of her deputies, both holding guns and needles. Sarah groaned in pain along with Damon as the Sheriff said her thanks to Mason. _A trap. Of course it had been a trap. So stupid!_ Sarah tried to move but the wood was like a paralysing agent, making her whole body stiff and sore, like she'd just done some crazy intense work out for six hours straight.

For where she was lying, face down, she could see Stefan was hardly breathing. She tried to crawl to him but made it barley even half an inch. She'd been caught by surprise, they all had. She was helpless as the sheriff injected vervain into Stefan, knocking him out if he wasn't already. She then did the same to Sarah, making sure to avoid her arms and head. The needle pricked her back and the next thing Sarah felt was a burning sensation throughout her body, before the pain knocked her out.

* * *

"So…you're a werewolf too?" Tyler asked slowly. He recovered from his rage induced state, and the shock of what had happened had worn off too. Now he was leaning back against the couch with his drink in one of his folded arms. Opposite him, leaning against his dad's old desk, was Jeremy and Scarlett, who'd given him a ran down of everything he _needed_ to know. Which was basically everything his uncle already knew excluding the vampire stuff.

"Yes," Scarlett answered again in a droned out voice.

"But your different to one like my uncle."

"Yes. I can change whenever I want, he can only change under a full moon, like you already knew." That was one handy thing about this exchange, Tyler had told them everything Mason had told him. And it actually helped fill in quite a few gaps. For one thing, Scarlett now knew what had triggered her werewolf state. It had been the killing of her uncle, like she and Sarah suspected, but it was nice to have it confirmed. It also backed up what Mason had said, so at least if he was lying he was lying to both of them which would lead to double the trouble if he got discovered.

There was an awkward pause from Tyler as he contemplated his next question. He'd been doing that a lot. Considering what he was about to say because of how insane it sounded. And yet Scarlett and Jeremy had barely batted an eyelid at him when he said it, never mind calling him crazy. Because it all made sense to them.

"Who did you kill to trigger your curse?"

Scarlett was hesitant to answer that one. She had no problems with the fact she'd killed her uncle. It'd never really bothered her all that much in fact, he'd had it coming. But answering Tyler gave him information that could get her thrown in jail if he really wanted to try. But if he did that he'd soon find Sarah at his doorstep, and since he didn't know about her, he'd be doubly surprised when she ripped his throat out. In the end it was Jeremy that managed to convince her though, simply by taking her hand in his and offering her a supportive smile.

"It was my uncle," Scarlett answered.

"I'm sorry," Tyler said, bowing his head.

"I'm not," Scarlett said carelessly, making Tyler look up sharply. "Guy was a dick and treated me like crap. Only took me in to get at what my mom left me." Tyler genuinely looked sorry about that, but didn't say anything. Probably didn't know what to say, and rather than say something stupid and lame just for the sake of it, he kept his mouth shut for a moment. It was enough for Scarlett to grant him a little of her respect.

"So what about your uncle?" Jeremy then asked, making Scarlett's blood run cold for a second. "Why's he back in town?" Scarlett let out a silent sigh at that, just grateful he hadn't asked about what he and she had done. Not that there was any way he could know and she doubted Mason was stupid enough to brag to Tyler about being with an underage teenager, as a wolf. That was one sure way to end your relationship with your nephew. Unless he was truly screwed up, even by supernatural standards.

"Well, he didn't come back to tell me about all this." Both Jeremy and Scarlett frowned at that, confused as to what the answer would be if not that. "He only told me 'cause I caught him and forced him into telling me," Tyler explained with a ghost of a grin, proud of himself for doing so despite the constant threat that was now hanging over his head.

"So what's he here for then?" Scarlett asked, her curiosity admittedly spiking, despite wanting nothing to do with Mason.

Tyler reached into his pocket and then pulled out a perfect stone that was white and a little bit transparent. Scarlett thought it looked rather pretty, but it was far too perfect at the same time. Something was definitely off about it, and if Mason wanted it then that could mean anything. It could be something for a werewolf, or worse, a weapon against Sarah and the other vampires.

* * *

As Sarah began to wake, all she wanted was to slip back into her unconscious state. The vervain was still burning through her and she could feel fresh wounds bleeding. Just opening her eyes made everything ache and groan, as if her whole body was connected to her eyelids. She was on her back and could still feel the wooden bullets from before grinding against her organs. The original wounds had healed over, meaning getting them out was going to be a lot of effort on her own. To make it worse, she had an additional two bullet wounds. One to the chest and one to the lower half of her leg. And she was thirsty. So thirsty.

She managed a groan, but that was it. No way she was going to be forming a coherent sentence for a while, at least without blood. God the burning, it was driving her insane. The itching of sandpaper beneath her skin, her whole body, her very being, on edge. So desperate to feed, to try and make the pain lessen. It'd been a while since she felt like this.

Muffled voices began to speak. She couldn't make out a word, couldn't see who was speaking, couldn't recognise a voice. With all her remaining strength, she managed to roll her head to one side, the side she thought the voices were coming from. Inside she came face to face with a blurry outline of a man. She tried to focus but that only made her eyes water. She closed them, another painful groan coming out. When finally she managed to opened her eyes back up, she saw more clearly who was beside her. Stefan.

He was out cold, she could tell that despite the blueness of his face. He'd have suffered the most from the vervain and wooden bullets. His stupid diet made him particularly weak against things like that. That's why she'd woken up first, because of the human blood in her system, she could recover faster. But now that was all dried up and she needed to refuel. That was the priority over removing the bullets and vervain. Without blood, she wasn't going anywhere.

The muffled voices continued speaking until finally Sarah managed to pick up on what they were saying. "…stake in the heart, then burn them both…" Sarah didn't recognise the voice, still to distorted in her head. She tried to sit up, to move anything so that she could at least attempt to defend herself from what was coming next. The vervain and wooden bullets kept her down though. Stefan was out cold and she couldn't see Damon. If he wasn't already dead he'd be much the same as her, hungry and weak.

The odds of survival weren't looking good for them. Elena and Caroline didn't even know where they where. They'd wondered off. And Ronnie certainly wouldn't be joining them any time soon, even if they were underground. The sun was still up and it'd be hours until sun down.

She kept waiting for that final blow to come but something must have distracted whoever was about to kill them. A commotion of voices broke out and Sarah picked up Elena's voice in the mix. With multiple voices speaking at once, she had no chance of understanding what was being said. She could only assume that Elena had come to try and rescue them. Nice. She was never going to pull it off, but it was nice. Hopefully she'd brought Caroline. The new vampire maybe be young, but she was smart and hungry. Two things that made her very dangerous to whoever had them.

It came back to Sarah then, exactly what had happened and how she'd ended up in the dark underground. They'd been about to kill Mason, but they were abused by the Sheriff and her deputies. And the sheriff was Caroline's mother. The mother she was desperately trying to hide from now that she was a vampire, because that mother hated what she was now and would kill her if she found out. The hopes of a rescue were washed away from Sarah. She liked Caroline, but she was still scared by all this, still adjusting. A few weeks down the line she'd have ran in and saved them. They didn't have a few weeks, and Elena had no chance of stopping three armed officers on her own.

A gust of air shot through the room then. Sarah felt it, air whipping around her. She could vaguely see one of the officers spinning around on his feet. The air whipped by again and Sarah would have grinned if she could. It was Caroline. Playing smartly. Just like Sarah and Stefan had taught her. Sticking to the shadows and confusing her prey as she dashed around them. A scream erupted, echoing around the room, that Sarah now realised was a cave. Gun shots followed. Still not a sound from Caroline. The sound of snapping bone, then a body hit the floor.

Then there was just the laboured breathing of Caroline, fighting for control. It was only her mother left now, and Elena. Sarah wanted to help her control it, but she was on her own. It was down to Caroline and Caroline alone to control herself now. Her choice of feeding, mother or friend. She had to control it now, otherwise they'd both be dead and she'd never recover from that.

Slowly, Caroline's growling and breathing, died down. Then a gun hit the floor. "Hi, Mom," came the soft voice of Caroline. The voice of a guilty child. The sheriff didn't move. Neither did Caroline. Luckily for Sarah, Elena did. She was over to Stefan in an instant, trying to wake him. When he wouldn't wake, she checked he was breathing. He was. Then she turned to Sarah, who did her best to look up at her. She tried to say, 'blood,' but it came out as something unrecognisable. Elena understood though. She dragged the nearest officer over to her and placed his wrist near her mouth. It didn't take much for Sarah's fangs to emerge and bite into him.

The sting of vervain burnt her tongue like some insanely spicy chilly. It didn't matter though. Through that burning there was blood. Sweet, sweet blood. Blackness tried to take her over again but Sarah fought it off, focusing on the sensation that wasn't destroying her mouth. She would heal anyway. And after a while, the stinging stopped and the vervain ran out. But there was still plenty of blood to feed on.

Before she knew it, she'd drained him dry, nothing but a few drops left. He was well and truly dead. Sarah could careless, it was his own damned fault for coming after them. Scratch that, it was Mason's damned fault for setting them up. There was only going to be one dead body, not even that if Mason had just played nice. Now there was two and a third was definitely going to be on the way, once she got her hands on Mason.

Pulling back from the corpse beneath her, Sarah lifted herself up. It was still an effort, the vervain and bullets still making it a challenge to do anything, but she managed to get up onto her feet. She took in the room she was in, not a cave as she'd originally thought, more like a dungeon. Damon was feeding on the second officer, Stefan sat nearby, helped by Elena who was comforting him. She had to look over her shoulder to find Caroline, sat alone in the far corner, her mother further down the wall. Just sitting there. In shock, Sarah presumed, Caroline too.

"Thanks for saving us," Sarah said with a thin smile to Caroline. She returned it halfheartedly.

Sarah then turned her attention to Stefan and Elena. "I presume you're not having any," Sarah stated matter-of-factly at her brother. He managed to lift his head enough to look her in the eye, then dropped it.

"I'm…fine…" he managed to get out.

"Of course you are," Sarah dragged out. She wasn't going to push the matter, not after what happened last time. To force him to feed now would send him back to blood addict Stefan again. He needed to chose on his own to drink blood, and when he wasn't in dire need of it, like now. Like he had been when Elena first gave him her blood. If she was going to get him to feed properly, she was going to have to wait for him to accept her help, and when he was in a health and stable place, blood wise.

"Sarah's right," Caroline spoke up with the same soft voice as before. "If there's ever a time to break your diet…"

"He said he didn't want it," Elena said firmly. Caroline instantly backed down at that, ashamed for having spoken up.

"Well, this is a most unfortunate situation," Damon finally said as he clambered up to his feet, having finished off the second officer. "Two deputies dead–" he gestured to the corpses on the floor and then set his glaring blue eyes on the sheriff. "–and you. What am I gonna do with you?" The sheriff didn't meet his gaze, wouldn't dare, now that she knew what he was, what they all were.

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" Caroline asked her mother. The sheriff turned to face Caroline, took one look then turned away, tears forming in her eyes. Sarah decided it was best to keep her mouth shut for now, let this play out and hope for the best. But she'd have some things to say to the sheriff if this didn't go their way.

"Mom?" Caroline said hopefully, but still her mother didn't turn to face her. "Mom? Please. Look, I know that we don't get along and that you hate me but I'm your daughter and you'll do this for me, right?" Still nothing from her mother. Nothing but hidden tears, which to Sarah were totally unnecessary. "Mom, please… He will kill you." The sheriff looked up at that. Not at Caroline, just at Damon who glowered at her, nodding along with what Caroline said. Sarah moved her gaze onto her brother. No one else was in a position to hold him back if he tried anything. Stefan was injured and Caroline was a wreck. That left her if the sheriff was stupid enough to say something like…

"Then kill me." Sarah closed her eyes, groaning to herself. Nothing was ever easy in her life.

"No!" Caroline shouted in objection as Sarah opened her eyes back up. Damon hadn't moved. He was still watching the sheriff with the same angry glare.

"I can't take this. Kill me now," cried out the sheriff. With that Damon advanced. Caroline rose up, Stefan and Elena tensed and Sarah got ready. He hunched over, hands on knees as he glowered down above the sheriff. Her lower lip trembled as she stared up at Damon's cold blue murdering eyes but she refused to scream.

"But you were going to drag it out so painfully," Damon said, the words holding meaning to him. He then grabbed her, pulling her up to her feet and the whole room jumped. Caroline began babbling out pleas to spear her mother while Stefan and Elena shouted at Damon to stop. Sarah was the only one who actually moved, crossing over to her brother in two steps, hand landing on his shoulder. He wheeled and Sarah froze, finding something different in her brother's eyes.

"Will you all just calm down," Damon groaned out as he glanced at them all. "I'm not killing her." Sarah frowned, completely gobsmacked by what her brother was saying. Especially since not an hour ago he'd been adamant about killing Mason for threatening them. And now he was sparing the sheriff, who also wanted to kill him. It didn't make any sense, at least to Sarah who thought she knew her older brother pretty damned well.

As if hearing the 'why?' his sister was silently asking, Damon turned to her frowning face. His own features softened and Sarah was genuinely surprised by what she saw in his eyes. Compassion. Something that had been lost for so long, something he used to be full of when he was human. Those peaceful blue eyes had come back, just for a moment. As if everything that had happened to him over the past century and a half had just melted away. The maleficence in his eyes, that had built up over the years gone and she saw a glimpse of the brother she'd had back when they were human.

"She's my friend," Damon said simply, before turning to the sheriff–to Liz, and saying, "You're my friend." Sarah couldn't remember the last time Damon had openingly called someone his friend and not meant it in a condemning or joking way. This was serious, life and death serious. He actually cared about whether this woman, Caroline's mother, lived or died. Because she was his friend.

Sarah allowed herself a brief smile, looking at her brother and realising just how far he'd come since they'd all come back to Mystic Falls. How far they'd all come.

* * *

Turning the stone over in her hands, Scarlett continued to frown at the perfect stone before her. She still had the feeling it was important, that it had some value, but couldn't understand why. She was thankful Tyler trusted her enough to let her hold it, but it wasn't helping her solve whatever riddles it was hiding from her.

"What is it then?" Jeremy asked, watching Scarlett play with the stone in her hands. Moving it to different angles as she tried to understand what she had in her hands. So complex and so simple at the same time.

"It's a moonstone, apparently," Tyler began to explain. "I looked it up online. It's a natural rock but there supposed to have all sorts of supernatural legends attached to them."

"No way a rock like this is natural," Scarlett murmured as she stared intently at the moon stone. "It's shape's too perfect."

"So why didn't you give it to your uncle Mason?" Jeremy asked when things went quiet.

"Because he wants it. I'm a dick that way," Tyler said smugly. "It's important to him for some reason but I don't trust the guy so I'm not just gonna hand it to him."

"And yet you gave it to me?" Scarlett pointed out, turning her gaze from the moon stone and to Tyler, smirk tickling her lips.

Tyler stared back at her for a moment, not sure why'd he done it, then shrugged. "Guess I trust you both." Scarlett smiled at that. Tyler was a jerk most of the time from what she'd heard but it was still nice to know if he did trigger his curse like her she'd have a werewolf other than Mason to talk too. "I don't suppose you know anything about it?"

"Other than it's a strange rock. Sorry, I got nothing," Scarlett said as she carefully handed the moonstone back to Tyler.

"Found you!" came the playfully drunken shouts of Sara as she ran into the study with Aimee, both catching the back of the couch Tyler was on before they could fall over.

"You three are missing all the drinking," Aimee said in a drunken pout, as she looked from Tyler to Scarlett and Jeremy, who were still leaning against Tyler's dad's desk.

"Or were you three planning on having a threesome?" Sara teased before she and Aimee began to laugh. Jeremy politely joined in and Tyler glared at the two, but Scarlett felt her heart jump up into her throat. She looked over at Jeremy but he seemed fine. Even so, her mind couldn't help but jump to Mason and the horrible thing she'd done. To think of doing that with Tyler as well, she doubted her soul could take that.

"No," was all Tyler said.

"In that case, can I have one?" Scarlett's eyes widened when Sara looked at her and Jeremy. She turned to see Jeremy blushing, looking away as if that would allow him to avoid the matter. Would that be such a bad idea though? Would it even things out? Scarlett wasn't sure. She wouldn't necessarily be against it if Jeremy wanted it, but only if he wanted it. But would he?

Thankfully Tyler broke the silence by declaring, "You're drunk," to Sara over the couch. Unfortunately, that left him blinded as Aimee leaned over his other side and snatched the moonstone from his grasp.

"What's this?"

"Give it back," Tyler snapped as she jumped to his feet. Scarlett went straight to alert, her eyes following Aimee in case she suddenly dropped the moonstone. She began walking away with Tyler quickly following her as she turned around, walking backwards now. "Can we not play with the rock, please," Tyler asked, his voice annoyed.

"Well, come and get it," Aimee teased, bitting her lip as Tyler advanced.

"Look, I'll play along for a little bit but seriously, give it back," Tyler said warningly as Aimee bumped against the wall, Tyler now right in front of her. Realising she had no way out, she pulled her hand from behind her back and waved her empty hand.

"Lookie here," Sara said drunkenly from the doorway, waving the moonstone around. "Snooze, you lose," she declared before running from the room. Tyler was after her at a marching pace with Aimee after him and Scarlett and Jeremy following. They walked into the hallway to find Sara at the top of the stairs, leaning on the railing with a drunken smile, moonstone still in her hand as the four looked up at her from the base of the stairs.

"You're lucky you're cute when you're drunk," Tyler said with an unamused look.

"I want Jeremy and Scarlett to come ant get it," Sara said, eyeing them.

"Sara, don't be a bad drunk," Aimee groaned.

Sara ignored her. "Come on up stairs with me," she said to the couple she was eyeing. "See how bad a drunk I can be."

Beginning to feel uncomfortable with the way Sara was looking at her, Scarlett slid to Jeremy's side, his arm moving like she was controlling it as it slid around her waste. She was happy with things the way they were, something like this could drastically change everything. She'd gotten lucky with the Mason thing, things were still the same bar her guilt which she was starting to control. She didn't want to risk what she had with Jeremy again. "We're good thanks," Jeremy said up to Sara, holding Scarlett comfortingly as he did.

She didn't deserve him.

"Alright, that does it," Tyler growled as he made his way up to Sara. He went to grab the stone but Sara moved it behind her back, disappointment now on her face. Tyler growled once more, mumbling something rude as he began to reach around Sara who continued to dance around the top of the stairs, staying out of his reach. He caught her in his arms, turning around with her as he finally grabbed the moonstone from her hand behind her back. But as he yanked it, he nudged her away from him, and at the top of the stairs, there was only one place for her to go. Scarlett had the misfortune of watching it all in slow motion, unable to do anything without exposing herself. As if warning her, Jeremy's hold tightened, or maybe it was just the panic at what he was seeing. Sara reached for the banister but her fingers slid over it, gravity too strong. She fell backwards, toppled over twice before her head it the floor at the base of the stairs.

Everyone started shouting at once but Scarlett was the first one to reach Sara, hand going to her head. She wasn't trying to move it, just seeing if she could feel any blood. There was nothing in the air, no immediate smell and her chest was moving, air moving back and forth around her nostrils. And yet she wasn't responding to everyone else's shouts. Then as Scarlett went to shut them all up and take control of the situation, Sara's eyes opened, smile forming.

"Fooled you!" she sang out as everyone else sighed, before she then turned angry. "You pushed me down the stairs," Sara said poutingly as she pointed up at Tyler.

"He didn't mean it," Jeremy said as he and Scarlett helped Sara up to her feet, handing her off to Aimee who then took her back through the study where she could sit down and rest for a minute. Now alone, Scarlett and Jeremy looked up at Tyler, who was leaning against the wall, hunched over, breathing heavily. It had been a joke, but it had been real enough to scare him. To make him think he'd triggered the curse. And while Scarlett, for the most part, liked her supernatural life, from the look on Tyler's face, it wasn't for everybody. But if the day did ever come, like it almost had today, she'd do what she could for him. Just as long as she never had to speak to, or see, Mason Lockwood.

* * *

Cleaning up the mess at what turned out to be the old Lockwood cellar didn't take too long. It had been down to Sarah to do that, since Damon had to take Liz to the house. Stefan had offered to help but it was obvious to everyone he was in no shape to do so. Elena convinced him to leave and get something to eat. She also offered to help but Sarah said she was fine with Caroline. Another teaching opportunity, disposing of bodies. While they hurriedly took the corpses far from the scene, Sarah listed off ways to make a body disappear. Most made Caroline turn green but she kept her lunch down. Once they were finished, Caroline said she would meet Sarah at the Salvatore house, saying she needed to get some things for her mother. Sarah didn't argue.

When she got home, Stefan was fed and already looking ten times better. Still a little paler than usual and from the way he moved he still had a few muscles to heal. That was just the crappy animal blood in his system though, give it a few more hours and he'd be back to normal. Maybe a little more animal blood too.

Elena was with him, remaining to keep an eye on Stefan and also waiting for Caroline, emotional support and all. They said hello to one another and then Sarah made her way down to the basement, still feeling like she needed a little extra blood. She was still feeling itchy from the vervain, but at least Caroline had managed to pull out all the wooden bullets. She was halfway through a blood bag when she heard the front door. Knowing it would be Caroline, Sarah downed the rest of the blood and tidied her face up before heading towards the cell they were keeping Liz. There, she found her on the phone, Damon watching her. She was explaining how she was going to be off work for the next few days because of a bug she'd caught. Really, they were all just going to wait for the vervain to pass out her system. Then they could compel her, erase the memories and they could all move on like nothing had ever happened.

"Yeah, good night," Liz said before hanging up the phone, and willingly handing it over to Damon who took it.

"Thank you," Damon said happily as he pocketed Liz's phone. The older woman remained quiet as she sat down in the corner of the room, Damon and Sarah facing her. "It's not exactly the Ritz, but it's secure and it's got a good thread count. And once the vervain's worked its way out of your system, I will compel you, you will forget everything and you will be a free woman," Damon explained, hoping for once it really would be that straight forward. But Liz seemed happy enough to go along with the idea. Well, happy might be a tad strong. She was moping like her life depended on it, but she wasn't putting up a fight and was doing what they told her, so it was better than the alternative.

Hearing footsteps coming along the hallway outside, Sarah could see Liz had already guessed who it was. She'd probably been worried it was Caroline when Sarah had walked in, but being on the phone left her little room to argue. Now she could, and apparently would. "Can you keep Caroline far away from me please? I don't want to see her," Liz said right as Caroline appeared. The new vampire stopped right at the doorway, out of sight from her mother. The curse of vampire hearing, although Liz had clearly wanted Caroline to hear this.

"She's your daughter, Liz," Damon pointed out, more compassionately than usual. Even looked over at Caroline, smiling at her. Caroline just stared back at him, not sure how to react. Truth was Sarah wasn't too sure how to react either. Damon was being nice. Recently that wasn't something Damon did, unless you caught him on a blue moon. But this clearly mattered to him, an effect of having to lock you friend up and make her forget her daughter's a vampire. God their lives were strange.

"Not anymore. My daughter's gone," Liz murmured.

Sarah caught the tears in Caroline's eyes, but she didn't leave. Caught between wanting to be there for her mother and wanting to give her mother what she wanted, which was for her to leave. Unable to stand aside, Sarah stepped towards Liz. She felt Damon tense behind her slightly, another strange symptom of his friendship with Liz. He probably thought she was going to hurt her for upsetting Caroline. Not a bad idea, but it wouldn't help anyone. Instead Sarah bent over so that she was at eye level with Liz, who refrained from looking the vampire in the eye.

"You do realise, that when you become a vampire, the person you are isn't erased," Sarah explained. It seemed to prick Liz's interest, but not enough to make her look Sarah in the eye. "If anything, it makes them more open. There personality gets boosted. Your daughter, is now more true to herself than ever before, because she can't lock away her personality for anyone's benefit. Not even for you." That got Liz to look Sarah in the eye, hardened eyes fighting the truth that Sarah was telling her. Normally Sarah would have compelled her to accept this, but since she couldn't do that, she made her green eyes big and sincere. The next best thing if Stefan was to be believed.

"I don't know what you've been told about vampires, sheriff. But the murderous monsters you believe we all are, that's the easy choice. Your daughter, Caroline, is trying it the hard way. Because of you. She wants to be better for you and her friends. She's trying so hard to fight her basic needs now. To be the best person she can be. To be a good, honest person." Sarah could see the cracks in those hardened eyes now. Wanting to cling to her beliefs and rules but her daughter was worth so much more than all that. She knew, she was just struggling to admit to herself. "So don't ever say Caroline's gone. Because if you do, that's when you'll really lose her, sheriff."

The hardened gaze was smashed then, tears clouding the sheriff's brown eyes as she lifted a hand to the breath caught in her mouth. She obviously wanted to see Caroline, but from the sound on the other side of the door, it was unlikely it was going to be happening to night. Caroline was leaving, crying herself. Sarah made her way out and Damon stayed with the sheriff, doing his best to comfort in Caroline's absence.

When Sarah stepped into the hallway, Elena and Stefan were already following the blonde head running for the stairs. She was about to follow when Stefan stopped, letting Elena follow Caroline alone. He turned and stepped out of sight. Sarah walked briskly to catch up and found him staring down at the one of the open fridges full of blood. She slowed down then, cautiously stepping over as not to startle him. Once she was standing next to him, she saw the blood bag in his hand.

Knowing what he was thinking, just by the deep look on his face as he stared at the bag, Sarah asked carefully, "You sure you want to be doing that? You know what happened last time." He nodded, eyes still on the blood bag, still contemplating his options. Even when Elena returned, he didn't break from his deep thoughts.

"Guys I think we should…" Elena stopped upon seeing the two vampires huddled around the freezer. When Sarah stepped aside, turning around to look at Elena, the human girl saw the blood bag. "What are you doing?" Elena asked just as carefully as Sarah had, not wanting a repeat of last time. None of them did, Stefan included, which meant he was seriously considering what he was planning on doing.

"Katherine took a little vervain everyday and built up a tolerance to it," Stefan began to explain aloud. "I could do the same with blood. I could learn to control myself. Couldn't I?" He looked over to Sarah then. She stared back, arms folded as she leaned back against the wall. This was dangerous. On the one hand, he desperately needed to improve his diet. On the other, an off the rails Stefan was the last thing they needed right now. This time he wanted to do it though, he wasn't doing it to survive, he was making the chose freely in his own safe environment. So maybe it could work?

However, before Sarah could finish thinking about the matter, much less voice her opinion on it, Elena spoke up. "But you can't, Stefan. You don't have to."

Stefan turned on his girlfriend then, seriousness and hurt in his eyes. Not at what she was saying, but of the physical hurt he'd been through just a few hours ago. "I almost died tonight, Elena. Because I was too weak." He was blaming himself, not helpful. Even Damon and Sarah had both gone down because of the wooden bullets and vervain. The only reason any of them had survived was thanks to Caroline. But the ordeal had clearly gotten to him, or at least made him realise something that Sarah had been pointing out for centuries, before deciding maybe pushing him wasn't the right idea. But now he was asking for help, maybe they should try it again?

"But last time that you drank human blood–"

"I told you I'd find a way to stop Katherine, didn't I? Well this is it, this is the only way because she's stronger than me. Everyone is stronger than me. And unless that changes, I can't protect you."

Elena looked over to Sarah who just stood there, watching with a still face. Obviously she hadn't gotten the memo about their fake break up being found out because she looked back to Stefan and began nudging her head towards Sarah. "Can we talk about this later?"

"She can hear us wherever we are, because she drinks this," Stefan said as he held up the blood bag furiously. "They both can because this…this is the only thing that can help me!" Stefan declared as his voice rose.

"Stefan, calm down," Sarah ordered, grabbing his shaking arm. He turned to her, meeting her level a controlled gaze. "Give me the blood bag." He hesitated. For Sarah that was no problem, but for Elena it was. "Stefan. We can all talk about this later, for now, just give me the blood bag." He sighed, clearly unhappy about being bossed around by his little sister. But when he saw the way Elena was looking at him, he handed over the blood bag. From there Sarah threw the thing into the fridge and closed it, only to turn around and find Elena had gone up stairs. Leaving Stefan who was now running his hands over his exhausted face. He really did need the blood, but if he couldn't control it then he'd been more of a hindrance than an advantage.

"Get some rest, Stefan," Sarah said as she placed a hand on his back. He looked over his shoulder, struggling to offer her even the faintest of smiles. "I'll take care of Elena and Caroline. Just…rest, and think things over, okay." He only nodded, hanging back as Sarah made her way out the basement. She kept one ear on Stefan though, in case he made the reckless decision to dig into a blood bag prematurely. He didn't, and Sarah continued on up to find Elena in the living room with Caroline. Elena stood by one of the armchairs, practically glaring at Caroline while the poor girl sobbed away on the couch.

"Can I take you home?" Elena offered half heartedly.

Caroline shook her head and that's when Sarah saw the panic in her eyes, the terror. "I can't go home," she said and Sarah knew why. Katherine had been visiting Caroline, and all while Sarah had been happily living at home, Katherine free with Ronnie. She felt horrible for forgetting Caroline, for letting Katherine use her like she'd used her. She should have known something was up, should have asked, but had been too caught up in her own Katherine free world.

"Why not?" Elena asked, some what sympathetically as she made her way over to Caroline.

"Because I'm scared," Caroline said slowly, unsure if she could say it all with Sarah standing right there.

"Why are you scared?" Elena asked, sitting on the coffee table as Caroline's hold on a cushion she'd been holding tightened. The sight of Elena that close was obviously not as reassuring as it was meant to be. That was life with two identical but totally opposite people. It's hard to forget the bad, even when you're looking at the good.

"Because of Katherine," Sarah answered, putting Caroline at ease, at least in regards to who's side she was on. That was her letting Caroline know that she was free to speak freely here. Nothing that was said here was going to get back to Katherine, at least not from Sarah's lips. Elena looked over, frowning as Sarah joined her on the coffee table. "She wanted both of us to spy for her. First she threatened to kill Damon if I didn't do what she wanted. Then she said she'd do the same to Ronnie. But since I've gotten back I haven't seen her," Sarah explained to Elena before turning to Caroline with an apologetic look. "And I completely forgot about you. I didn't realise that just because Katherine wasn't harassing me, didn't mean you wasn't harassing you. I'm so sorry Caroline." She reached out, the hand of friendship and apologises, and thankfully Caroline took it, doing her best to offer an understanding smile through the tears.

Now Sarah needed to make sure Caroline made it through this. She was going to have to if she was ever going to make it up to her. She owed Caroline, and helping her cope with her vampirism wasn't counting. Fact was Caroline could probably survive on her own now, but friends and family just made everything easier and that shouldn't cost anything. So they'd deal with Katherine, and afterwards, Sarah would find a way to make it up to Caroline.

"Who did she threaten with you?" Elena asked.

Caroline sniffed, before quietly saying, as if doing so would lead to his death, "Matt… She threatened Matt." From there there was no stopping the floodgates. It all came out as Caroline cried out what had been building up ever since she turned and Katherine had started using her. The boost of vampier emotions made it seem like it was world ending stuff, but that was mostly because she'd been keeping it all bottled up for so long. The fact that she'd done so was actually quite the testament to her character, what with being a new vampire and all. To have such control over her emotions so early on, it was almost like Caroline was born to be a vampire.

Elena didn't ask anything more after that. Didn't really need to what with Caroline spilling her guts over everything that had happened. Sarah didn't even need to chip in with her parts because Caroline apparently knew all that too and elaborated for Elena. They both just confronted her. Elena even moved onto the couch, holding Caroline as she sobbed. Eventually though, Caroline just burnt herself out. All the crying and confessing was just too much and she almost drifted off in mid-sentence, which was apparently very Caroline. Elena stayed with her in her semi-conscious state while Sarah fetched a blanket. They'd both silently decided that Caroline was better off spending the night in the safety of the Salvatore house, for tonight at least. From the sounds of it she needed at least one peaceful night's sleep.

By the time Sarah got back though, Caroline was well and truly out of it. She'd fallen a sleep not long after Sarah left according to Elena. Handing Elena the blanket, she made sure it covered all over Caroline and that she was tucked in, repositioning the cushions so her head was at the right height. After waiting a few minutes to make sure she was well and truly asleep, Elena rose to leave. Sarah didn't stop her, it had been a long enough night. The blood talk could be saved for tomorrow. But typical Damon had to cut Elena off before she could leave. Seems both Forbes were in need of sleep tonight.

"Caroline's sleeping on the couch," Elena said with a nod back to Caroline and Sarah, keeping her voice down.

"I heard," Damon replied in the same quiet voice. "And you?"

Elena stiffened a little at the question, shoving her hands into her pockets. "I'm going home."

She was halfway to the front door when Damon spoke up again. "Stefan needs to drink human blood." Elena stopped at that, and Sarah looked back over her shoulder for the coffee table to see Elena and Damon facing off. They didn't nearly have the energy to start a full blown argument, and neither wanted to wake Caroline.

"He can survive without it," Elena said as she stepped back towards Damon.

"Yeah, _survive_ ," Damon pointed out with emphasis as he leaned towards Elena with a glare of his blue eyes. "He can't fight like that. You watched me kick his butt for weeks and even with the tomb vampires, it was me and Sarah who stopped most of them, not Stefan. Face it, he's strong enough to live, but that's it. Pit him against any other vampire and if by some miracle he does win, the next one will kill him for sure." His words got through to Elena, though she'd never admit it. She had an out in Sarah though, and after staring intently at Damon for a few seconds she looked over to the rave haired woman.

Knowing she was being summoned, Sarah stood up, carefully not to wake Caroline and joined the pair. "And what do you think about this?" Elena asked once Sarah was close enough to answer without raising her voice.

"He needs it Elena," Sarah answered but was quick to continue before either could say anything. "But if he can't control it then it could be even worse than last time. That said, he doesn't stand a chance in a fight without me and Damon at his back."

Elena looked down, thinking for a moment before looking back up at Sarah hopefully. "Could you…teach him? To control the blood lust."

Sarah smiled at that. "I can. And it should be easier this time, since he actually wants it and is willingly choosing to take the blood." It wasn't much but it seemed to help Elena at least a little bit. Really that's all they could ask for at the moment, little bits of reassurance to help them get through the day. "You should still talk to him though. This is only going to work if he wants it too, and if he's not got your support, it could easily back fire." Elena nodded at that before going off to talk to Stefan. Sarah was about to follow when Damon planted his hand on her shoulder and turned her around.

"Elena can handle our brother. You and I have somewhere else to be right now," Damon said cryptically before heading for the front door. With a frown Sarah followed, casting one last look back at Caroline to make sure she was sound asleep before closing the door behind her.

From there they got into Damon's car and he drove off. He didn't say where they were going, no matter how many times Sarah asked. Soon enough she figured it out though and began to frown at him, not understanding his plan. Probably something evil no doubt, to even out his forever unbalanced karmic scales. One good deed regarding Liz deserved something purely evil in return. At least he had Sarah with him, which actually confused her all the more. Why bring her along to this place if he was going to do something evil. Sarah was all for being a bad girl from time to time, but she'd never do it at where Damon stopped.

Still he said nothing. Just climbed out the car, strode up to the front door with Sarah behind him and knocked politely. When the door opened, Damon was met by a set of blue eyes not unlike his own. Younger, feminine and perhaps just a little bit more feisty. "Damon?" Scarlett said with a frown on her features as she stared out onto the Gilbert's front porch where Damon was stood with Sarah right behind him.

"Grab your stuff, Scrappy. You're coming home with us," declared Damon in his usually _Damon_ way when he asked for something. But this was something neither Sarah or Scarlett had expected him to say.

"Wait…seriously?" Scarlett asked in disbelief, not hearing the sarcasm or seeing some mocking joke in his eyes. There was nothing but seriousness in them. And maybe something else in the corner too.

"Yes, seriously," Damon said mockingly. "Damn cats have started coming around since you left, and I hate cats." He forced on his smug smile then. "So if it's a choice between your hairy backside or theirs, then I'm going to pick yours." He was trying so hard to seem like he didn't care, but Sarah could see it, and apparently so could Scarlett.

"Thank you," Scarlett said with a soft and heartfelt smile.

When she didn't move and continued to smile at him, Damon grew impatient. "Offer expires at midnight, Scrappy. Hurry up if your coming." He turned to leave, stepping past Sarah, but he didn't even make it off the porch before Scarlett spoke up from behind.

"Sure thing, Twilight." Before Sarah had the chance to ask what she was talking about, Scarlett closed the door and began heading up the stairs. Frowning, Sarah turned to find Damon looking back over his shoulder, grinning to himself.

"I guess it stuck," Damon murmured, almost so quietly that Sarah had just about missed it. She was tempted to ask what the hell was going on, but didn't want to test fate. Instead she would ask her question later and instead, for now, made her way towards her brother, giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you, Damon," she said with a sincere smile. Damon, of course, scowled back, as if the whole thing was an inconvenience for him.

"Don't get used to it. If those cats aren't gone by morning, I'm kicking her ass out on the street," Damon replied as he hopped off the porch and made his way over to the car. "House is already crowded enough as it is."


	12. We All Need Our Friends

_Review responses:_

Only reviewer: _Now is the beginning of the end for Mason, and I'd say it goes back and forth on who's the bad cop – or rather who's the worst bad cop. And definitely at lot of Satherine (Sarah/Katherine (Another great pairing name you've provided for the_ _story!)) tensions coming up. Of course I have to priorities that before Sarena! My apologises for being so cruel to you. ;)_

 _Gonna open this one up with some bad news I'm afraid. As I have a lot of college deadlines next week, I might be pushing back the next update to the following week. I might try and push it out as soon as I can, but with the work load me and my classmates have, I'm not convinced I'll be able to do so. Sorry in advance. Unless by some miracle I do upload in time, in which case this is_ _nulenvoid_ _so enjoy!_

 _Anyway, we're approaching the endgame (Yes it was deliberate, yes I've seen it, and yes I loved it!) of the first arc in Season 2! Basically until I hit the Rose episode, it's all go from here on in, and I love it! Though this one is mostly built up as usual, sorry. A lot of small, but significant moments for Sarah in this chapter and Scarlett's about to be placed in more hot water. Enjoy!_

And thanks for the favourites, follows and reviews since last time! As always, it's appreciated!

* * *

 **Chapter 12: We All Need Our Friends**

* * *

"Will you stop it!" shrieked Sarah as the sheet around her came to life. Then out popped Ronnie's head, grinning away as the rest of him remained on top of Sarah, tucked beneath the sheets. "I need to get some sleep," Sarah said, trying to sound serious but her giggling made it impossible to take her seriously.

"Well then, you shouldn't have accused me of being a bad boyfriend," Ronnie shot back before planting a series of kissing along her bare stomach. Sarah giggled once again, running her hands through his hair as he looked up, smiling at the sound of her voice. Both were naked, bar the underwear the had been pull on and off all night, which according to Ronnie was Sarah's fault.

"Back to boyfriend status are we?" Sarah said teasingly, her 'boyfriend' now emerging from beneath the sheets. His shoulders holding the blanket up like a shallow tent with his arms on either side of her.

"I should think so after all the cooking I've been doing around here," Ronnie shot back with a grin.

"That was part of your rent agreement," Sarah reminded him with a raised eyebrow.

"Like hell it was," Ronnie chuckled.

"Guess I'll just have to kick you out then, unless you've got some other way of paying me back for my hospitality?"

Ronnie's brow rose and his smile turned to a smirk. "I might have a few ideas." He vanished back beneath the sheets. "How about you tell me which you like best." A moment later Sarah shrieked even louder than before and jumped back onto her elbows. "You still like that one I see," chuckled Ronnie from beneath the sheets.

"You asshole, I'm going to get you for that," Sarah declared with a grin as she reached under the sheets to grab her boyfriend. From there it quickly turned into a power struggle, the sheets wrapping around the two as they struggled back and forth playfully beneath the bed. When the two finally emerged from beneath the sheets once more, laughing away like they were just another ordinary couple, Sarah was lying on Ronnie's chest with the younger vampire on his back. Both unable to take their smiling eyes off one another.

Their laughter slowly began to die, the two captivated by each others eyes, starting to get lost in their own thoughts, just like they had so many times before. It was moments like this that made Sarah realise what she'd forgotten about Ronnie. Something she'd never had with anyone else in any of her relationships across her life time. It was that complex thing that even vampires struggled to find across all their life times. Love.

That's why Sarah couldn't help herself in that moment from saying, "I love you." Three simple words that both of them had said before. But every time they got back together, they had to work back up to that stage, and neither knew who would say it first, only that whenever one said it, the other always agreed. Sarah wasn't entirely sure now was the right time, what with everything going on. But maybe it was because of everything going on that she needed to say it, to let him know just in case the worse did happen.

Ronnie smiled back, running his oddly soft knuckles against her cheek. "I love you too," he said softly. Sarah had never doubted he would say it back, because it was the truth. No matter what happened between them, they always worked it out and got back to this stage.

Leaning forward, Sarah planted a gentle kiss to Ronnie's lips, closing her eyes as she added it to all the other perfect memories of him and her. Then she pulled back, finding those gentle caring blue eyes having been lit up like the sun beyond the closed curtains. Sarah realised there was little point in trying to go back to sleep now, if the sun was up, she'd only get an hour or two at most. And why should she waste time sleeping, when she could spend it with Ronnie.

"Don't think that's going to get you off the hook though," Sarah warned with a grin and lowered brow that made her like extremely mischievous. "I'm going to get you back for what you just did."

"I thought you liked it?"

"Oh, I loved it," Sarah flirtatiously before yanking the covers up and over them at vamp speed before they returned to what they'd been doing all night long.

* * *

Being back in the Salvatore house felt like coming home again, though Scarlett wasn't about to admit that to anybody. She didn't want any of them, especially Damon, finding out how much she liked living here. To Stefan and Damon, she was only there because Sarah had brought her in and wanted to help her through life…or something. Sarah had said that she was family now, and Damon inviting her back did make that statement feel more honest. That said, she wasn't about to start acting like she owned the place and had quickly fallen back into her old routines around the house which seemed to suit everybody just fine.

She walked into the kitchen prepared to make her own breakfast like always and instead found Sarah and Ronnie making out by the stove where Ronnie was making breakfast. A surprised, "Oh my God," had put a stop to all that. Sarah had apologised and then properly introduced Scarlett and Ronnie to one another. Scarlett had to admit, he gave off a good first impression, and his cooking only helped improve her opinion of him. Werewolf hungry didn't seem nearly as much of a curse when you got to eat food like that.

After breakfast, Ronnie retreated into the house, obviously not wanting to over expose himself to Scarlett after they'd only just met. They both needed time to get used to one another and while breakfast had been a great start, the man knew when to take a break. Coincidently, Sarah then left to meet Stefan at the Lockwood house, apparently they were helping them get ready for some party or whatever. Not Scarlett's problem, not her concern. Though she did notice she hadn't seen Stefan all morning.

Feeling the need to stretch her legs after mouthing down half of everything Ronnie had cooked, Scarlett got changed into some old cloths and made her way for the front door. Damon might have made his peace or whatever with her being a werewolf but she was pretty sure he didn't want her wondering around the house on all fours. So she'd been doing her runs outside, around the property and most importantly, out of sight.

But her run was quickly put on hold when she opened the door to find Jeremy about to knock on the other side. "Scarlett, hey," he greeted her, startled that she'd opened the door right as he'd been about to knock. She smiled back at him, knowing what he was thinking. That she'd either heard him coming or smelt him. It was neither, just one of those happy coincidences.

"Jeremy," Scarlett greeted back. "What brings you to my territory?"

"Actually I came by to see if there was anything I could do to help, what with everything that's going on," Jeremy explained, looking rather proud of himself. Scarlett's smile faltered at that. She was grateful for his support and loved him, but she wasn't exactly enthusiastic about him getting his hands dirty in the supernatural world. Even with his magic ring, he could still get seriously hurt, and that ring was easy enough to take off. Katherine had proven that by cutting off John Gilbert's fingers. That said she didn't want to be overbearing, and frankly she didn't have the right considering what she'd done. Another reason to keep him away from the supernatural. It lowered the chances of him finding out what she'd shamefully done.

But before she could even reply, or he could notice her lack of support, Damon walked up to her side from out of nowhere. Scarlett turned her head slightly and looked up at the eldest vampire in the house, with his patronising smile. "We're not interested, goodbye now," Damon said before giving Jeremy a push, enough to make him stumble out the door, before then closing it in his face.

Then he turned to Scarlett, the smile turning to a teasing glare. "Just because I'm okay with you moving back in, doesn't mean you can have your boy toy over whenever you feel like."

"Back off, Twilight," Scarlett replied with a glare of her own before pushing him back from the door and opening it up for Jeremy. "Sorry about him, he just forgets some times that I can kill him with a single bite," Scarlett said to Jeremy, and not so subtly over her shoulder at Damon with a snarl.

"And you, Scrappy, seem to forget dogs belong in kennels," Damon shot back before he started to walk away.

"Actually I need to speak to you," Jeremy said as he made his way into the house closing the door behind him. Scarlett frowned at her boyfriend, turning around so she could see both him and Damon who continued to walk away, not even bother to glancing back at Jeremy.

"And I _don't_ need to speak to _you_ ," Damon replied in any uninterested tone.

"I have information you don't," Jeremy shot out desperately. That pinched Damon's interest enough to make him stop and turn around.

"Like what?" Damon prompted, showing as little interest as possible while being open minded enough to consider Jeremy might have something he didn't. It was unlikely, seeing as he'd agreed to let Scarlett back on team Salvatore, and by extension knew everything she did. But it was some form of personal growth, or at least Scarlett thought so. She and Jeremy had also gotten over the whole murdering him thing. It didn't seem beneficial to anyone, and since he was extending an olive branch by letting her come home there seemed to be little point in rocking the boat, at least for now.

"I know Tyler Lockwood has to kill someone to activate his werewolf curse, which he hasn't done. Which also means Mason has killed somebody. And the only reason he's in town is because he's looking for a moonstone, this rock that's connected to the werewolf legend." Jeremy fired out everything so fast, Scarlett had to replay what he'd said in her head, just to make sure she'd heard it all correctly. Damon however, plastered on an impressed smile.

"Not bad." Hearing Damon's praise made Jeremy smile, unfortunately, Scarlett saw what was coming next. Having lived with Damon for several months, much like his siblings, she could tell when his smiles where genuine and when they were completely mocking, like now. "But I already got all that from OI' blue eyes over there," Damon said with a nod to Scarlett, his smile showing its true intention now, through mockery. "Thanks for the reminder though, you might make a secretary out of him yet, Scrappy," Damon teased as he turned to walk away once more.

"Look, I just want to help," Jeremy pleaded as he followed Damon with Scarlett trailing behind him. Watching her boyfriend grovel for Damon's approval and allowance to help, wasn't exactly her idea of fun. But she could hardly abandon him and leave him at the mercy of Damon all on his own. At least by his side she could back him up and throw in the odd empty threat if Damon picked on him too much.

"And I don't want your help, so goodbye," Damon called back over his shoulder as he turned, heading towards the study, leaving Jeremy and Scarlett standing in the hallway.

"You know he's just going to keep bothering you until you let him help, right?" Scarlett called after Damon, her arms folded.

Swinging around so he was now walking backwards, Damon lowered his brow mockingly as his blue eyes connected with Scarlett's. "You mean kinda like how he got you to be his girlfriend?" Damon asked sarcastically, still heading for the study.

Scarlett shrugged, smirk forming. "It worked didn't it." Surprisingly enough, Damon grinned back at that before vanishing around the corner that lead him towards the study. With him gone Scarlett turned to find Jeremy frowning at her.

"That's not really why you went out with me, right?" Jeremy asked.

"Of course not," Scarlett said sweetly, before turning his chin so she could kiss his cheek. "Now come on, I'll show you around." She then quickly made her way towards the stairs, dashing up them while Jeremy frowned to himself, trying to work out if his girlfriend had been patronising him or not. "Jeremy!" Scarlett called down the stairs and he quickly came up to join her.

* * *

Sarah really needed to start putting her foot down on all this town community work. First the park now this, it was becoming a bad habit for her. She had good reasons for attending these pre-events though. She'd gone to the park to warn Mason, and they all knew how that had ended, but she'd been asked to help by Jenna, who'd been tasked with assembling a group of volunteers. So Sarah didn't feel she could refuse, and yet somehow Jenna's own nephew had gotten out of it and his girlfriend had been skilful enough to avoid her calls, almost like she'd been warned.

In any case, she was here now and might as well help out, even if she was half-arsing it. Stefan on the other hand was doing his best to keep busy and keep his eyes away from Elena. Obviously all the teasing from her and Damon had knocked some sense into his brain, making both him and Elena realise they were going to have to up their game and actually avoid one another. It wasn't fair, Sarah knew and appreciated that, but if all they had to do was play break to give them an advantage over Katherine, then Sarah was all for it.

The charity work though, she was less keen on that, and frankly couldn't see how it was going to help stop Katherine. That's why she was casually clearing the dinning table – or rather picking up what was on it before passing it over to someone else so they could take it away – while Stefan moved the dinning chairs into another room. Every time Stefan came back into the fancy dinning room, he'd give Sarah a critical look and she'd just smile back before pointedly handing off a single plate or fork to someone passing by who happily took it. Who needed compulsion when you had mindless townsfolk looking to get in good with the founding families.

"Sarah, hey!" Sarah turned and her smile grew at the sight of Jenna who came up to her side.

"Hey, Jenna," Sarah greeted back as Stefan returned to the room. He'd been about to move more chairs but stop at the sight of Jenna, standing on the opposite side of the table from his sister.

"Jenna," Stefan greeted catching both Sarah and Jenna's attention.

"Oh, good, Stefan, you're here too." Sarah placed a hand on the table, leaning on it while the other landed on her hip, eyeing Jenna who obviously had something to say to the pair. "I'm cooking dinner tonight. Ric will be there and you two should come," Jenna said hopefully as she looked between the two.

"And by cooking you mean…?" Sarah trailed off, waving her hand for Jenna to finish.

"Cooking," Jenna answered obviously.

"You cook?" Sarah asked with a teasing tilt of the head.

"Shut up," Jenna snapped playfully as she hit Sarah on the arm.

"I'm just saying," Sarah began with a grin. "I don't think I've seen anything other than takeout containers in your fridge."

"You know I'm starting to take this personally now," Jenna said with sarcastic attitude making both women start to laugh. It quickly died out however when Jenna noticed that Stefan wasn't laughing along, instead he was standing on the other side of the table awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. Playing the ex boyfriend character a lot better than before, Sarah had to admit, especially since Jenna didn't apparently know yet.

"So you're definitely coming," Jenna said pointing to Sarah, cutting off the awkward silence. "Just so that I can prove to you I know how to cook."

"Deal," Sarah agreed.

"Stefan?" Jenna asked, turning to her niece's boyfriend.

"Eh…yeah…em…" Stefan managed to get out in the typical awkward encounter speech. Sarah threw in a grimace to help him out as Jenna looked to her, trying to work out what was going on before Stefan found his voice. "Me and Elena…we're kind of taking a…pause," Stefan explained.

"Really?" Jenna asked, sounding somewhat skeptical.

"Yeah," Stefan said with a solemn nod.

"Because that's not what it sounded like this morning," Jenna said knowingly. Stefan's brow shot up questioningly, desperately playing the innocent and confused high schooler while Sarah stifled a laugh, her own brow rising as he lips tightened against each other. "Light sleeper," Jenna whispered teasingly, fighting her own laughter.

"Can I just say, this, makes up for whatever you make tonight," Sarah said with a grin which Jenna returned before both woman turned their gaze to a nervous Stefan. "Anything you'd like to add, Brother?" Stefan opened his mouth but couldn't find words to go along with it, so he just stuck to his confused facial expression that wasn't fooling anybody.

"You know what? I heard nothing," Jenna said with a grin to Stefan who nodded in appreciation.

"What? No, don't let him off the hook, I was enjoying this," protested Sarah teasingly.

Jenna just smirked at her friend before parting from the two Salvatores. "I'll see you tonight," Jenna said back to Sarah as she walked off.

"Let me know if you want me to pick up the takeout food on my way over," Sarah called after Jenna, sharing a playful grin with Stefan who just shook his head.

* * *

After finishing up their tour of the house, Scarlett and Jeremy returned to the living room. They sat on the couch and chatted for a bit, mostly catching up on what had been going on since Scarlett had moved out of the Gilbert house. To her it hadn't been that big a deal but it was the opposite for Jeremy. He'd obviously enjoyed living together and maybe had even been hoping it would be long term. For Scarlett however, it had never been more than short term. Not that she knew she'd end up back at the Salvatores', but living with her boyfriend wasn't exactly something she wanted to do at fifteen, even if had been a fun couple of weeks.

Their chatting had quickly descended into making out on the couch, to which Damon started complaining when he walked in, drink in hand. Scarlett pointedly look at him and then went back to kissing Jeremy, more to piss him off than anything else. It might have had something to do with territory marking, but she preferred the pissing off Damon idea. He'd grumbled something until there was a knock at the door and he shouted for whoever it was to come in.

"Ric!" Damon declared in greeting as Scarlett and Jeremy sat up on the couch, untangling themselves as Ric walked in, cardboard box under one arm. He took one look at the teenage couple and stopped, looking to Damon as he sat the box down on an empty chair.

"What are they doing here?" he asked un approvingly.

"Well," Damon began to explain with his usual smugness. "She lives here now," he pointed to Scarlett. "And he's an annoying brat that won't leave her, and more importantly _me_ , alone."

"And you're letting them get involved in this?" Alaric asked, clearly unhappy.

"He's not responsible for us," Scarlett pointed out with a frown at Alaric, as he looked over to the couple.

"Yeah, and we can look after ourselves," Jeremy added.

"One of you can look after Herself," Damon inserted smugly. "You, have a magic ring that will save your life if anything magical kills you."

"Wait, how can Scarlett look after herself?" asked Alric with a confused frown.

"Oh, you haven't heard. Yeah, my sister's pet girl, is actually her pet dog," Damon explained with a grin, glad that he wasn't the last to find out about Scarlett in their little group. Though he was still a little mad about finding out about Scarlett after Caroline, the newest member of their supernatural gang.

"What?" Alaric exclaimed in shock.

"I'm a werewolf," Scarlett clarified with a grin as Alaric stared back at her.

"But not just any werewolf. She's a super-dooper Scooby-Doo powered werewolf," Damon explained in sarcastic dramatics.

"By which he means I can control my changes. I can turn into a wolf whenever I want, thanks to this necklace," Scarlett explained as she held up her necklace, elaborating since Damon's metaphors were hardly easy for Alaric to follow.

"Right," Alaric said slowly as he nodded, taking in the new information as casually as he could.

"What's going on in here?" all eyes turned to the door as Ronnie walked in looking from face to face with a his confusion carefully hidden behind an emotionless mask.

"Who the hell's this guy?" Alaric asked with a thumb towards Ronnie, looking to Damon for answers since he was supposed to be keeping him up to date on all this stuff. Obviously he hadn't been doing a good job, but that was hardly surprising when it came to Damon. The man had his own unique way of priorities things.

"That's Ronnie," Damon said as he gestured with his drink to the younger vampire.

"Hi," Ronnie lifted a hand in greeting to Alaric who raised one back.

"He's sleeping with my little sister," Damon stage whispered.

Ignoring Damon, Alaric stepped towards Ronnie and held out his hand. Ronnie slapped his own hand into Alaric and they shook. "I'm Alaric, nice to meet you."

"Ronnie."

"I'm Jeremy," said the teenager as he stood up, making his way towards Ronnie.

"You still here?" Damon grumbled, stopping Jeremy from proceeding any further towards Ronnie. Scarlett shot Damon a glare but he turned away from her, attention going to the box Alaric had brought in. "So what's in the mystery box, Ric?"

"This is Isobel's research from Duke. Her assistant sent it to me," Alaric explained as the group gathered around the box of random junk, though it apparently meant something to Alaric.

"Vanessa the hottie?" Damon asked with bouncing eyebrows as he pulled an old book from the box.

Alaric snatched it back, sending Damon a glare. "Vanessa, yes. Now, do you remember the old Aztec curse she told us about?" Alaric said as he looked between Damon and Scarlett, both who nodded.

"Is that the one you told me about?" Jeremy muttered to Scarlett.

"Yeah," she answered before Alaric shot her look.

"You've been telling him about all this?"

"He's my boyfriend," Scarlett said simply with a shrug, as if that was all the excuse she needed.

"Sorry to interrupt, but what Aztec curse?" Ronnie asked politely.

"Supposedly vampires and werewolves used to roam freely until a shaman put a curse on them to limit their power. Since then, werewolves can only turn on a full moon and vampires are weakened by the sun," Alaric explained for Ronnie who nodded along as he took in the information.

"Save us lucky few have one of these," Damon said smugly as he waved his daylight ring finger.

"Or one of these," Scarlett added, holding up her necklace.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask, what's that thing called?" Ronnie asked with a confused look and gesture to the necklace around Scarlett's neck.

"It's just my necklace, I haven't heard of any supernatural name for it," Scarlett answered.

"Well, if vampire's have daylight rings, then maybe werewolves have moonlight necklaces?" Jeremy suggested.

"I don't think it's a common thing," Scarlett said with a shake of the head. "Mason seemed completely unaware of how I could do it."

"And we should aim to keep it that way," agreed Alaric sternly, "So let's keep the phrase, 'moonlight necklace' on the down low for now. No sense in letting the world know Scarlett's weak point."

"He's more interested in the moonstone anyway, at least that what Tyler said," explained Jeremy.

"Did this, Vanessa, happen to give you anything on that?" Ronnie asked, looking to Alaric.

"Yeah, she did. According to the legend she found, the werewolf part of the curse is sealed with the moonstone." As he explained, Alaric pulled out a sheet of old paper and unraveled it to show an ancient set of drawings apparently depicting the story of the Sun and the Moon curse.

"What do you mean sealed?" Jeremy asked as he glanced at the sheet of paper Alaric was holding for them all to see.

"It's a witch thing. Whatever seals the curse is usually the key to unsealing the curse," Damon explained as if it was all basic stuff.

"So he's going to use the moonstone to undo the curse then, so any werewolf can change at will?" asked Scarlett, not sure how she felt about that idea. It would mean she'd never be powerless, even without her necklace, but if the werewolf bite legend was true, it would put the Slavatores and every other vampire in extreme danger for the rest of their lives. It wasn't exactly easy for Scarlett to see the wolves point of view. For starters she didn't know any other than Mason, and she was far from a fan of his. Plus she was already able to change at will, thanks to her necklace. She'd never experience the other side. She transformed between human and wolf so much, the changes had become almost painless. Sure they still hurt like hell, but it was faster now and she'd gotten used to it and moved on quickly. The change was always a choice for her, she'd only not had that choice once, when she first turned. And that time she was so confused and shocked by everything going on around her that she hadn't been able to memorise the experience or prepare for it. Ever since, she'd been in control, one-hundred precent of the time.

"Maybe, but if all this is true then it won't be an easy thing to do. It won't be a simple case of breaking the moonstone. He'll need the right spells, conditions and so on," Ronnie elaborated as his eyes carefully scanned the sheet in Alaric's hands.

"Who has the stone now?" Damon asked the two teens.

"Tyler," Jeremy answered on the spot.

"Can you get it?"

Scarlett and Jeremy shared a look before Jeremy answered for them, "Yeah." It was fortunate for him that Scarlett agreed with that answer.

"Great, guess who just became useful for a change," Damon said as he raised his hands in the air.

"So you believe all this werewolf vampire curse stuff then?" Ronnie asked, sounding a little skeptical about the whole thing.

"Well considering it's from the same legend that says a werewolf bite can kill a vampire, I'm going to humour it, at least until I know the fatal bit isn't real," Damon explained to Ronnie before downing the last of his drink. He then put down the glass and made his way for the front door, patting Scarlett on the back as he passed her. "Come on, Scrappy, let's go. And don't forget your sidekick." Jeremy scowled after Damon before looking to Scarlett who shrugged apologetically, only to then follow the vampire out the house, with Jeremy on her heels.

* * *

Having finished clearing out the dinning room, Sarah and Stefan had been tasked with decorating said dinning room, moving more furniture around the house into temporary storage, and unloading boxes of supplies for the party. None of which was fun in the slightest. Even Jenna was too busy to have some fun, and Stefan had to remain miserable for his breakup. But things took a turn for the better when Sarah and Stefan spotted Mason, and more importantly, he spotted them while they unboxed glasses.

"Hey, guys," Mason said with a startled smile. Sarah, nor even Stefan, could help but grin at that.

"Hey, Mason," Stefan said gleefully.

"Looking good," Sarah added teasingly, as the werewolf sat down the box he was carrying. He only turned away for a second but Sarah could see the confusion on his face before he forced a nervous smile back on for the two vampires.

"Wasn't expecting either of you here…or anywhere," Mason said nervously.

"Yeah, we had a little accident, but we're fine now," Stefan said, grinning all the while.

Looking around him to make sure there were plenty of witnesses but no praying ears, Mason stepped towards the table Stefan and Sarah were working behind. "What did you do to Sheriff Forbes?"

"Oh, she's getting the five star Salvatore treatment," Sarah said with a mischievous grin as she leaned over towards Mason. "Luxury room, beautiful view of the grounds and free room service twenty-four-seven." Her eyes then darkened as her brow lowered further and the grin from her lips dropped. Hatred corrupting the once playful nature of her green eyes. "You however…" Sarah trailed off. At that Mason pulled back straightening while Sarah's gaze remained locked on her target.

"I'd start running if I were you, Mason," Stefan said with a grin as the werewolf backed away, only to turn and bump into Bonnie of all people. He quickly apologised, looking back to make sure neither vampire was following him and then took off at a brisk pace back towards the house. Frowning after him Bonnie slowly approached the table before turning to the Salvatores.

"What's the matter? Are you okay?" Stefan asked Bonnie, noticing her confused frown.

Her eyes darted between them both before she answered, "When I touched him, I saw something."

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked with a frown as she folded her arms.

"You mean like a vision?" Stefan added, narrowing it down to help Bonnie think.

"I saw Elena," Bonnie answered, still just as confused as she had been when she first approached them.

"You saw Elena?" Stefan said in disbelief.

"He was kissing her," Bonnie said uncomfortably.

"No, Bonnie, Elena wouldn't kiss…" Stefan began to protest with the utmost confidence before it clicked together in his head. It was about the same time it all clicked together for Sarah too.

"That crafty bitch," Sarah said in slow realisation as she looked over in the direction Mason had walked off in.

"You didn't see Elena," Stefan began to explain to Bonnie.

"You saw Katherine," Sarah finished, her fists clenching. This whole time, Sarah had thought she'd had two enemies in Katherine and Mason, but as it turned out, Mason had been working for Katherine this whole time. Her web was stretching further than Sarah had realised, and that only made things worse. Now she was beginning to feel boxed in, this whole time Katherine had them thinking she was playing some simple little game, when really she'd been acting out some diabolic master plan, and none of them had seen it coming. It made Sarah wonder just how far Katherine had infected the world and people around them without any of them noticing. How much did they really know about their enemy, who knew everything about them.

* * *

Walking through the Lockwood house after Damon, Scarlett couldn't help but feel on edge. This was after all the last place she wanted to be, especially now, when Mason could come around any corner and ruin everything for her. It wasn't helping that Jeremy kept asking if she was okay and she kept snapping at him, only to then throw out an apology. He didn't seem to bothered by it and kept reassuring her everything was fine and that she ought to relax. But she couldn't do it, not with her deep dark secret now so close to the light. She just had to keep her hand over Jeremy's eyes for a little bit though, just long enough to get the moonstone from Tyler and then get as far away from Mason Lockwood as possible.

Unfortunately, Damon didn't get the memo on Scarlett wanting to be in and out as quickly as possible. As they walked, Damon mingled and Scarlett uncomfortably folded her arms, rubbing her hands on them as if she were cold. She was in fact not cold, which is why she refused Jeremy's jacket when he offered it to her. Maybe she could kill Mason before he said anything. The whole town would find out what she was and probably kill her, but at least Jeremy would never know what she did.

Then it was Jeremy's turn to tense up as Damon approached Elena who was looking out a window. Scarlett stood by his side across the room while Damon conversed with Elena. Things were still tense between the two and Jeremy knew exactly how his sister would react to his involvement. She'd get worried and nag him, like Scarlett would if she ever stopped holding her tongue. But she refused to be controlling, especially when she had no moral leg to stand on. If Jeremy wanted to be involved in all this, then she'd support him. Hopefully that would make it easier to steer him away from anything that might reveal her secret to him.

"You okay?" she asked quietly, taking his hand as they watched Elena and Damon from a distance.

"Yeah. I just… I know how she's going to react," Jeremy groaned.

Scarlett ran her thumb across his hand, keeping a hold and offering him a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry. She'll come around. She just needs a little bit of time," Scarlett reassured him. He turned to her and smiled, only for his eyes to widened when he turned back to his sister and found Damon walking out the door. Not wanting to lose the vampire and risk missing out on the action, Jeremy quickly began to follow with Scarlett on his heels. But Damon had set him up and Elena easily spotted him as he made his way towards the door.

"Jeremy, what is he making you do?" Elena asked as Jeremy stopped to face his sister.

"He's not making me do anything, Damon and I–" Jeremy began to explain casually before Elena cut in, and rightfully so thought Scarlett. Still, she preferred Elena to voice her concerns, over her doing it herself.

"Uh, no. No way. No, no, no, no. There is no 'Damon and you'. There's Damon and whoever Damon is using, and those people, they end up dead. Whatever is going on Jeremy, I want you to stay out of it," Elena explained sternly.

"But you're okay with Scarlett being involved," Jeremy said accusingly as he gestured to his girlfriend who waved awkwardly to Elena in greeting.

"Scarlett can look after herself," Elena pointed out.

"Yeah, well, so can I," Jeremy said determinedly, which Scarlett had to admit, she found a little attractive.

"Jeremy–" Elena continued.

"I don't care what you want, Elena. It's because of you that I'm in this mess in the first place, so I'm sorry, but you really don't get to tell me what I'm gonna do," Jeremy replied before marching out after Damon, leaving Elena with both a hurt and worried look.

"I'll keep an eye on him," Scarlett promised as she stepped out to follow Jeremy, catching Elena's grateful look before she stepped through the door. She ended up not having to walk far, stoping along with Damon and Jeremy at the front of the Lockwood house as they all spotted Tyler working with Matt and several other volunteers to get the huge tent outside ready for the party.

"There's your distant relative, fluffy," Damon said with a grin to Scarlett who glared back at him.

"Seriously?" Scarlett asked with a look that repeated the question of Damon's choice of nickname.

"I'm trying out something new. I bought a book on dog names the other day, sort of a 'welcome home present' from me to you," Damon said smugly, blue eyes a light with mirth.

"I'm touched," Scarlett drawled out sarcastically.

"Yeah well, be sentimental on your own time. We need that moonstone, so get to work Scooby Doo and take Shaggy with you," Damon instructed. Rolling her eyes, Scarlett proceeded to make her way over to the tent where Tyler was, more so to get away from Damon and his irritating nicknames than to actually retrieve the moonstone. On her way however she spotted Sarah and Stefan, walking towards Damon.

As her eyes connected with Sarah's she heard her parental figure ask, "What's going on?" A benefit to the supernatural hearing they all shared. They could talk across distances like this as if they were stood right next to each other.

"Damon's got me and Jer–"

"Zip it, Goofy," Damon cut in from behind. "I'll catch my brother and sister up on everything, you two go and play fetch."

Groaning to herself as she continued walking, Jeremy at her side – though mildly confused by the fact his girlfriend was talking to herself – Scarlett continued on towards the tent and Tyler. However, once she looked back to confirm Damon wasn't listen, and in fact was leading his siblings off somewhere privet so they could talk, she turned to Jeremy and said, "When this is all over, remind me to burn that book of dog names."

Jeremy chuckled at that, making Scarlett smile at little before they both focused on what they had to do. Which was to get the moonstone from Tyler without causing too much of a scene. Although since he hadn't triggered his curse yet, that meant he could be compelled, once they confirmed he had the moonstone, providing Mason or anybody else hadn't been slipping him vervain that is. Worse case scenario though, they knock him out and steal the thing when he's not looking. Which was looking easier by the minute as Matt was leaving when Scarlett and Jeremy arrived.

"Hey man," Jeremy greeted Tyler as he and Scarlett approached him.

"Hey," Tyler said happily enough as he started fiddling with one of the lanterns he and Matt had been in the middle of putting up.

"I was just wondering, could I see that stone you showed me the other day again?" Jeremy asked in a low voice as he stepped towards Tyler so that no one around them could hear.

"What? Why?" Tyler asked turning around and looking a bit alarmed at the topic. The near manslaughter of the Sara girl had obviously left some mental scars on Tyler, making him jumpy at anything to do with the word werewolf.

"He's been obsessing," groaned Scarlett, plan quickly forming which Jeremy caught onto soon enough. Simple, but an effective act for Tyler. "Ever since you showed him that damn thing he's been researching it and talking about it none stop."

"Yeah," Jeremy chuckled in fake sheepishness, scratching the back of his neck. "I tend to obsess over stuff like this."

"That's an understatement," Scarlett declared with a pointed look and folded arms. She then turned to Tyler as she continued to explain, "He's been scouring the internet for a stone just like that, but can't find one anywhere." She then switched gears, from the moaning girlfriend, to the pleading friend. "Could you please show him yours again. At the very least it might shut him up for a few hours."

"Or better yet you could let me borrow it," Jeremy suggested. That was pushing it, Scarlett thought, but they were here now and might as well try. After all Tyler had been more than happy to hand it over to them the other day, maybe he'd have the same carefree attitude to letting them borrow it over night.

"Nope. I gave it to my uncle," Tyler explained carelessly.

"Why did you do that?" Jeremy asked, trying his best to not sound alarm. He did a decent enough job to fool Tyler but Scarlett gave him a sharp nudge with her elbow all the same, subtly telling him to calm down.

"Because I'm done with all this supernatural crap. I don't want anything to do with it, or that stupid stone," Tyler explained as he went back to fiddle with the lantern.

Seeing as it was a dead end, Scarlett quickly worked to get her way out of the conversation. No sense wasting time on Tyler when he couldn't get them the moonstone now. "That's what I keep telling him," Scarlett sighed dramatically with a nod to Jeremy. "At least now that you've said it it might penetrate his thick skull."

"Yeah, well," Tyler said with chuckle. "I'm done, so if you don't mind…" he trailed off as he returned to hanging the lanterns.

"Oh, yeah, we'll leave you alone," Jeremy said as he and Scarlett began to back away.

"Catch you later," Scarlett said with a wave before the two walked off.

Once out of ear shot from Tyler, Jeremy leaned over to Scarlett and muttered in offence, "Thick skull?"

"I'll make it up to you, promise," Scarlett said with an 'I'm sorry' smile. He returned it with an accepting smile off his own.

* * *

After Damon explained what he, Scarlett and apparently Jeremy where up too, Stefan and Sarah had let him know about Katherine and Mason's team up. They all came to the same conclusion, which was she was using him and he was stupid enough to fall for her lies like Damon had before he realised what a monster she was. But they didn't have time to open Mason's eyes, he was a threat to them all and even if they did have the time, odds were he'd rather keep his head in the sand than risk ruining his perfect image of Katherine. Other than that though, they were still no closer to finding out what Katherine was up to.

They returned to the front of the house after that, catching the ending of Scarlett and Jeremy's chat with Tyler. The ending was all they needed to hear though. Tyler didn't have the stone any longer and had handed it over to Mason who was more than likely going to hand it over to Katherine some time soon if he hadn't already. That made things a little more complicated, but still manageable for the time being. They just needed to find out what he'd done with the moonstone which would only require a little bit of persuasion. Something Sarah and Damon happened to be well versed in. Still, it couldn't hurt to get a second opinion from a witch that could potentially save them a lot of time. Someone like Bonnie for example, who just happened to be passing by. Sarah was already to turn on the old Salvatore family charm, but Damon wasn't. He simply grabbed Bonnie's arm, declared they needed to talk and began dragging her off with Sarah and Stefan in tow.

As they walked, Stefan's phone buzzed. He checked it, then quickly composed a reply before pocketing the phone again. Sarah didn't bother to ask who it was, she had a pretty good idea. Besides, having a go at Stefan about how a break up was supposed to work wasn't going to solve the current problem with Mason and the moonstone. She'd wait until later to refresh his memory.

"Okay, this is as far as I go," Bonnie said, planting her foot on the ground and refusing to take another step. Obviously she still wasn't too keen on spending any time with them, which didn't bode well for what they were about to ask of her.

"Fine," Damon grumbled, releasing Bonnie as he stood along side his brother and sister.

"What do you want?" Bonnie asked, glaring at the three vampires, but mainly at Damon for obvious reasons.

"A favour," Damon answered.

"Like that's gonna happen," scoffed Bonnie, folding her arms.

"So predictable," Damon said with a forced chuckle. "That's why brought him and her," Damon said with a gesture to Stefan and Sarah.

"I know how you feel about helping us out, but since you're the one that linked Mason with Katherine, we finally have an opportunity to get an upper hand on both of them so, just hear us out," Stefan asked nicely, ignoring the buzzing of his phone. Sarah waited for him to answer, but he didn't keeping his focus on Bonnie and convincing her to help them.

"Pretty please," Damon added with his usual irritating charm.

"Alright, I'm listening," Bonnie said slowly, making sure not to commit to anything yet. Unfortunately that was the exact moment Stefan's phone began to ring. Bitting his lip he pulled the phone from his pocket only to close his eyes at the name on the screen. Sarah was now seriously considering writing the rules of a break up down on both Stefan's and Elena's hands. How they'd managed to fool Katherine this long was beyond her.

"I have to fill Elena in on what's going on," Stefan explained as he started to back up. He pointed to Damon, "You, play nice." Then he pointed at Sarah and said, "Keep him from doing anything stupid, please." Sarah was getting flashbacks to when she had to babysit Damon a few months back, after her found out Katherine wasn't in the tomb and never came looking for him. She nodded though and turned back to Bonnie, along with Damon, while Stefan went off to take Elena's phone call.

"So what exactly is it you want me to do?" Bonnie asked, a lot more on edge now that Stefan had left. Not surprising seeing as he was the nice and friendly one of their trio. Damon was the evil one and Sarah had torn Bonnie a new one when it came to Caroline being a vampire so she wasn't that found of her either. But this time she'd try the nice approach, since she was a friend of Caroline and Elena's and had come through for them and several occasions.

"All we want is for you to touch Mason Lockwood again, so that you can see if he gave Katherine the moonstone already," Sarah explained in as friendly a tone as she could muster up.

"My visions don't work like that. I don't get to ask questions," Bonnie explained.

"How inconvenient," Damon growled before another idea came to him. "Although, let's talk about that little witchy juju thing you do with me. You know, the fun one where my brain bursts into flames? What is that?" Sarah had heard from Damon about Bonnie's growth in her witch powers but was yet to be on the receiving end of one of her attacks. Although, from what Damon had said about it, it did not sound pleasant.

"That's me giving you an aneurysm. Your blood vessels go pop, but you heal quickly, so I do it over and over again," Bonnie explained with a merciless grin at Damon.

"Is it vampire specific?" Damon asked. Sarah could see he was working on a plan in his head.

"It'd work on anyone with supernatural healing ability," Bonnie answered.

"Such as Mason," Sarah suggested, a mischievous look falling over her face.

"No," Bonnie said firmly, her gaze shifting between the two vampires. "I'm not helping you hurt him or anyone else."

"Okay, fine," Sarah said holding her hands up. "Instead we'll just let Katherine do whatever it is she came here to do, which more than likely involves killing Elena. But, we'll do it your way Bonnie, we won't hurt or kill anyone because that's morally wrong."

"You'd better stop using my friends to manipulate me into doing what you want," Bonnie snarled.

"Manipulate," Sarah snapped back angrily. The friendly approach was out the window now. "If it wasn't for me pulling that over sized stick out your ass, Caroline would still be locked inside away from the sun. In fact, she'd probably have killed a couple dozen people by now to, so don't you talk to me about manipulation, when your the one that needs a shove to help out her supposed best friends."

"I'm not helping anyone hurt or kill anyone else, got it," Bonnie snapped back, eyes flashing with fire.

"Well that's just great Bonnie, I guess I'll just go over to Mason and offer him a cherry in exchange for the moonstone," Sarah shouted back, anger flaring also. "And tell me, what should I do when he and Katherine try and kill Elena, or Caroline again? Should I just ask them to stop? Or should I offer you up as an alternative?"

Bonnie stepped up to her, all but ready to give her a taste of her power. Sarah was ready for her. The second she felt her blood so much as itch, she was going to rip this girl's throat out. What right did she have to go around calling herself a friend of Elena and Caroline, when she wouldn't lift a finger to help them because it was morally wrong. In their world, morality didn't come into it, you stood by your friends and family and that was it. Everyone else be damned.

"That's enough," Stefan said sternly as he returned, pushing Sarah back while keeping a hand on Bonnie, keeping her from advancing any further towards his sister. He the looked to Damon who had been enjoying the show, and still was by the grin on his face. "Why didn't you stop this?"

"I'm sorry, I thought Sarah was supposed to be watching me, not the other way round," Damon said condescendingly to his brother. Stefan glared at him for a moment but then broke it off, turning back to Bonnie.

"Look, Bonnie. The fact is we need your help. With you we can find the moonstone faster and avoid dragging things out with Mason. Isn't that what you want?" Stefan pleaded, putting his hands together. Sarah folded her arms and rolled her eyes. They didn't need Bonnie's help. It was a time saving issue was all, and it wasn't even a guarantee. For all they knew, this could be an ever bigger waste of time. In her opinion they were better off torturing the information out of Mason. It had been far too long since she tortured someone anyway.

Seeing Bonnie still needed swaying, Stefan added, "Please, Bonnie."

The witch's eyes darted to the Sarah, the two glaring at one another for a moment before Sarah's gaze softened. For Caroline and Elena. After all, they were her friends too. "Alright, what do you want me to do?" asked Bonnie, finally ready to help.

They quickly conceived a plan and waited out by Mason's car with Bonnie standing by an open truck, waiting for her mark. When she spotted Mason, she started the scene they'd planned out. Struggling to unload a table on her own, Mason came over to her rescue. As he did that, Bonnie check the coast was clear and then began casting her spell. Mason dropped onto the ground, hands going to his head as he groaned in pain, his head exploding over and over again from the inside. With the werewolf disabled, the Salvatores moved in.

First Damon took Mason out with a knee to the face. With the werewolf unconscious now, he moved to open the passenger side door, nodding for Bonnie to get in. Grudgingly she did while Stefan grabbed Mason's keys from his pocket and threw them to Damon who caught them and then got into the driver's seat. Sarah and Stefan then loaded Mason into the trunk of the car before Sarah climbed in along with Damon and Bonnie. Once she confirmed they were ready to go, Damon drove off and Stefan retreated back into the Lockwood house unnoticed.

They brought Mason to their home where it was then pointed out by Bonnie, after hearing Damon and Sarah catch her up on everything that day, that they had left Scarlett and Jeremy behind. Sarah was out the car first, leaving Damon to deal with the unconscious Mason while she called Scarlett, telling her and Jeremy that they could come home if they liked and have look through the box Alaric had left if they wanted to help some more. She didn't force Scarlett to do it, as a matter of fact she was actively trying to deter the girl with boring research work. She'd much rather give Scarlett a day away from all this and give her the chance to tell Jeremy the truth. But they'd been on speaker phone and Jeremy had jumped at the opportunity before Scarlett could refuse. Sarah made sure to mention Mason was at their home, just so Scarlett wouldn't be shocked when she got home. Another chance for her to spend the day away from all this and talk to Jeremy. She didn't take it and hung up.

Sarah wasn't so sure it was the best of ideas to have Scarlett, Jeremy and Mason around one another until the young wolf had told Jeremy the truth about what happened the night of the full moon. Especially if Mason was being tortured. He'd be looking to inflict some pain of his own in return, and Scarlett was the perfect target as long as Jeremy was within hearing distance. But it had become clear to Sarah, Scarlett was doing all she could to avoid telling Jeremy. She'd even said it to the girl herself, but Scarlett denied it, stating she just needed more time. The assumption was that the 'time' was so she could get over it and move on without ever telling Jeremy. She didn't want to see Scarlett suffer, but she wasn't exactly happy with her keeping this secret, and neither was Elena. They'd mentioned doing something about it, but they'd been caught up in other things, and now if Elena went to Jeremy she'd lose him all over again for keeping secrets. So Sarah was going to stay out of it unless told so otherwise and leave it up to Scarlett. If she wanted to risk bringing Jeremy to Mason, were he might spill the beans, then so be it.

After ending the call, Sarah headed into the study, setting up the room for torture before Damon arrived with Mason slung over his back. The set up wasn't exactly extravagant. Just a blanket under a chair as to catch any of the dripping blood that would be appearing soon. She hadn't even had time to pull the blanket out when Damon came in, follow by Bonnie who was struggling with a heavy bag.

"Here's his bag," Bonnie groaned in effort as she hefted the bag onto a nearby chair. While she flexed her wrists and fingers, Damon dropped the still unconscious Mason into the chair by the fireplace.

"Okay, grab that corner," he ordered Bonnie, while he attended to the other and Sarah took care of the other side.

"Why are we doing this?" Bonnie asked as she pulled the blanket out with Damon, spreading it across the floor.

"Because I don't want to stain the carpet," Damon answered.

"I knew you were gonna say something like that," grumbled Bonnie as she stood back up.

"You're doing the judgy thing again," Sarah muttered. Bonnie shot her a look but left it at that as Damon made his way over to Mason's bag.

"He's not going to be out for much longer," Bonnie pointed out as she stepped in front of Mason, staring down at his unconscious body. Sarah was stood by her side, but both then looked over when they heard the jangling of chains over by Damon. Sarah's eyes then widened slightly when she saw the heavy detailed chains Damon was holding in his hand that then vanished into the bag.

"Looks like this guy's used to being tied up," Damon pointed out smugly as he tossed half the chains to Sarah who caught them before the pair set to work tying Mason down. While they were doing that, Bonnie took ahold of Mason's head in her hands and closed her eyes. "What are you doing?" Damon asked, looking up as he tied the chains around Mason's legs.

"You're looking for a moonstone. I'm trying to help you find it," Bonnie explained calmly as she tried to focus.

"Oh, good, yeah. Find out if he gave it to Katherine," Damon ordered.

"And find out where she is," Sarah added, fully intent on going there and killing her once this was all dealt with.

"And find out what they're gonna do with the moonstone once they get it," Damon added as the two vampires finished strapping Mason down. They then stood around Mason, watching Bonnie do her witchy thing, searching through his mind or getting visions or whatever it was she was doing to help.

"It's somewhere small…dark… There's water," Bonnie murmured.

"Like a sewer?" Damon asked.

"Well we know Katherine's never going to go near it then. Wouldn't want to get her designer shoes covered in muck," Sarah pointed out clinically as Damon smirked along with her.

"No. It's more like…like a well," Bonnie said slowly as a picture began to form in her head.

"Why would it be in a well?" Damon asked with a frown.

Bonnie's eyes opened then, hand dropping from Mason's head. "I told you, I only get what I get," Bonnie explained yet again. She was all but ready to walk away when suddenly Mason's hand grabbed onto Bonnie's wrist. Bonnie tried to pull away in a panic but Mason's grip was too strong for her. Sarah quickly reacted before any harm could come to Bonnie, grabbing Mason's wrist and squeezing until he released Bonnie. Once his hand let go, Bonnie backed up, allowing Sarah and Damon to tighten Mason's restraints, just to be safe.

"That's it. That's all I got," Bonnie said as she made for the exit. It sounded convincing, but Sarah wasn't listening to Bonnie's words. She'd been listening to Mason's heart, making sure he wasn't fully conscious, and happened to hear Bonnie's heart too.

"Bonnie," Sarah called after the witch before she could leave.

She turned back to the two vampires, and then Damon said, "Thank you." Oddly enough, Bonnie smiled before then exiting. Once she was out the room, Damon turned to his sister, knowing look on his face.

"I'll follow her, you got this?" Sarah asked.

"Of course. Don't worry, I'll get Ronnie to fill in for you," Damon said with a grin which Sarah returned before heading out after Bonnie. The sound of Damon punching Mason echoed behind her as she vamp speeded through the house to cut Bonnie off. The witch certainly looked like she was on a mission but came to a stop when she rounded the corner and found Sarah waiting for her.

"You know which well the moonstone is in don't you," Sarah said accusingly.

"I have an idea," Bonnie said slowly.

"Well, don't keep in suspense, Sabrina. Where is it?" Sarah asked as she advanced towards Bonnie.

She squirmed at that, unconsciously taking a small step back. "I think it's this one me, Caroline and Elena used to play around when we were kids," Bonnie explained, uncertain clear in her voice.

Sarah pushed regardless, willing to follow any lead until they got something better. "Alright, let's go then," Sarah said with a nod towards the door.

"The problem is, I can't remember where it is," Bonnie explained, feeling a tad embarrassed.

"Well it's a good thing there's someone here who does," Sarah said pointedly. Bonnie frowned at her for a moment before then seeing Sarah's gaze was on something else. She turned and jumped, unintentionally, when she saw Caroline at the other end of the hall. Hurt flashed across Caroline's face but she quickly got it under control, hands coming together as her fingers idly played with themselves.

Lowering her gaze to her hands, Caroline spoke up with a soft and tender voice. "It was on the edge of the old Lockwood property."

"Thanks, Caroline," Sarah said with a grateful smile to the uncharacteristically shy blonde. She smiled a timid smile back, lowering her gaze once more when it threatened to connect with Bonnie's. "How's your mom doing?"

"Good," Caroline said slowly, head nodding ever so slightly. It sounded like things were going well between them. At least they were talking again from what Sarah had over heard when she walked in. They were still keeping Liz in the basement, but Caroline had declared she was taking over care for her mother for the final day of her stay before the vervain left her system. Damon had played it off as uncaring, but knew what it meant to Caroline, even if he denied it like ever other good deed he ever did. Bonnie had of course heard about all this, but still hadn't been by to see Caroline. In fact, Sarah was pretty sure the two hadn't even spoken since Bonnie made Caroline her daylight ring.

She watched the two awkwardly look at each other, without making contact. While she was hardly Bonnie's biggest fan, she'd seen that these two had been close once. She'd even heard about it from Elena and Caroline who both obviously missed her. But Caroline was still adjusting, learning about her new life and was scared of how Bonnie saw her. Bonnie still saw her friend, but was more concerned with the monster lurking behind the mask than Caroline herself. So it had to be Bonnie to make the first move. To prove to Caroline she still saw her friend and not just the monster, as Caroline feared. Unfortunately, Bonnie was stubborn, but she clearly needed her best friends back and they needed her. So Sarah settled on her nice act for the day.

"Bonnie," Sarah began as both girls' gazes shot to her. "Don't you have something you would like to ask Caroline?" Bonnie glared at her, confused as to what she was getting at. "I mean, unless you'd rather go into the woods with just me. But I think we'd both get along much better with Caroline's company." Bonnie's confusion dropped then and she turned back to Caroline, their eyes finally connecting as hope filled Caroline's young timid eyes.

Bonnie smiled, then said, "Sure," and Caroline beamed back.

"Okay," Caroline said eagerly. "I'll just, get my coat," she said before running out the hallway at normal speed for Bonnie's sake. Waiting a few seconds after she was gone, hoping she wouldn't overhear, Bonnie turned around to Sarah with a soft smile.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Sarah offered her a friendly smile in return. Maybe they could get along, provided they were never left alone together or with Damon. "I know we're never going to be particularly close, Bonnie. But I do care about Caroline and Elena too. And I know they've both missed you." A little shame passed through Bonnie's eyes then. "So for them, I'll push you, until you don't need me to anymore." They shared another smile, understanding each other a little better now, before Caroline returned and they seat out to collect the moonstone. On the way, Bonnie texted Stefan, letting him know what they were up too. And since they were closer, he and Elena would hopefully have the moonstone by the time they arrived.


	13. Wolfsbane

_Review responses:_

Only reviewer: _Yeah, Sarah's taking none of Bonnie's shit. Honestly though, don't have a lot of big plans for Bonnie outside of what she does in the show. That might change down the road, but she's more of a side character in this story. She was never really a favourite of mine until the later seasons anyway. I'm just not a big on witches. But, I think you'll enjoy the well scene here and hopefully Mason's death too!_

 _I got it up in time! Yay! It was a little rushed though, so sorry for any bits that are clunky or poorly written. But there were so many bits in this that I'm so glad I got to do. We've got the well scene, which is one of my favourite scenes in the whole show, just because it has Elena, Caroline and Bonnie working together and it's one of the few moments we get with all three of those characters working together in the same scene. And now Sarah gets to be added to that experience! Another Damon/Scarlett highlight here too and then the set up for_ _Masquerade. Can't wait!_

 _And thanks for the favourites, follows and reviews since last time! As always, it's appreciated!_

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Wolfsbane**

* * *

Scarlett knew she'd been far too lucky with not running into Mason at the Lockwood house. Now he was in her own home, being tortured by Damon and Ronnie. She was struggling to decide whether that was a good thing or not. At least she wasn't being drafted into help, or worse, just to watch. She wouldn't put it past Damon though, to set some kind of example in case she had any lingering thoughts about biting. However the truth was she hadn't had a single one of those thoughts since she moved back in. It scared her to think that with one wrong move or joke she could kill one of them. Even if it wasn't true, she had to believe it was and be extra careful around all the vampires she knew.

She'd have rather not been in the house at all while Mason was being tortured, but Jeremy insisted on helping. He'd said if she wanted to leave then he'd understand, pointing out it was probably hard having someone of her kind being tortured on the other side of the house. Her mixed feelings made it hard to tell, but she knew one thing, she wasn't leaving Jeremy alone with Mason. So she shrugged it off and stuck around to help him search through Alaric's box of mostly useless research that Vanessa had sent him.

Only halfway through an old battered book, Jeremy let out a bored and irritated sigh as he lowered the book onto the table he and Scarlett were gathered around. Hearing him loud and clearly, Scarlett looked up from the cardboard box she was still sorting through. So far she'd just laid a few items out on the table and had sorted them into three piles. Books, not books and can't possibly have anything to do with werewolves. "You're the one who wanted to do this," Scarlett pointed out simply as she went back to searching through the cardboard box.

"I know," sighed Jeremy, closing the book but using his thumb to keep his place. "I just thought I'd…feel more useful I guess. It feels more like we're being sidelined, or that they're trying to keep us safe," Jeremy explained, a hint of disappointment in his voice. That was in fact what they were doing, except in this instance Scarlett actually agreed with it. Neither of them were expect tortures like Damon, and there were already five people going to get the moonstone, they didn't need two more. She knew the feeling though, back when Sarah had wanted to keep her supernatural side a secret from the rest of the group. She'd been constantly sidelined then. Now everyone knew and she was getting more involved. Unfortunately being involved did mean doing annoyingly boring research at times.

"Trust me, I know it's boring, but this is helping," Scarlett pointed out, trying her best to sound grown up. "Besides, it's this, wondering around a forest looking for some stupid stone, or torture detail. And you and I aren't cut out for torturing people, and we just happened to draw the short straw on the research this time," Scarlett explained as she went back to searching through the box.

"I guess you're right," Jeremy sighed as he opened the book back up. He glanced down at it for a second before looking back to Scarlett. She looked back at him, the couple sharing a smile as her hand rummaged around the box. When she felt something sting her hand for the briefest of seconds, she frowned and looked down. She would have thought Alaric would have at least warned them about sharp objects. Reaching further in, she searched for what she'd pricked herself with. When she felt the same prick again, she went to grab the item, only to the yelp in pain as her hand began to burn. "You okay?" Jeremy asked as he hurried over to Scarlett who yanked her hand from the box.

She stared at her hand, lingering smoke vanishing from the tender burnt flesh on her palm. It healed, but slower than usual and the burning remained even after it did, though it began to fade with time. "What the hell?" Scarlett said with a frown as she looked to Jeremy, equally worried and deeply concerned. He reached into the box, looking in as he searched. "Jeremy don't–" Scarlett warned, not wanting him to get hurt like she had. But he pulled his arm out before she forced him too, holding a dark blue, light purple flower that had been crushed inside the box. "What's that?" Scarlett asked with a frown as Jeremy stared at the already tattered flower in his hand.

"I have no idea," Jeremy admitted as they both stared at the flower. Then slowly Scarlett began to reach for the flower. Jeremy's hand immediately pulled away with the flower as he warned her off, "Scarlett no."

"We have to be sure that's what hurt me," Scarlett said firmly. Jeremy definitely wasn't happy about it, but he held the flower back out for Scarlett to touch. Clenching down, Scarlett wrapped her hand around the top of the flower, only to clench down three times as hard when the sound of sizzling filled the air, followed by the smell of burning skin.

"Scarlett!" Jeremy shouted when she refused to give in and let go. His shouts brought her to her senses though and she let go of the flower, breathing laboured as she stared down at her mangled hand. It was healing, but at the same slow rate as before, and the pain was taking even longer to leave this time. "This stuff must be like your Kryptonite," Jeremy said worriedly, holding the flower closer to his chest now, and purposefully out of Scarlett's reach. Then his face lit up with an idea. "What if there are herbs and plants that effect werewolves like they effect vampires?" Jeremy suggested.

"So this planet is my version of vervain then," Scarlett surmised, following Jeremy's suggestion.

"I guess," Jeremy murmured as he pulled out his phone and began to type with one hand.

"What's it even called?" asked Scarlett, staring at the flower, but being careful not to lean in too close and get burnt again.

"Wolfsbane apparently," answered Jeremy as he showed her his phone screen, with both the name and picture of the planet that had hurt her.

* * *

Since Caroline already had her car at the Salvatore's, she drove the three supernaturals to the woods. Sarah wasn't keen to use Mason's and risk being seen, she or Damon would compel someone to take care of it later and then forget about it. She knew how things were going to end with him, he'd made his bed, now it was time for him to sleep in it. She didn't mention that to Caroline or Bonnie though. Caroline was still getting used to this life and Bonnie was still her judgement little self, despite the nice moment she'd shared with her.

The whole way to the forest, Caroline talked, about anything and everything. She kept circling back to her mom, but it wasn't the bitchy comments Sarah had heard her say a few days ago. She was explaining all the good qualities about her mother, the times she remembered fondly rather than the times that had been ruined by herself or her mother. It sounded like the past few days had been good for the mother and daughter. Bonnie said so herself and Caroline agreed before growing depressed. The vervain would be out of her system by the end of the day, meaning Caroline would then have to watch her mother be compelled to forget everything about the new her, and the few days they'd shared together. It'd be like it never happened. Sarah could only imagine how that felt.

Making their way through the woods, Sarah tried to switch off the depressing subject of Caroline's mother and onto something 'normal'. She brought up school and got the girls talking about what was going on. That lasted for a bit until Caroline began to tease Sarah about Ronnie thus leading to Bonnie's discovery of her boyfriend. Sarah didn't need to explain anything, she had Caroline for that, who was all to happy to inform Bonnie of everything that had happened up to this point between her and Ronnie. It made her smile though, to relive her most recent experience with love through Caroline's eyes. Even Bonnie seemed happy for her.

All that came to a stop though when Sarah picked up the screams of Elena from deeper within the woods. She stopped, face turning serious as she focused her hearing. Caroline asked her what was wrong but soon realised Sarah was listening out for something else. She too focused her hearing, pushing past all the birds, rustling leaves and scampering animals until they both heard Elena shouting, "Stefan!" over and over. They both instantly recognised the tone, panic. Without another word to Bonnie the two vampires took off towards Elena at their advance speed, running through the forest faster than any animal could.

As they arrived, they found Elena by an old well trying to lift a heavy chain that had been left in a pile by the well. When it became obvious it was too heave for her she returned to the edge of the well, calling down to Stefan who was apparently trapped inside. "Stefan!" Elena shouted, voice now terrified before she jumped when a hand touched her should. She swung around and found the serious faces of Sarah and Caroline.

"Elena, what is it? What's happening?" Sarah asked quickly as she held onto Elena's shoulders with both hands, trying to get her to focus and panic a little less.

"It's Stefan," Elena said frantically. "He's down in the well and the chain's too heavy and–and–and…" She was practically hysterical, too riled up and panicked to think straight. But from Stefan's screams of pain from below, Sarah knew it was serious and she had to get him out of there and quickly.

"Move," Sarah ordered, practically lifting Elena aside as she mounted the well, ready to lunch herself in. Only before she could, Elena grabbed hold of her leather jacket, pulling her back from the well's edge. "Elena-"

"It's filled with vervain!" Elena blurted out. Sarah eyes widened in alarm. Now she was the one panicking, hysterical thoughts running through her head while her brother remained trapped at the bottom of the well like bread in a vervain soup. "Sarah, we've got to get him out of there, now!" cried Elena.

"I know, Elena. I know. Just… I just need…" She looked down into the well, her brother's screams rushing up to greet her. She had to think, but her mind was racing a mile a minute and she wasn't thinking straight. Even with the little bits of blood she'd been making sure Stefan took everyday, he still wasn't strong enough to survive this. Every second she wasted was one more second she risked losing him forever. And she was helpless, utterly helpless against the effects of vervain. She could call Scarlett and get her to go in and hold him up, but by the time she got here it'd bee to late and Stefan would be nothing but a burned disfigured corpse floating in a well, still burning after his death. She needed something else but there wasn't any time and all she could hear was her brother's pleading screams for help.

"I…I…"

"The chain!" Caroline declared as she held up the end with her vampire strength. Sarah and Elena turned to her, eyes in disbelief and mouths parted. They looked at the chain then back to Caroline. "We can use it to lower Elena into the well since she won't be effected by the vervain, then use it again to pull her and Stefan back up."

"Caroline, you're a genius," Sarah declared as she leapt from the edge, grabbing the chain that Caroline offered, before both girls got to work setting up a makeshift hoist. Sarah just hopped they weren't too late, and that her three second panic attack hadn't cost Stefan his life.

* * *

Scarlett tried to argue against it, but Jeremy was set on his course. He was so determined to prove his worth to Damon that he wasn't listening to her. He didn't understand why she was practically begging him not to go into the study where Damon and Ronnie were in the middle of torturing Mason. How could he though, when she'd never told him the truth. Maybe she wouldn't have to now. Maybe Mason would expose her for what she really was, revenge for her siding with the vampires.

She did all she could to deter Jeremy from going in but he was insistent, taking the wolfsbane with him. Part of Scarlett wanted to wait in the living room until he came back, but the rest of her couldn't take the suspense. At least if she was there she'd know for certain if Mason did spill the beans. Even though she knew the feeling was coming, she was still surprised when she walked into the study behind Jeremy and her heart launched itself into her throat. She could see Mason, but he couldn't see her. He was facing the fireplace, but even so she could see he was in pain, strapped down with blood dripping onto the blanket beneath him even now.

"Oh, great, it's Charlie Brown and Snoopy here to stick their noses where they don't belong," snapped Damon from in front of Mason. Beside him stood Ronnie, arms folded, and between them both Damon held an iron poker with a scorching red tip. Mason turned his head, trying to get a look but Scarlett remained just out of his line of sight, while Damon and Ronnie's gazes followed her and Jeremy as they made their way around the study. Luckily Damon came over to meet them, handing the pocker off to Ronnie who swung it towards Mason when he tired to look over, the scorching tip mere millimetres from the hairs on his chiny chin chin. His blue eyes reminded Scarlett of Damon's own cold merciless ones in that moment. Clearly he was no stranger to torture either.

"Get out," Damon ordered bluntly, not liking the interruption in his torture session.

"We found something in Ric's box of stuff," Jeremy explained, holding the wolfsbane out to Damon. He snatched the plant from Jeremy, looking it over in his hand with a frown, confused as to its value. Apparently it had no effect on vampires, just wolfs. Definitely like vervain then.

"What is it?" Damon asked, gaze moving to the young couple.

"I did a search on my phone. It's a plant, Aconitum Vulparia. It grows in the mountainous areas of the northern hemisphere. Commonly known as aconite, blue rocket, and wolfsbane," Jeremy explained as Damon went back to staring at the planet, more curiously now that he'd heard its name. Wolfsbane.

"What else did you read?" Damon asked.

"We didn't read anything else," Scarlett explained with a shaky voice. Damon's gaze shot to her as she continued. "But when I touched it, it burnt my skin. It was like what happens to you guys when you touch vervain," she explained quietly.

"So it's toxic then," Ronnie stated as he lowered the poker from Mason's chin. He struggled for a few seconds but then gave up with a painful sigh. Scarlett felt a pang of hurt irradiate through her then. Could she really just stand by and watch them hurt him any more than they already had. What did it matter, they already practically had the moonstone thanks to Bonnie, what else did they need from him. He was weak outside of a full moon and Scarlett had already proven she could take him if he got out in wolf form. What threat did he still pose, what was the point in this continued torture.

"Sounds like it," Damon said with a grin as he turned back to Ronnie and Mason. Twirling the planet back and forth between his fingers, Damon made his way back over to Ronnie's side while Scarlett and Jeremy remained where they stood, watching from afar. "Let's try this again," Damon said as he glared down at Mason, who looked up at him in exhaustion. "What's Katherine doing in Mystic Falls?"

For a moment it looked like Mason might have considered answering him. Scarlett wished he had, but he remained stubbornly silent, refusing to cave and answer Damon's questions. Damon's glare intensified as he reached forward with the wolfsbane, brushing it slowly against Mason's cheek. Scarlett cringed as she watched the smoke drift up from Mason's face, the burning flesh sizzling in the air before he burst out into a painful scream. A trailed line of blistered skin left across his face. It began to heal, but not nearly quick enough for Scarlett's liking.

"Why is she here?" repeated Damon.

"She's here with me," Mason snapped out, not eager for another dose of wolfsbane. "Why do you ask, you jealous?"

Now that pissed Damon off, Scarlett could see it by the flash of fury in his eyes. She'd never been on Damon's murderous side, but one look like that and she'd be a little more careful to make sure she didn't end up on it. That look was the stuff of nightmares. "How rude of me. You know, I just realised, Ronnie." He shared a looked with the vampire before turning back to Mason. "We never offered Mason here anything to eat." Before anyone had a chance to understand his words, Damon thrusted his arm forward shoving the wolfsbane directly into Mason's mouth. Crushing and grinding it into his face as Mason screamed against Damon's hand.

"Damon, stop!" Scarlett shouted out before she even realised. Damon's cold careless eyes landed on her then, hand falling from Mason's bloodied mouth as he spat and threw up, trying to get the wolfsbane out of his mouth and off his skin as it burnt him. Scarlett just stood, watching Damon as he advanced on her with Ronnie watching just as emotionlessly from the position he hadn't left since she entered the room.

"Let's get one thing straight here, Scrappy. You don't tell me what to do. I tell you–" he said, pressing his finger against Scarlett's chest as he glared down at her. "–what to do."

"See, Scarlett," Mason spoke up in a hoarse voice as he looked over his shoulder from the chair. Blood still dripping from his mouth as even now he spat out wolfsbane, small puffs of smoke drifting from his skin and mouth. "That's what these vampires are like. Merciless, murderous, monster–" he cut himself off with a painful scream of agony as Ronnie stabbed the scorching poker right through his knee and down his leg

"Shut up!" Ronnie shouted threateningly over Mason's screams before he pulled the poker out. Sticking it back in the fire place as Mason's knee slowly healed over, but even then it'd be a few hours before he was walking normally again thanks to Ronnie. There was now a burning hole running right down his leg that would take more than a while to heal thanks to the wolfsbane, assuming it drained their supernatural abilities like vervain did to vampires.

"You do realise Katherine's a vampire, right?" Damon called over his shoulder pointedly.

"She's one of the good ones," Mason groaned out, struggling to keep it all together as he tried to focus on the healing process, jaw tight with effort as he let out a series of sharp breaths.

"You have no idea how wrong you are," Ronnie said with a glare that was going to make Scarlett look at him a lot differently from now on. Then again it was hardly surprising. He loved Sarah, judging by what she'd overheard this morning, and Katherine was the one that had done the most damage to her in all the world. Of course he was going to make anyone suffer that said she was the good guy and Sarah was the bad one.

"Do you guys really need to torture him anymore?" Scarlett asked, feeling like a scared little girl again as the two big bad vampires shot her a glare.

"Yes," they both declared angrily before Damon returned to Ronnie's side, grabbing the poker from the fire and stabbing it through Mason's chest once more. Scarlett didn't speak up that time. Not out of fear, but because she couldn't see the point. What could she do here? Nothing. She couldn't stand up to them, they wouldn't listen to her. And she couldn't fight them over this, or else she'd lose this new family… she'd lose Sarah. One of the few people that actually seemed to care about her enough to look after her when she had no one else. She couldn't risk that just for Mason, who she didn't even like. So she shoved the urge down into her chest and took deep breaths, fighting the weak tears in her eyes. She felt Jeremy slid his hand into hers, reminding her he was there. It was probably meant to comfort her, but all it did was remind her that at any moment Mason could ruin her life forever. One way or another, Scarlett didn't see this situation ending happily.

* * *

After unfolding the chain and making sure the wooden support above the well was secure enough to hold Elena's weight, Sarah threw the chain over the wooden beam above the well and wrapped the chain around Elena's waist. "That feel okay?" Sarah asked as she hooked the end of the chain so that it was securely around Elena. She nodded back, no sign of backing out or even hesitating. Sarah was glad of that, they didn't have time for pointless drama.

"I'm good," Elena answered.

"We've got you," Caroline said firmly, holding the chain as Sarah took hold with her.

"What's going on? You both just took off in a blur," Bonnie gasped as she came running up to the well, out of breath from the run.

"We heard Elena screaming," Caroline explained softly, not wanting to scare Bonnie off with more of her vampire powers.

"Now help her into the well, now!" Sarah ordered. Bonnie didn't question her tone, she understood the urgency and quickly helped Elena into the well. Both Sarah and Caroline felt Elena's weight suddenly, and had to dig their feet into the ground to stop themselves from sliding. It wasn't even Elena's weight that was the problem, just everybody's favourite physical force, gravity. Their vampire strength was more than enough to accommodate though, they just hadn't been using enough apparently. They found the balance within the second and then began feeding the chain through their hands, lowering Elena steadily but quickly into the well.

Stefan had gone quiet now, which worried Sarah all the more. She had to keep telling herself while they were setting up that it was just the endless pain which had knocked him out. But that also meant they had less time than she thought to get him out. At least now that she was actually lowering Elena into the well her mind was focused on the task at hand, knowing that in a few seconds they'd have Stefan out. At one point while they were lowering her in, Caroline lost her grip but Sarah managed to keep a hold until she got it back. She was just as nervous as Sarah was, but that didn't stop the older vampire from sending her a reforming look. The blonde apologised before carefully feeding the chain through to Sarah as they lowered Elena the rest of the way.

Once the weight left the chain, Sarah let go and ran to the edge peering over from next to Bonnie while Caroline held onto the chain. It was dark near the bottom of the well but Sarah's vampire enhanced eyes could see Elena clear as day. Stefan was a little hard to spot now that he was floating face down in the vervain filled waters with just the back of his soaking shirt visible. After getting the chain off her, Elena splashed her way over to him pulling his face out off the water. It was horribly disfigured, burnt with blisters consuming his entire face in a red puffy rage.

"Elena, get him hooked up now!" Sarah shouted as she ran back over to help Caroline with the chain. She could hear Elena fumbling around with the chain but she got it on remarkably quickly before shouting for Sarah and Caroline to pull him up. As soon as they had the go ahead, the two vampires started pulling with all their strength as quickly as they could. Stefan was noticeably heavier than Elena but when using full vampire strength it was hardly noticeable. They heaved and heaved, the chain running through their hands in a blur until finally he appeared at the edge of the well. The second he was in reach, Bonnie grabbed onto Stefan, pulling him over the edge before Sarah let go of the chain.

"Stefan," she said urgently as she went to check his pulse, only for her fingers to burn at the touch. This was seriously bad if she was getting burnt by his skin, it'd absorbed the vervain water and was now trying to expel it from his system as quickly as it could. Worse than that he wasn't even healing, not even slightly. He needed blood to kick start the healing process and help him force out the vervain. It would break his schedule he, she and Elena had set up, but this was his damn life and by now Sarah'd hoped he'd built up enough of a tolerance to control himself.

"He needs blood," Sarah said turning to Bonnie, the only one with drinkable blood within reach. Bonnie froze, unsure about what to do, the definition of a deer in headlights look. She was starting to get along with them all again, despite what they were, but this was apparently a bridge too far. Sarah didn't care, she was all but ready to rip out Bonnie's throat and throw her at Stefan's feet, consent or not.

"He needs my blood," Elena called up from the well. It was true Stefan had only being feeding on Elena's blood over the past few days, that was part of the agreement, but this was a serious emergency. But drinking foreign blood could also set him off and he might be able to control himself afterwards if it was Elena's blood.

Sarah made a snap decision, she wasn't sure if it was right but she had to do something. She ran back over to the well's edge and threw the chain back down, almost taking Caroline down with it. "Elena get up here now!" Sarah shouted down.

"I just need to find the stone!" Elena called back up as she searched the vervain filled waters.

"Now, Elena!" Sarah roared. She was about to add, 'Or it'll be Bonnie's neck I rip open,' but somehow managed to restrain herself. Thankfully Elena found the moonstone easily enough, floating in sealed box. Once she had it, she grabbed hold of the chain and shouted for them too pull, not wasting time with tying it around herself. Sarah was fine with that and after a few sharp yanks on the chain they had Elena out the well.

Once again Bonnie grabbed onto her as soon as she could and pulled Elena to the side of the well. Sarah rushed over, grabbing Elena and practically dragging her towards Stefan. Elena forced the box with the moonstone into Bonnie's hands and then found her feet before Sarah dropped them both down next to Stefan. Sarah went to bite Elena's wrist but then found herself stopping, Elena's arm in hand, her green eyes looking to Elena for permission. With Bonnie there had been no intention of permission, but with Elena she needed to know her answer before she did it either way.

"What are you waiting for!" Elena snapped and Sarah didn't need to be told twice. She let her fangs elongate, bitting into Elena's wrist, the rest of her vampire features coming out as she did. She couldn't help the satisfying sensation that rushed through her then, the taste of Elena's blood. She'd often wondered what it would taste like and now she knew. It was heavily. How Stefan hadn't drained her completely after one taste was a testament to his love for her. She only had the initial taste from the bite though. She didn't dare drink and waste precious seconds. With the skin broken, she pulled away and let Elena move her open wrist to Stefan's mouth, blood pouring into his parted lips.

"Come on, Stefan. Come on," Elena whispered as she winced in pain, letting the blood flow from her and into Stefan. Licking her lips, Sarah waited with bated breath until finally Stefan's eyes opened and his skin began to turn to a more natural colour. It was working, the healing process was activating, the vervain was leaving his system and he was getting his strength back. None of which would have been possible without Elena and her blood.

"Thank you for saving him," Sarah whispered as she stared into Elena's strangely serene doe like eyes. She smiled back and Sarah found herself pressing her forehead to Elena's shoulder, thankful she had a friend like her, and her brother a girlfriend who was willing to share her blood.

* * *

"Why do you want the moonstone?" Damon shouted, enunciating each word as he spoke over Mason's groans and cries of pain.

"Screw you!" Mason mumbled back, words lost inside his bloodied mouth and burnt lips. He was practically crying now, the wolfsbane stinging his nerves so badly that it was bringing him to tears. Scarlett had been stood next to Jeremy the whole time, watching in silence. Wanting to leave but unable to at the same time. She just wanted it to be over, to end this pointless torturing. She didn't care if he told them the truth, this was inhumane. The instinct inside her was telling her to stop this, and yet she just stood and watched another of her kind tortured beyond belief. It felt wrong, but right at the same time. She was so confused and just wanted it all to stop for a second so she could breath and think. If it was Sarah she'd listen, but it wasn't Sarah. It was just Damon, the big bad vampire, and Ronnie who she hardly knew.

"Wrong answer!" Damon shouted as he advanced on Mason, raising the poker up towards his face this time.

"What does it matter why he wanted the damn thing?!" shouted Scarlett as she stepped forward. Damon's glare swung to her once more, a clear warning to shut up or else. She ignored it. She'd spoke up now and had to keep going, she couldn't do this, couldn't torture a man like this and just watch, especially when they would have the moonstone soon enough, if not already. "Please. Just stop for a minute. You don't need to keep stabbing him and forcing wolfsbane down his throat."

"Maybe I should start forcing it down your throat," Damon snarled, poker turning on her now. He wouldn't dare. Sarah would have his head if he even tried it. She'd tear his ear off once she found out he'd threatened her like that. She could feel Jeremy tense behind her, fists tightening at the threat being made against her. Her own wolf was growling back, willing to take Damon on, but Scarlett wasn't. She didn't want a fight, she just wanted a break from the torture.

"The well!" Mason blurted out, eyes on Damon. _Was he saying it for her?_ Scarlett wondered as all eyes moved over to the trapped werewolf. Was he seriously speaking up to defend her, after she'd just stood there and watched and done nothing until now to help. She'd made it clear whose side she was on, the Salvatores. But maybe it was the same thing inside her – that made her want to end the torture – that was making him open his mouth now. The threat of another wolf being hurt. "You can find it there," Mason sighed out, head dropping in defeat.

Damon swung the poker back towards Mason's face, the freshly burnt melt sizzling as it neared his skin. Scarlett took another step forward when Mason grimaced but it did little to deter Damon. She wasn't even sure he'd actually noticed her move at all, his menacing blue eyes focused on his prey. "I know where it is you idiot," Damon snapped at Mason. "I want to know what it does and why you want it."

Mason's eyes lifted to Ronnie, glaring down at him with another poker in hand, tip pointing towards the ceiling as it leaned against his shoulder. "And you?" Mason asked. "What do you want?"

Ronnie just stared back, blue eyes emotionless as he aimed his own poker at Mason's chest. Slowly he edged forward with it, the scorching tip just touching Mason's chest. Mason let out a hiss of pain but refused to give in as Ronnie leaned in towards him, the poker remaining perfectly still. "Answer the question," was all he said, in a cool level voice. He pulled back, bring the poker with him so Mason could answer clearly without pain muffling his words.

"I'm getting it for Katherine," Mason sighed out. Once he started talking, Damon lowered his own poker from Mason's face.

"Why?" Damon asked.

"She's gonna use it to lift the curse."

"Of the moon?" Damon scoffed. "Why would a vampire help a werewolf break a curse that keeps them from turning whenever they want?"

"So I wouldn't have to turn anymore," Mason answered.

"Why?" Damon snapped, still not getting it.

"Because she loves me," Mason declared. Damon stared at him for a moment, before he then bursting out into cruel laughter.

"Now I get it. You're just stupid." His playful mocking laughter then left, going cold and serious once more. "Katherine doesn't love you. She's using you, you moron."

"Of course you'd say that," Mason spat out, blood landing by Damon's feet as Mason let his tired head drop, still struggling to breath normally with the wolfsbane in his mouth.

"Yeah. Guess you're right," Damon agreed as he nodded his head back and forth. He then discarded his poker back into the fire and looked to Ronnie. The two blue eyed vampires' eyes connected and they both knew what they had to do now. "Okay, I'm going to kill you now," Damon declared with one of his classic evil grins.

"No!" Scarlett shouted as she stepped in between Damon and Mason. "Damon, no," she said firmly only to be met by Damon's completely and utterly irritated glare. "You're done with him. You've gotten what you wanted out of him. There's no need to kill him." He just stared back, no hint of indecisiveness in his eyes. He was set on his path and he was going to see it through. Scarlett couldn't let him, the wolf was howling at her to stop him, to not let him hurt one of her kind. But how far could she go before Damon would refuse to let her turn back.

"He's no harm to you, he's not like me Damon, he can only turn on a full moon. I'll-I'll make sure he's out of town by then, I won't let him come near you or your family, I won't let him hurt any of you. Just, please, don't kill him," Scarlett begged.

Then Damon hit her with an impossible question. "Why do you care?"

It stumped her. It really did. She didn't know why she care. The wolf cared. She didn't. Her life would be easier without Mason in it. It would be like that night never happened and she and Jeremy could go on living their lives, him blissfully unaware of what happened between her and Mason. And yet she still couldn't let it go any further, not without standing up.

She ended up bypassing the question and going right back to begging. "Please, Damon." It was all she had left. That and a pleading look of her matching blue eyes that she just hoped would crack through his dark exterior. He sighed, briefly turning away, his hands on his hips and Scarlett thought he might just go for it. He might just let Mason live. Then suddenly she was falling, then stumbling over towards Ronnie. Damon had shoved her at vamp speed. She tried to find her footing but Ronnie had his arm around her neck before she could, his other arm going around her lower waist and pulling her away from Mason and Damon as she struggled.

He was smart in the way he held her though, limbs out of biting range. He wasn't risking it, even if she'd promised to never bite any of them. She thrashed around against him but he'd gotten too good a hold on her early on. Jeremy began to move, alarm and fight in his eyes. He made it to Mason's chair, fully intending on heading for Scarlett and Ronnie, when Damon shoved him. He landed on the hard wooden floor looking up at Damon in surprising astonishment. "Stay down, Gilbert," Damon warned as he turned his sights on Mason. Those cold blue eyes having made up their mind. "It'll be over in a sec anyway."

"Damon, no! Damon! Damon, just listen to me, please!" Scarlett shouted at him. She kept shouting even though she knew it was useless. She had to though, she couldn't help herself. She kept shouting at him, begging and pleading as the vampire raised his hand. Then it dove into Mason's chest and Scarlett found herself crying out in horror. Damon's hand came out a second later, Mason's heart in hand. The former werewolf's head rolled forward, all life leaving him as his body slumped, held in place by the chains that bound his corpse to the chair.

Once Damon dropped the heart, his hand covered in red, Scarlett stopped screaming. Jeremy was still on the floor, in shock of what he'd just witnessed, she couldn't see Ronnie. He released her a few seconds later though, and they all just stood around Mason's body.

Scarlett's water blue eyes just staring at Mason, as if waiting for him to suddenly pop up, alive once more. She'd witnessed death before, but this was different, felt different. It was like when her mother had died. Not as bad, but there was a similar sense of loss in there, like she'd lost a limb, as opposed to the heart she'd lost with her mother.

Her eyes slowly moved over to Damon. Eventually, he too turned from the dead werewolf, their blue eyes connecting in contrast. One set was calm and controlled with a hint of relieved fury. The other was consumed in sadness for some unknown reason.

"You didn't need to do that!" Scarlett snapped at him, as the fury shot back up to attention in Damon's eyes.

"We're on the same side, here, Scrappy!" Damon snapped back, finger raising until it was in line with the dead Mason. "He's the enemy. This is what we do to our enemies."

"He wasn't a threat! He was going to leave and you didn't need to kill him over this!" Scarlett shouted in mild hysteria.

"I'd say anyone who can kill me with a single bite is a threat," Damon snarled, advancing on Scarlett until he was towering over her, glaring down at the young wolf who glare up at him just as passionately.

"Does that mean I'm a threat?" Scarlett whispered, her voice was a mixture of fear and threat, warning and sadness over what might come out of this. Damon continued to glare, eyes unchanging, with the exception of a slight shake to them that stopped just as soon as it began.

"Go to your room," Damon finally said after a stretch of silence.

"You're not–"

"I said, Go to your room, Scarlett!" Damon shouted right into her face. She managed to stand her ground, but couldn't stop the tears that pricked her eyes. She head her gaze firmly against Damon's before pulling away. And that was when the tears started to come out. She didn't want him to see, didn't want him to think he was scary enough to make him cry. She wasn't crying for him, wasn't even crying for Mason. She was just crying.

She ran from the room almost at supernatural speed, running down the hallway, then up the stairs, along another corridor before then diving into her room slamming the door closed behind her. She was at her bed in two strides before she jumped the rest of the way, face landing on the bed as she cried out into the sheets. She stayed like that for a while, just crying on her bed, not sure why, but unable to stop. Inside the wolf was howling in sadness too. Flashes appeared in her head of her mother, the feeling came rushing back, all the times she'd been happy with her mother, until that night. The night she'd died.

The door opened, and Scarlett made an effort to silence her cries, though the tears kept coming. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and looked back as Jeremy sat down next to her on the bed. He didn't look hurt. Scarlett had only just realised what Damon might have done to him for interfering. _What was going on with her? Was she beginning to lose it?_

Jeremy didn't say anything. He just sat by her side, hand resting on top of hers. She sat up at one point and began crying into his shoulder. Then his chest. They moved, getting comfy on the bed. Him sat up with his legs stretched out while she lay beside him, curled up in his arms as she cried out whatever was wrong with her. Maybe once she got it all out, she'd finally understand why she was crying. As if life was ever that simple.

After a while she grew quiet, just feeling Jeremy's chest move up and down beside her as he breathed. That was all she needed for now. She just needed him, beside her and near her. He was her rock through all this, and as odd as it sounded, she needed his help to get through Mason's death. "Stay with me tonight." Her voice came out timid and frightened. She didn't care, Jeremy would never judge her for it, never bring it up in the future and throw it in her face. He loved her, squeaky sad voice included.

"Of course," he said. And for the rest of the day they lay there, holding one another.

* * *

Sarah was all but ready to cancel on Jenna for tonight's dinner. Stefan was still recovering, Damon had killed Mason, and Scarlett was in her room crying. Her entire family was in another of its chaotic fits, and she was going out to dinner. Now she did like Jenna, she was a cool person and a good friend to her, but her family always came first. Tonight though, Elena wasn't taking that as an option.

Tonight was apparently a win according to her because they had the moonstone. Sarah had to agree that was a good thing, but the state of her family was not something to celebrate. Damon disagreed with her, naturally, as long as he was getting his way he was happy. Stefan was also dismissive of her when she said she was still worried about him. He assured her he'd healed up nicely, which he had, and wouldn't be taking any more blood tonight. He claimed not to feel the urge, but promised to call both her and Elena if he felt it coming on. That left Scarlett, but apparently Jeremy had that covered and had already sorted it out with Jenna. Sarah asked what was wrong, to which Jeremy explained that Mason's death had triggered some memories of Scarlett's mother's death, but insisted that she was better now. Before leaving though, Sarah made Jeremy swear that he'd call her if things got any worse. He did before returning to Scarlett's room.

With that all dealt with, Elena then drove herself and Sarah back to her house, where Alaric and Jenna were already preparing dinner. Although, they'd apparently been taking a few pauses, as they were in the middle of a heated makeout session by the island when Sarah walked in. "You sure you want me here for dinner?" Sarah asked, making her presence known as Jenna and Alaric quickly parted.

"Sarah! Hey," Jenna said in a highly embarrassed tone with Alaric smiling the same awkward smile as her.

"Hi, Sarah," Alaric greeted.

"You two are so cute when you're embarrassed," Sarah said as she picked up a chopped piece of fruit and plopped it into her mouth with a fiendish grin at the couple.

"Shut up," Jenna snapped playfully, leaning over the island counter and giving her friend a push on the shoulder. "And since you're here ruining our fun, you can set the table up.

"You invited me here, all I'm saying," Sarah said with raised hands before she grabbed the plates on the counter and dished them out around the dinner table while Jenna and Alaric continued with cooking.

"Where's Elena at?" Jenna asked as Sarah placed the last plate down.

"Up stairs," Sarah said over her shoulder. She'd gone straight up from the moment they got in, wanting to change out of her damp cloths and wash up before seeing Jenna. No need to make her suspicious or worse, worried. Jenna didn't question Elena's long absence though, kept busy with food preparations while Alaric and Sarah pitched in and helped set the table. By the time Elena finally joined them, Sarah had finished setting the table and Alaric was bringing the finished parts of the meal over to the table.

"Hey, Sarah was saying there was a few complications today?" Alaric asked Elena as she joined them by the kitchen table.

"That's a bit of an understatement, but we got through it," Elena said with a tired sigh.

"We'll catch you up tomorrow," Sarah promised.

Elena's eyes then moved over to Jenna, who had stopped the food preparations to answer the phone and seemed to be deeply involved in the conversation. "Who's she talking to?" Elena asked.

"I don't know," Alaric said with a shrug. When Elena's eyes moved over to Sarah, the girl sighed and brushed her hair back, ready to eavesdrop. But by the time she focused, Jenna had started talking again anyway and they could all hear her.

"Of course, I understand," Jenna said before holding out the phone and making her way over to Elena. "Elena, it's for you and Sarah," she said, her gaze blank. Elena took the phone with a 'thank you' smile, but Jenna just turned and went back to cooking the meal. Odd, but Sarah was more focused on the phone call that was for her and Elena. Only a few people knew they were both here after all.

"Hello?" Elena said with a frown.

"Hello, Elena. Hello, Sarah," came the same voice in response, only more smug and satisfied. Sarah recognised that voice anywhere, and so did Elena, their eyes meeting in wide panic. Elena made her way around to Sarah, their eyes bouncing between each other and Alaric who frowned at them, wanting to know what was going on.

"Katherine," Elena said into phone, keeping her voice low so that Jenna wouldn't overhear.

"Did you enjoy your little rendezvous with Stefan this morning, Elena?" Again Sarah and Elena's eyes meet, alarm growing. How could Katherine know that, Sarah only knew it because Stefan and Damon could never leave the house without her knowing, at least now that she was on high alert anyway. But she hadn't told Katherine and no one else knew. Damon had his suspicions, but he was hardly going to tell Katherine of all people.

Katherine chuckled from down the phone. "I will always know, Elena. And I will always be one step ahead of you, Sarah. When are you going to figure that out? Do you know how easy it was to get inside your house? To replace Aunt Jenna's vervain perfume, to convince her to stop drinking her special tea?" Sarah and Elena's eyes shot over to Jenna who was still preparing the food as if nothing was going on. Alaric looked at them, wanting to know what was going on but they ended up looking back to each other before he could ask. Katherine had gotten to Jenna, that's why she'd been acting so strange a few seconds ago. She'd been compelled to obey her commands, and when she said to give the phone to Elena, Jenna had gone into a trace state like all compelled humans.

"Jenna's been my little spy for days now. And so much more obedient than you or Caroline, Sarah." Sarah clenched her teeth, blood beginning to boil. Even more so when Katherine let out another fiendish laugh. "She even listens to me, unlike you two. So when I suggested that the world would be a much better place if she were to just…" Katherine trailed off. The words clicked too late in Sarah's head. By the time she'd realised and both she and Elena had turned to look at Jenna, she already had the knife raised, her eyes blank and obedient.

"Jenna, no!" Elena cried out. Alaric wheeled, Sarah ran, but Jenna stabbed herself before she could get there. Once again Katherine was to fast for her, and now her friend and Elena's aunt was suffering for that. With the knife firmly placed in her chest, Jenna began to fall, but Sarah caught her on the way down and carefully lowered her as Alaric and Elena rushed over.

Elena and Alaric were shouting at Jenna, but she was dazed, confused, in shock and fresh out of a compulsion. Her head was on Sarah's lap, Alaric knelt in front of Jenna with Elena on the other side of him. But through the shouts and Jenna's staggered breathing, Sarah heard Katherine loud and clearly. "Well, you get the idea. Bye, bye, Sarah." She ended the call with the sound of a kiss, making Sarah's skin crawl. It was a few seconds later before Elena's panicked shouts brought her back to reality.

"What'd we do? What'd we do?" Her hands reaching for the knife but pulling away in case removing it was the wrong idea. They were all in a shock and panicking, but that wasn't going to help Jenna. Normally the smart thing would be to leave the knife in and call the hospital. But this was Jenna and Sarah was going to be damned if she'd let anything happen to her. She was innocent and didn't deserve this like the rest of them.

Without thinking, Sarah held up her wrist, keeping Jenna's head in place with her other hand, and ripped at her skin. The second she felt the blood begin to ooze out, she placed her wrist to Jenna's mouth, forcing her to drink. It was always a risk feeding a human vampire blood, even to heal them. If they died then that was it, they'd turn. But Sarah had to take that risk, she wasn't going to let Jenna become another of Katherine's victims. Once she'd had enough, Sarah looked to Elena and firmly ordered her to, "Pull the knife out."

Elena hesitated, fear taking over with aunt's life in the balance. But reason ended up breaking through. Sarah had been around a long time and knew what she was doing. And Elena trusted her. So she pulled the knife out, watching in horror as blood continued to pulse outwards, until a second later when the wound began to close beneath Jenna's stained dress. Once it had, and the blood flow stopped, they all sighed in relief.

It took a few minutes for the blood to fully heal Jenna but Sarah knew once it had and finally relaxed enough to let Jenna sit up when she wanted too. There were a few awkward questions about what had happened. Sarah took care of those. Katherine wasn't the only one that could compel Jenna, even if Sarah did feel a little bad for doing it. She compelled her to forget the whole evening and made her remember it as a good night with lots of laughs and good times. Once that was done she sent her up to bed and made her sleep. Once that was done Elena sprayed Jenna's entire face and bed in vervain and from now on would be watching her aunt like a hawk to make sure she was taking vervain regularly.

Once that was taken care of, Alaric said he would go, but Elena asked him to stay, at least until she got back. He said he'd stay the night and they'd make up something in the morning. Elena was thankfully for that. She then took Sarah home but on the way Sarah realised it wasn't just about taking her home. Elena was going to the Salvatore house to do something else. Something that was going to break her heart by the look in her eye.

"I'm sorry, Elena," Sarah said quietly. Briefly, Elena took her eyes of the road as she looked to Sarah.

"Sorry?" Elena said with a frown.

"I'm sorry I let Jenna get hurt," Sarah elaborated, voice drenched in failure.

"No, Sarah. That-That wasn't your fault," Elena said sympathetically.

"I wasn't fast enough. I should have known Jenna was compelled and done something about it… She never should have been brought into this," Sarah said solemnly as she looked out the passenger side window.

"I know," Elena sighed as they continued driving in silence.

"Just…" Sarah began as she turned back to Elena, the brunette's eyes moving between Sarah and the road ahead. "Just be gentle with him." Elena knew what she was meaning and put on a brave smile, nodding as a few tears left her eyes. That was one promise Sarah wasn't sure she'd be able to hold Elena to.

When they got to Sarah's home, she waited down in the living room as Elena broke her brother's heart. It was hard to listen too, knowing she had Ronnie and Stefan and Elena where losing each other. How long until Katherine made her and Ronnie do the same, until she ripped out Damon's heart just for kicks and to make Sarah and Stefan suffer. Where did Katherine's game end? With their deaths? When they swore their undying love to her? Where, and more importantly, when?

Damon and Ronnie joined her soon enough in the living room, as Elena and Stefan broke down into tears. They tired to be strong, but they just couldn't handle it. They parted with a saddened kiss and Sarah felt her own eyes prick as Ronnie took her hand in his. Despite the win of getting the moonstone, this was a loss. The day had been a complete loss.

Elena practically ran out the study, leaving Stefan to his tears. Sarah wanted to go to him, but she could already hear him telling her he wanted to be alone. She didn't feel like she could lift his spirits anyway. She was in the same depressed mood as him after what had gone down.

When Elena ran past the living room, heading for the front door in tears, Damon called to her, standing up as Sarah and Ronnie remained on the couch. She turned, door in her hand and already half opened. Her mascara was stained, eyes a bubbling mess and lower lip shaking in utter defeat. She looked at them all and they all felt her pain. Ronnie looked away, but squeezed Sarah's hand as she held Elena's gaze with nothing but apology in her eyes. It wasn't enough though, it never could be.

"It was me," Damon said as he stepped towards Elena. "I riled Katherine up. I-I wasn't thinking. I didn't think," Damon tried to explain but like with Sarah, it wasn't enough.

"It doesn't matter, Damon," Elena sobbed out. "She won. Katherine won." And with that she left. Leaving words that burnt into Sarah's mind.

 _Katherine won._

Still staring at the door past her brother, her eyes moved onto him when he turned to her, nothing but apology in those blue eyes of his. "Sarah…I didn't mean-"

"I know," Sarah cut in. He never did. He hadn't known Katherine was going to try and murder Jenna as retaliation for him murdering Mason. None of them had known. And that was the scary thing. That's why Elena had to give in, had to break Stefan's heart and by an extension the entire Salvatore family. The truth was they weren't willing to risk their loved ones, none of them were. That was Katherine's advantage, it always had been. She didn't love anyone. She just had her play things.

As Sarah stood up, blinking back her own tears, she said again, "I know Damon." She offered him what was meant to be a brave smile, but when she didn't see the desired effect on his eyes she stormed out the room, not wanting to see him like this. Filled with nothing but guilt and just waiting for it to eat him up. Stefan was in a worse state, having just lost Elena for real, consumed by his broken heart. It was a miracle they didn't all just switch off their emotions right then and there. But there was still one emotion very much alive in Sarah, one other than depression and sadness. Rage.

She found herself in the home gym, leather jacket cast over one of the chairs in the corner. Her hair was tied back in a sleek ponytail that dropped down past her shoulder blades. She got right up to the first punching bag that stood in front of her, and then let lose. Punch after punch, kick after kick, grunt after grunt, shout after shout. At some point she noticed Ronnie's presence by the door. He didn't say anything, just let her try to work through it because she wanted too.

When the punching bag wasn't enough. Sarah began speeding around the room, going from one punching bag to another at vamp speed. She'd hit each with a single punch or kick before going onto the next, running through them all over and over but never getting any close to the closure she needed. Tears flew from her eyes, grunts of effort turned to further cries of rage until she ended up back at the same punching bag she'd started at. Only she was behind it now. She worked her way around it, sending a series of kicks and punches in a fury of limbs until she ended up with her back to Ronnie once more. Her breathing was heavy now, the rage exhausting her, but not itself. The work out wasn't having the desired effect. Ronnie saw that too and tried for a different approach.

"You want to talk about this?" he said softly, leaving it entirely open to her. He just wanted to offer his help, like he always did. Her heart was aching for him now, frightened by the possibility of losing him like Stefan had just lost Elena. Only Katherine would do far worse to him, she'd already prove she would after her hit on his life. How long until she tried that again.

"Sure, let's talk," Sarah breathed out before punching the bag again. "Let's talk about how I can't defend the people I care about from the one person I hate most in this world." A punch to the bag. "Let's talk about how Katherine has been running circles around me and my family this entire time and we've barely scraped a win against her." A punch to the bag. "Let's talk about how I am completely powerless against her, and she still has just as much control over me, since the day she first compelled me." A punch to the bag.

"She doesn't have control over you," Ronnie said firmly. "You're strong and you've got something she'll never have."

"Yeah," Sarah chuckled hollowly. "But for how long." Another punch to the bag, stronger now, angrier.

"You can't let her get to you like this. If you do then she wins," Ronnie explained softly, trying to make her see sense and get her mind off her negative emotions.

"Oh, she's won for the last time," Sarah declared as she hit the bag with another vampire powered punch. "I'm done letting her win." Another vampire powered punch. "I'm done letting her hurt the people I care about." Another vampire powered punch. "I'm done letting her hurt, Caroline, Elena, Jenna, you, Scarlett, Damon, Stefan." With each name she threw another punch, each stronger than the last. Then she paused, letting out a few laboured breaths before her eyes darkened, the green fields becoming clouded. "I'm done letting her hurt me."

"What are you going to do about it then?" Ronnie asked, his voice strangely worried, cautious and concerned. At the question, Sarah threw one final punch fuelled with all her strength and rage. The punch connected and the punch bag snapped right off the chain holding it up. The bag sailed through the air, flipping over itself before it hit the wall and landed on the floor with a thud, cracking open as it did. A nice metaphor for what Sarah was finally going to do to Katherine.

"I'm gonna kill her."


	14. Masquerade

_Review responses:_

Only reviewer: _Yep, Sarah has had it! And I wouldn't say Scarlett is pissed, so much as confused and sad. Hopefully the action will make her feel a bit better._

Charmedbycharmed: _I'm glad you enjoyed it, the purpose was to show how angry Sarah is now. She's not completely paralysed with fear like she once was, now she's fuelled by her hatred. And I wouldn't call it minuscule, it was a big deal especially seeing as Sarah was actually asking for Elena's permission. I doubt she would have done that with anyone else. That said, it's still going to be a while, so I'll try and provide more moments like that for you to enjoy ;)_

Swan-Redb: _I'm glad you enjoyed it. Jenna is important to Sarah so she took what happened to her very seriously._

PPLforeveremison: _So many reviews! I'm eternally grateful! :) There's a lot to Ronnie we still don't know about, but I'll be expanding on that in the next few chapters and further along as well. The last chapter was a very a confusing one for Scarlett I think, but it won't make it any easier when she has to tell Jeremy the truth. I'm glad you enjoyed all the little moments between certain characters! And yes, Elena and Sarah are getting closer, but still just friends, although that friendship will get a lot more serious and face some hard tests soon. And I will say so of your scenarios are very interesting...one or two might even be right...but I won't say which! ;)_

 _As for your other reviews, I'll address some of the points you brought up. Back in chapter 5, I'm so glad you enjoyed Sarah solution to Bonnie, I thought that was very her and the bit in the car with Damon, Elena and Scarlett was a lot of fun to write too. I don't know if Sarah sees Scarlett as a sister, or vice versa, but there's definetly a strong connection there, more so than friendship I feel. Sarah feels responsible for her, there's no denying that, and Scarlett does feel she owes Sarah for everything she's done for her. That's about the only reason why I think Scarlett wouldn't bite Damon...but never say never. And I'd agree there's a mentorship going on between Caroline and Sarah, much like with Stefan or Lexi. Thank you, I'm glad you think I got Katherine right in that scene, and yes, Ronnie is important to Sarah, so much so that she did run out on Caroline at the mention of his name. And Scarlett is indeed feeling extremely guilty. You also have a point about Katherine knowing, since Mason might have told her about his time with Scarlett... I absolutely loved writing the ending for chapter 8 so I'm glad you took so much from that, all of which is extremely accurate! Mason is also a good looking guy, so I'd say physical attraction isn't out of the question, but I think Scarlett can't stand him because of what he represents to her. Her_ betrayal _to Jeremy. But at the same time she can't say no to him when he tries to push her towards Tyler, which ironically might not be the best thing for him. :( As for Sarah's interactions with Mason, she isn't looking for a fight, but she'll do whatever she has to defend her family, and to her, Scarlett is family. She's just annoyed Damon and Stefan don't see it that way, thus why she's been stubborn with them both, Lol. No, Jeremy/Bonnie aren't going to be a thing in this story, at least not for a while if I do decide to do them. And I think Sarah and Bonnie have started to reconcile, but with Bonnie being Bonnie, it will probably be an on off friendship._

 _Thank you for the continued support and I hope you're enjoying Mexico!_

Leilia-fanfic: _I'm glad you're enjoying it and thank you for leaving a review. My current upload schedule is two chapters for two weeks then a break for two weeks. Hopefully this will change soon now that I'm wrapped up with college for the year!_

 _WHOA! That was a lot of reviews to cover, but I'm super grateful so thank you to all who have reviewed! If you have any more questions or comments to make, please go right ahead! Anyway, now it's time for the Masquerade...! And I can almost guarantee you'll be annoyed at where I end this chapter...sorry. But next weeks chapter is shaping up to be a long one, so hopefully that will make up for the abrupt ending to this one. Anyway, enough form me, go ahead and enjoy, and I'll see you all next week!_

 _And thanks for all the favourites and follows to both this story and the previous one also, they're just as much appreciated as the reviews!_

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Masquerade**

* * *

It was around lunch time when Sarah opened her front door to find Caroline on the verge of sobbing right in front of her. She asked what was wrong but Caroline couldn't say anything, on account of her extreme hyperventilation. Eventually Sarah brought her inside, arm wrapping around her friend's shoulders as she led her through to the study. There she sat Caroline down, fixing her a drink to calm her nerves.

When Caroline denied it, Sarah rolled her eyes before downing the bourbon, leaving a thin layer left for Caroline. She sheepishly smiled at that then took the alcohol. Her face screwed up, the taste stronger than she remembered, like everything else since she'd become a vampire. She finally spoke after that, asking for some blood instead. Sarah asked if she'd be alright on her own while she got the blood to which Caroline nervously nodded.

Not wanting to leave the girl alone for too long, Sarah vamp speeded out the room and came back with a bag of blood. Caroline swallowed half the bag whole before she finally paused for breath. She was in control now, her breathing heavy, but more rhythmic. Sarah had been about to ask her what happened when Damon walked in, frowning at the sight.

"What's going on with her?" Damon asked with a nod to Caroline.

"That's what I was just about to ask?" Sarah said with a pointed look to Damon before her gaze softened and returned to Caroline. "Caroline?" Sarah said gently, watching as the girl clutched the blood bag in hand. Shaking all over, she began to tell them what had happened. It was all frantic and came out far too fast, even for Caroline, but Sarah and Damon got the gist of it. By the time she was finished, the blood bag was empty and she was shaking even more than before. Sarah didn't blame her after hearing what she'd gone through. She might possibly have been the same.

Sarah offered to get her another drink but Damon stepped in, offering her a glass of blood he'd poured during Caroline's story. She took it with another nervous smile, holding the glass in both hands for fear of dropping it. "Look at me, I'm still shaking," Caroline chuckled sadly before she lifted the glass to her lips.

"What happened?" The three vampires looked over to the door as Stefan walked in, frowning as he joined Sarah and Damon who were stood around Caroline.

"Caroline had a meeting with Katherine this morning," Sarah answered as her brother shot to attention, eyes going to Caroline.

"Where?" Stefan asked quickly.

"At the Grill. I just stopped by to…gawk and…quasi-stalk Matt," Caroline explained shamefully, before she broke out into a ramble describing the entire scene and all its teen drama in far too much detail. Once she got through her own feelings at the time, she moved onto what she thought Matt was thinking when Damon cut in.

"Skip the teen drama and get to it."

Caroline continued, shifting gears so smoothly it was like she hadn't even noticed Damon spoke. There were certain benefits, Sarah supposed, to being Caroline. One being that once she got talking the rest of the world sort of just vanished until she reached her conclusion. "Then I had to pretend to use the bathroom even though I didn't really have to go because I'm a doofus," Caroline continued. "That's when Katherine came up to me. She was pretending to be Elena. I tried to play along but when I made a run for it she cut me off."

"How'd you know it wasn't Elena?" Stefan asked, curiously, wondering if Caroline was somehow able to spot the difference between the two.

"I just knew she was at home," Caroline explained sheepishly, almost apologising for not being able to tell her best friend apart from her evil doppelgänger.

"Tell him the next bit Caroline," Sarah asked gently.

Caroline nodded before looking back to Stefan, the only one who hadn't heard the full story. "She told me to give you all a message."

"What was the message?" Stefan asked.

"She wants the moonstone," Caroline said, fear in her eyes. "Or else she'll rip the town apart and…something about raining blood–I don't know," Caroline blurted out before her fingers went to her forehead, eyes screwing up in fear that she'd gotten it wrong or mucked it up. Sarah knew what she was thinking, or rather worrying about, that Katherine would somehow find out she hadn't delivered the full message and would make her suffer for it.

"Tell him the rest of it," Damon said.

"She wants to meet tonight…at the masquerade ball," Caroline explained before drinking the rest of the blood she had in hand. With her part done and the message delivered to all three Salvatores, the siblings turned to one another. Stefan spoke first, gears turning as they began to think about what Katherine had said through Caroline.

"She wants to do it in public," Stefan said as he waved a thinking finger. "Killing Mason threw her off guard."

"She's running scared," Damon said more cockily. "What she did to Jenna was desperate. She's out of tricks."

"This is Katherine we're talking about, she might be desperate but she's always got a trick up her sleeve," Sarah pointed out with a serious look to Damon, who dramatically rolled his eyes in turn.

"Can't we just give her the moonstone so she'll leave?" Caroline asked desperately.

"No, Katherine's not getting dick," Damon said before Sarah could say the same thing. "I've had it. I'm gonna go to the masquerade ball and I'm gonna kill her, tonight."

"You're not gonna kill her," Stefan replied.

"Don't start with us Stefan," Sarah growled as she and Damon glared at their goody two-shoes brother.

"He's not gonna kill her," Stefan repeated with a thin smile on his lips. "Because I am."

"Yeah, right," Damon scoffed.

"And you think you have a better chance than me?" Stefan asked in turn, challenge seeping into his voice. Now when it came to her brothers competing against one another, Sarah was all for it. Often found it enjoyable if she wasn't dragged into it at the same time. But this wasn't one of their stupid games. This was serious. This was Katherine.

"Boys, boys," Sarah said gently, one hand going to Damon's shoulder while the other landed on Stefan's. "It doesn't matter who kills Katherine." They both looked at her, confused as to why she wasn't arguing for the right to kill the woman she hated more than anyone. "All that matters is that she's dead by the end of the night," Sarah said with a smile, which her brothers quickly began to share.

After that they set to work, making calls and gathering what they needed. Scarlett and Ronnie joined them and once they were caught up both were happy to help. They set up in the living room, filling a table with a variety of weapons they had on hand while leaving room for the arsenal that Alaric was bringing over. It didn't take him long to arrive, and Jeremy quickly followed. He'd phoned wanting to know what was happening and Scarlett had told him, to which he insisted he be involved. Not wanting to risk him telling Elena, who they were keeping out of the loop, they let him come over but were clear on what his roll would be. Bag boy.

When the doorbell rang after that, they knew it would be the last person they'd called. Caroline answered it, greeting Bonnie as she stepped in.

"I got Stefan's message," Bonnie said as she walked in, following Caroline as she led her into the living room.

"Hey," Stefan said as he stepped over to Bonnie who stopped, while Caroline continued on to join the others by the table full of weapons. "You brought the grimoire, thank you," Stefan said to Bonnie as he put his hands together gratefully.

"What's joining on?" Bonnie asked as she glanced over at the group around the weapons table. Most of the weapons involved wooden stakes but some looked like they were normal guns and Bonnie was sure she even saw a grenade in there somewhere. Around the table stood, Alaric, who was showing Damon one of the guns, while Sarah and Ronnie stood on the opposite side, watching closely also. Caroline stood off to the side, hovering but not fully committed to the lecture Alaric was giving.

"We're gonna kill Katherine," Jeremy answered for Stefan as he passed in between the witch and vampire, Scarlett following behind as they both carried various small boxes filled with more deadly weapons they could use on Katherine. Bonnie's eyes followed them as they too joined the group at the weapons table, before her eyes went back to Stefan.

"I can explain," Stefan said slowly.

"Please," Bonnie replied, waiting for his explanation.

"We're gonna kill Katherine," Stefan then repeated, since it pretty much covered it. Bonnie stared back at him before he then lead her over to the weapons table.

"Now this works with compressed air. The trigger mechanism is up here. I have two of these in a different size," Alaric explained, holding up a stake gun while the vampires watched, noting everything Alaric highlighted, before he placed it carefully back down on the table.

He then picked up another gadget with two stakes attached to it. "For you, I recommend this," Alaric suggested as he strapped the device to his arm. "It fits nicely under the jacket sleeve. You use the trigger when you're ready," Alaric said before then activating the gadget which launched one of the stakes forward and into his hand. He then demonstrated how to use said stake as he thrusted it into the air a couple of times.

The vampires all shared a look before looking back to Alaric who shrugged in response. "You wanted me to show you how to kill a vampire." The vampires all nodded in agreement at that, though they were glad he was helping them and not Katherine instead.

Alaric went through a few more tutorials about the weapons before Stefan then noticed Bonnie withdrawing from the room. Grabbing Sarah's attention, he motioned for her to follow him while Alaric got the others, particularly Jeremy and Scarlett, to go over what he'd told them about each weapon and how they worked.

"Everything alright Bonnie?" Stefan asked as he and Sarah joined her in the hallway.

"I'm just not sure about all this," Bonnie said nervously, glancing over at the others as Jeremy held a weapon and explained it back to Alaric who was watching carefully, hand on chin as he nodded along. She then looked back to the two Salvatores, speaking to Stefan as she said, "I know you love Elena, and you want to be with her, but it's risky. Too many people could get hurt."

"Look, I want Elena back," Stefan admitted. "Yes, but it's more than that."

"When Katherine went after Jenna it crossed a line," Sarah explained firmly, arms folded as she stared back into Bonnie's eyes. Her point coming across perfectly as Bonnie stared back. "And if for nothing else, she has to be stopped for that reason. It just proves what she'll do if she doesn't get her way."

"I don't know guys," Bonnie said unsurely.

Stefan placed his hands together, trying to think of how best to convince Bonnie before he started to recite the plan again. "Katherine knows me, right? She knows that I'm not gonna try something in a crowd full of innocent people. I wouldn't risk their lives and I wouldn't let Sarah or Damon do it either. But that gives all of us the advantage. We can catch her by surprise."

Bonnie bit down on her lower lip, torn by her decision to stay out of it and her need to protect the innocent. She glanced back over into the room, watching as the group began to pack away the weapons they were taking into a gym bag. Sarah believed Bonnie would make the right decision, she had seen the damage Katherine had caused and had to know this was for the greater good, even if it meant helping other vampires. "I could do a spell to trap her, like the tomb spell," Bonnie suggest.

"Right. We can isolate her, away from the others," Stefan said eagerly.

"You trap her in a room with us, and we'll do the rest," Sarah said determinedly, to which Bonnie nodded in reluctant agreement. "Great, then looks like we're almost ready." The three returned to the living room and Damon showed the filled bag to his siblings who approved of the contents before they all gathered around the coffee table. The Salvatores stood at one end, facing the hallway with Ronnie at Sarah's side. On their left was Bonnie and Caroline, and on their right was Scarlett, Jeremy and Alaric.

"Are you sure you guys don't want me there tonight?" asked Alaric, his arms folded, though hardly angry about being benched. He was all for getting Katherine, especially after what she'd done to Jenna, but given the choice between killing Katherine and being with Jenna, he was going to pick Jenna every time. He trusted them all to handle it and Sarah and the others wouldn't let him, or Jenna, down.

"No, I need you to stay with Elena. I don't want her to know about this," Stefan explained, stood at the head of the coffee table with Damon and Sarah on either side.

"Okay, well, I'll make sure she doesn't leave my sight," Alaric promised, to which Stefan nodded thankfully.

"Alright, if anybody wants to back out, I'll understand," Stefan said, addressing the rest of the room.

"Yeah. Cold feet speak now. I don't want this going wrong if someone chicken's out," Damon declared before honing in on Caroline. "Caroline," he then added pointedly.

"I won't," Caroline said determinedly, matching Damon's gaze with her own. "Look, she killed me. Fair's fair. As long as there's no werewolves trying to sink their teeth into me." Caroline then rolled her head in the direction of Scarlett, giving the werewolf a pointed look.

"Hey, the only one I'm sinking my teeth into tonight is Katherine," Scarlett replied as her eyes flashed, the wolf inside eager for the fight ahead.

"And since it's not a full moon we won't have to worry about Tyler or any other werewolves either," Jeremy pointed out.

"Bonnie?" Stefan asked, noticing the uncertainty returning to the witch's eyes. "Are you with us?"

Bonnie glanced around the group, seeing how determined they all were to stop Katherine once and for all. She was a key part to their plan, the only witch they could trust and relay on. If she pulled out they might never kill Katherine, and this was their best opportunity. Slowly, she stepped in line with Caroline, declaring to the room firmly, "But no one gets hurt."

"Except Katherine," Damon pointed out with a smirk.

"Tonight that bitch finally gets what's coming to her," Sarah said with a smirk of her own which she shared with Ronnie. Alaric left after that and the others returned home to grab their cloths for tonight. The Salvatores, Scarlett and Ronnie remained behind, waiting until nightfall before they got dressed up for the party. Once they were all ready, they grabbed the bag of weapons and made their way to the party, meeting up with the others as soon as they arrived.

Sarah was certain then that they would succeed tonight. She could see the determination in all of them then and there, not just in herself or in her brothers. They were all prepared to do whatever it took to get ride of this evil that had infected all their lives. She handed the bag over to Scarlett who then took off into the Lockwood mansion with Jeremy and Bonnie. They would set up while the others searched for Katherine. They split up, heading in different directions and in different groups, making sure to find Katherine before she found them.

* * *

With each step Scarlett took, she swore her dress was going to rip apart. It was short, but not short enough, hugging her knees and pulling them back to one another as if she were in chains. If she focused hard enough, she would probably be able to hear the lace fabrics snapping one by one as she walked through the Lockwood house. If it wasn't for Sarah, she wouldn't be in the stupid thing. As a matter of fact she would have torn it apart the second Sarah gave it to her. The dress wasn't ugly by any means. It was a nice simple thing, completely black, a solid dress covering her chest and reaching down to her knees with a laced floral pattern over the top that reached down past her knees and completely covered her otherwise bare arms, shoulders and upper chest. But Scarlett had never been a dress girl. Give her jeans and a t-shirt any day.

However, she couldn't deny how good Jeremy was looking, in his sharp suit and mask. Okay, maybe the mask was a bit stupid, but it blended in with everyone else and it was a last minute buy, but he did look good in a suit.

Shaking the thoughts on how Jeremy looked, and more importantly what she wanted to do with him, away, Scarlett proceeded to follow him as he led the way through the house. Once arriving, Bonnie had explained she needed an isolated room to seal Katherine in, one that no one would enter and end up getting killed in. Jeremy, having been in the house most recently, suggested a room and the Salvatores were fine with it. Bonnie still wanted to check the room out first though, which was fine since Scarlett and Jeremy needed to plant the weapons first anyway.

Stopping at the base of the staircase, Jeremy made sure it was clear before motioning Scarlett up. She passed him, weapons bag in hand and with Bonnie right behind her. Jeremy followed up, watching out in case anyone from the small groups around the stairs noticed. They didn't, even thought Carol Lockwood had made it clear on arrival that no one was to go up stairs. She'd bee to busy socialising anyway to notice, and Tyler was off getting drunk with Matt and some girls when she last spotted him.

Once up stairs Jeremy took the lead again, taking them towards the central room which seemed like a smaller secondary living room. Probably used for Carol Lockwood's book club or whatever, but thankfully for them the room didn't seem to be in use at the moment. It was nicely decorated like the rest of the house, but cut of from the festivities downstairs. Perfectly isolated.

"I thought this room could work," Jeremy explained as he opened the glass doors to the small living room, leading the way inside.

"It's perfect," Bonnie said as she sat down on the couch, opening up her spell book as Scarlett placed the bag down next to her. Opening it up, she grabbed a handful of weapons and passed them over to Jeremy. She took some for herself and then the couple set to work, hiding weapons in cupboards, drawers, under tables, behind the couch and even behind a set of curtains.

As they worked, Jeremy asked Bonnie, "Is that the spell book I read about in my family's old journal?"

"It's my ancestor, Emily's. The spell I'm doing here is similar to the one that sealed the vampires into the tomb," Bonnie explained as she flicked through the grimoire, searching for the right spell.

"Will it trap me inside too?" Scarlett asked, looking over as she closed a cupboard door after hiding a weapon inside.

Bonnie shook her head. "No, it just works on vampires," she explained.

"Can you do everything in that book?" Jeremy asked with a curious glance over his shoulder as he stashed the empty bag away in another room.

"It takes practice," Bonnie answered. "And I've only worked on a few small spells. Spells that only do good." As she spoke she turned a few more pages before stopping having found the spell. "Alright, I've got it, now just give me a few minutes and watch the doors," Bonnie said before she closed her eyes and quietly began to chant to herself.

Scarlett watched the witch for a moment, frowning as she tried to make sense of what Bonnie was saying but to no success. It wasn't long before she gave up trying to understand what Bonnie was doing and made her way over to the open double glass doors. Moving to her side, Jeremy stood next to her, fingers sliding in between her own as he took her hand. She smiled over to him but almost laughed when she saw his mask once more.

"That mask is just the most stupidest thing ever," Scarlett sniggered, failing to hold back the mocking amusement in her voice.

"Well, yours isn't exactly any better," Jeremy shot back with a grin.

"I know how stupid this looks," Scarlett said, pointing to the similar black mask she had on her own face, much like Jeremy.

"Yeah," Jeremy teased. "But you're still cute."

"Cute?" Scarlett questioned with a mock offence look as she stepped away from Jeremy, grin forming no matter how much she tried to conceal it.

"Alright, hot?" Jeremy guessed, grinning at the joke.

"The feminist in me doesn't like that much either," Scarlett retorted, folding her arms.

"Okay, how about, beautiful?" Jeremy settled on finally, stepping towards Scarlett as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Oh, I like that," Scarlett admitted as she let Jeremy take hold, leaning towards him as she clasped her hands behind Jeremy's neck. She smiled back at him, leaning in for another kiss as she pulled him down towards her. Their lips touched and Scarlett felt the rest of the world fade away for a moment. She loved kissing Jeremy, it made everything so much simpler, even everything with Mason. Each kiss put that memory further and further away. She just needed to be patient, and soon it'd be like it never happened. Like a bad dream from long ago.

The teens parted, continuing to smile at one another, until they felt eyes on them. Following their senses, they turned to find Bonnie up on her feet, grimoire in her hand and staring right at them. "Great job on keeping watch," Bonnie said with a grin as she eyed the two.

"Sorry," they both apologised, Jeremy's checks even reddening a little.

"Count yourselves lucky no one came in. Otherwise that could have been really embarrassing for you two." Still grinning, Bonnie made her way out with Scarlett and Jeremy following. Once they were out the living room, Jeremy pulled the glass doors shut, leaving the room as it was before they entered, only now it was ready for Katherine and the others. "We need to let the others know the room's ready," Bonnie pointed out as she and Scarlett headed for the stairs with Jeremy bringing up the rear, looking back to make sure no one had noticed them.

They made their way down, rejoining the party like they'd never been absent when suddenly Bonnie came to a stop in the middle of the room. A tingle, a feeling, passing through her. She stood still looking around as if trying to see what had triggered the feeling, the feeling of someone she knew standing nearby. "Did you feel that?" Bonnie asked the young couple that stood ahead of her, staring back in confusion.

"Feel what?" Scarlett asked in turn, answering Bonnie's question at the same time.

"Are you cold?" Jeremy asked, offering a suggestion to what she might be feeling. It made sense, it was still winter and the Lockwood's had the doors to their home wide open so that the guests could easily flow in and out of the house. Of course, that then allowed the cold air to swoop in and the hot air to drift out, but no one seemed to be complaining yet. _Too high class for it_ , Scarlett guessed. The only reason she herself wasn't complain was because of her werewolf abilities. Much like vampire's, mildly high and low temperatures didn't effect her all that much, in fact it was almost unnoticeable.

Bonnie didn't answer. Instead she did a full one-eighty, making her way past the stairs and into another room of the house. Sharing a baffled look, with Jeremy, Scarlett followed, nose on high alert as they watched Bonnie approach a woman who was facing away from them. Once she was close enough, Bonnie made her presence clear to the woman as she tapped her on the shoulder. Turning around, the woman revealed herself to be dark skinned, not that different in shade to Bonnie, gold mask covering her face and in a slim fitting black dress. Her light brunette hair straightened and flowing down her back and over her shoulders.

"Excuse me, do I know you?" Bonnie asked as she looked up at the taller woman. The older woman stared back, as if thinking the same thing Bonnie was before plastering on a smile.

"No, I'm a plus one, I know no one, but it's a great party though." It sounded almost rehearsed, either that or that the woman was just as thrown by Bonnie as she was by this mystery woman. Forcing her smile up one more time, the mystery woman stepped past Bonnie and walked straight past Scarlett and Jeremy. However, as she passed, Scarlett turned her head, gaze following the woman and deliberately sniffing her as she passed. It was all she needed to get the woman's scent, and she hadn't even noticed. Tracking her would be tricky in this environment, especially since it was a new scent she'd just picked up, but she'd be able to recognise her again if she picked up her unique smell.

Watching the woman vanish into the partying crowd, Scarlett turned back as Bonnie joined her and Jeremy. "Are you okay?" Jeremy asked Bonnie.

"I just got a weird vibe," Bonnie shrugged before proceeding to march off with Jeremy behind her and Scarlett taking a second before following, still committing the scent of the mystery woman to memory. Once done, Scarlet shoved the woman to the side of her mind, refocusing on why they'd come here, to kill Katherine. Now the room was ready, and all they needed was the Salvatores and Katherine.

* * *

Standing on the large back porch of the Lockwood house, Sarah scanned the crowds of people, all in masks. Some where dancing to the slow music, some where chatting away and others were happily nibbling at food or drinking, all without a care in the world. None of them having a clue as to what was going down right under their noses.

It was for the best, a scene was something Katherine could easily manipulate to her advantage. Best to keep it privet and finish her off quickly, like the plan was. However, if Sarah saw a window before then, she'd take it, and strike that bitch down once and for all.

"There's no sign of her," Ronnie said from beside her, dressed in a sharp suit much like the rest of the men on their little team, wearing a plain purple mask that dulled his blue eyes. If she'd had the chance, Sarah would have found him something more fun, something that brought out his blue eyes. But this was serious, and she couldn't waste time on something so trivial. They'd have time to do fun little things like that after tonight, once Katherine was finally vanquished from their lives.

"Well keep looking then," Sarah replied, her voice coming off a little harsher than she intended. Realising this, Sarah looked over, looking through her mask at Ronnie who was carefully looking back at her. "Sorry," she apologised, before going back to scanning the crowd. She could still feel his eyes on her though, concerned. She'd preferred how he'd looked at her when they first arrived, eyeing her up in her long black, shoulder less, ballroom dress. So long it concealed her black heels beneath. As for her mask, it was a tiny thing, with a spiderweb pattern that covered her eyes and nothing more. Her hair ran down her back and shoulders, a straight river of raven hair that cascaded over her. She had thought she looked good, but Ronnie had confirmed it for her with one look.

That longing look was gone now, just concern in its place. When Sarah continued to ignore his linger eyes, she found his fingers wrapping around her arm, grabbing enough of her attention to force her to turn back to face him. "Hey," he said calmly, blue eyes sparkling in the light that reflected off them. Enough to make a girl's heart melt. Even if the mask dulled that shine Sarah loved it so. "One way or the other, we'll end this tonight. And then we can go away for bit, just me and you before coming back to your brothers." Sarah smiled at that idea, allowing herself a moment of happiness, despite knowing that Katherine was lurking nearby.

"That sounds nice," Sarah said dreamily, hand reaching up to Ronnie's check. Holding her hand against his face, she leaned up, planting a kiss to his lips as his arm slid around her waste. God, it was so tempting to get lost in this, in their passion, to forget about Katherine and just have fun with him. But that then meant that Katherine could end that happiness whenever she wanted. Sarah had to do this, had to end this so she could finally be happy and stop looking over her shoulder, knowing no matter what she'd never be happy, so long as Katherine lived.

Pulling back, Sarah continued to smile until she spotted a disturbing sight over Ronnie's shoulder. At this sight her smile dropped clean of her face, which turned to a snarl as Ronnie followed her line of sight. Bellow the porch, underneath one of the sent up tents, Katherine was dancing away with Stefan, grinning over at them both.

"I'll kill her," Sarah snarled, going to run at her when Ronnie caught her arm, holding her back.

"That's what she wants you to do. Get emotional so you charge at her without thinking. You do that and she'll wipe the floor with you," Ronnie pointed out, hand tight around her arm. He didn't have the strength to stop her if she challenged him, but his logic won out and she backed down. Standing her ground as she glared back at Katherine, with Ronnie's hand still on her arm. He was right though, completely, last time she'd gone at Katherine like this had been when she first came back to Mystic Falls. That had ended up with her trapped in a cave, and Katherine playing all sorts of mind games with her, an experience she did not wish to repeat.

"Just stick to the plan," Ronnie said lowly, voice barely audible in case Katherine was listening in on them while she danced with Stefan, which she more than likely was.

"Alright," Sarah said simply as she turned towards Ronnie, keeping Katherine out of sight while focusing her hearing on what she and Stefan were saying.

"I think your sister's jealous that I'm dancing with you," Katherine chuckled as she and Stefan swayed to the music, slowly turning in a circle. She knew exactly what she was doing, knowing that with a few simple words she could push Sarah over the edge, like she'd just done. Her fingers dug into her palms, and had Ronnie not been with her, whispering calming words to her, she might have ran over there and started the fight right now.

"Leave her alone," Stefan said lowly, brow lowering in a glare behind his mask. It only made Katherine smirk all the more, seeing she was getting to not one, but two of the Salvatores. And her favourite two at that.

"Alright. Tell me, how's Jenna?"

Sarah turned, vampire features coming out as she began to hiss in Katherine's direction, only for Ronnie to grab her and pull her into his chest. Her animal like sound vanishing into his chest as he held her tightly. She struggled for a moment before finding herself relaxing in his scent, letting him hold her and whisper sweet nothings. She needed this, needed him. He anchored her, kept her in check when she couldn't do it herself. She wished Lexi was here to help but Ronnie was the next best thing. Not because of his power or strength, they were all stronger than him, but because he helped her emotionally and mentally. He was a good defence against Katherine's evil manipulative mind games.

"Katherine," Stefan warned in a growl at the implied threat.

"Yes, Stefan?" Katherine replied flirtatiously, teasing him as she always did.

"I don't want anyone to get hurt tonight," Stefan said, voice returning to a level and calm tone, doing his best to not let Katherine get to him.

"Okay. Then give me the moonstone and nobody will," Katherine explained as they continued to sway slowly.

"Well, you see, I don't have the moonstone on me. So, you and I will have to go and get it together," Stefan pointed out with the same level tone.

"Hmm," Katherine said in sarcastic thought. "I have a better plan. You go fetch it, and me and Sarah can share a slow dance until you get back." Thankfully for everyone, Ronnie still a hold of Sarah, hugging her as she bit down on her lip, blood bursting into her mouth from the force she was exerting. She couldn't stand Katherine making these careless jokes, how everything she'd done to her just seemed like a game and in fact was to Katherine. But she hadn't gotten to Ronnie yet, bar the failed attempt to kill him, and he was still with her, stroking her hair soothingly as he watched Stefan and Katherine, knowing full well his girlfriend was listening in.

Taking a stand, Stefan met Katherine's gaze, and firmly said, "I will not let you near my sister ever again."

Katherine chuckled at that, causing Sarah's blood to boil to the point that it was turning into gas inside her. She was practically exhaling blood of rage at this point. "Whatever you say, Stefan," Katherine replied as they began slow in their dance, both knowing it was almost at an end as Aimee approached them.

"Hey, Stefan, I can't find Matt," Aimee said as Stefan and Katherine parted, only then did the high school student notice Katherine, or rather who she looked like. "Oh my god, Elena. You look so pretty. I love that dress, you like gorge," Aimee gushed as Katherine smiled back, in her Elena like way. Enough to convince someone like Aimee that she was the really Elena and not her evil doppelgänger impersonating her.

"Thank you, I love your necklace," Katherine replied, keeping up the Elena act as she hung onto Stefan's arm.

"Oh, thanks," Aimee replied with the usual high school blush that followed any compliment.

"Oh, it's twisted," Katherine pointed out with a soft frown. "Here, let me," Katherine said as she moved from Stefan's side and stepped behind Aimee. She made a show of fixing Aimee's necklace, the silence prompting Sarah to look up from Ronnie's chest. They both looked up, watching closely along with Stefan as Katherine stood behind Aimee. Then her Elena facade vanished in a wicked smile and she snapped Aimee's spin. All three vampires who were watching suddenly dropped their jaws as they watched Katherine hold up the paralysed Aimee who was gasping in horrified shock.

"Paralysed from the waist down," Katherine explained to them all. Another jab to Aimee's back, another snap of bone, and the girl's head dropped as Katherine's smile grew in delight. "And dead." Sarah watched in horror from next to Ronnie as Katherine shoved the dead body towards Stefan who clumsily caught Aimee, holding her up as if she was still alive.

Sarah was lost for words. She knew Katherine was many things and had seen the lengths she'd go to a few nights ago with Jenna. But to kill Aimee, a nobody who just happened to be passing by, over nothing other than to prove a point. It was monstrous. And so was Katherine. Even now she smiled as if it was nothing, just an every day occurrence. When she then grew tired of Stefan's shocked look, she glanced over at Sarah and Ronnie, soaking up their surprise. "The moonstone, Sarah," Katherine said as she looked across the yard and into Sarah's eyes, since Stefan was busy with the dead body. "Tick tock," she teased before then turning on her heels and striding off into the party.

Not wanting to lose her, Sarah started to move only for Ronnie to tighten his hold on her again. Looking up to him, Sarah snarled, "Let me go."

He looked back down, eyes serious before he glanced over at Stefan pointedly. "Stefan needs our help." Looking over, Sarah saw what he meant. With Katherine having fled, Stefan was now stuck in the middle of what was effectively the dance floor, dead body in his arms. He did need help, but Ronnie could handle that, she had to stop Katherine before she killed again. She gotten close to Jenna and now she'd killed some from the high school. Next it would be someone she cared about, and she wouldn't allow that.

Ronnie didn't loosen up though, and he wouldn't until she agreed with him and let Katherine be. "Sarah. Sarah, listen to me," Ronnie said firmly until finally she looked back up into his cool blue eyes. "Don't play her game. Just keep to the plan." She knew in some part of her mind that he was right, but she couldn't stand letting Katherine get away with all this. She just had to kill her, and better sooner than later. "Sarah, Stefan needs our help. Now come on." With that Sarah nodded, conceding since she'd lost sight of Katherine and because her brother needed her now.

Letting his hold on her loosen, Ronnie led Sarah down towards the dance floor, pushing their way past the other dancers and making their way to Stefan. "Here, here, I've got her," Ronnie said as he took Aimee's body from Stefan, tension leaving him once he passed the body over. It wasn't ideal but she looked a lot more natural hugging Ronnie's body than Stefan's.

"Thanks," Stefan said sincerely, Ronnie nodding as he held Aimee's body against his own, as if they were slowly dancing and Aimee was just clinging to her boyfriend. If only that was the truth. With Sarah then leading the way out and Stefan behind Ronnie, they carefully and slowly made their way off the dance floor. Once at the edge, they headed for the tree line, Ronnie managing to put on a very convincing performance that Aimee was just crying into his shoulder, as if he was soothing her.

Once hidden by the trees of the forest, Ronnie dumped the body and turned to Sarah and Stefan, the former still shaking a little from what had just happened. "You alright there, Stefan?" Ronnie asked with a concerned look, eyes going to Sarah briefly.

"Ye-Yeah," Stefan got out before running his hand over his mouth, a single droplet of sweet making it's way down his temple. He was nervous, second guessing himself now, Sarah was going to have to work fast to keep him on the game now. They'd come to far, suffered to much to throw away such an opportunity. No, they were seeing this through, even if she had to temporarily take Stefan out of the equation. But hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

"We've got to go and update Damon and the others, let them know that Katherine's getting jumpy," Sarah explained to Ronnie. That what that had been back there, Katherine showing off her feathers, trying to scare them into backing down and giving her the moonstone. And while Sarah had been shocked to see Aimee die, she'd get over it, the girl was an acquaintance to her. But being back in Mystic Fall with her family, new friends and Ronnie, she was opening up more, caring more, like Stefan. Damon was the same even if he wouldn't admit it, and neither would Sarah. But like with Jenna, Katherine was making desperate moves, and Sarah saw right through them. They had her on the ropes for the first time ever, it was time to finish it.

"Can you handle this?" Sarah asked Ronnie. He nodded back, before picking up the body and slinging it over his shoulders.

"It'll take a while but I'll be back as soon as I can," Ronnie said.

"Thanks," Sarah said before leaning over and kissing him. Once they parted, Ronnie took off into the forest in a blur, going to burry the body while Sarah and Stefan returned to the Lockwood house. Stefan was still a bit shaken up but he kept it together as they made their way through the party and into the Lockwood house. They made straight for the stairs, Sarah texting Damon as they went. He must have vamp speeded upstairs though because he was in the upstairs room before they were.

"What's all this about?" Damon asked, gesturing to his phone as he slipped it into his pocket, frowning as his younger siblings entered the room.

"Katherine's killed a girl, right in front of us," Sarah explained as Stefan quickly began to pace back and forth. Damon remained stood, watching as Stefan continued to pass him over and over, while Sarah stood by the door, ready to block Stefan off if he decided to chicken out.

"So?" Damon scoffed, earning a glare from Stefan before he returned to his pacing.

"Ronnie's taking care of the body now, burying it somewhere on the Lockwood estate. He'll come and find us when he gets back," Sarah explained to Damon who nodded as he followed her words.

"This is exactly what I didn't want," Stefan suddenly spoke up, clearly unhinged by what Katherine had done.

"Stefan, its collateral damage," Damon said with a dismissive smile as Stefan walked past him, heading towards Sarah. Though he looked back to Damon as he said his next words, knowing he'd be the least mad out of his two siblings.

"Which is why we need to call it off," Stefan pointed out, still walking as he looked back to Damon. He turned back to face the front, heading for the doorway when Sarah stepped out in front of him, arms folded, immovable glare mixed in with a pout on her face. Stefan planted his hands on his hips, eyes going everywhere but Sarah's as he sighed. He knew what was coming next.

"We're not calling this off, Stefan," Sarah said sternly. "This is the woman that took everything from us, and will do it again if we don't stop her. Now if you want out, then leave, but me and Damon are ending this tonight, no questions asked." Her tone then softened, along with her gaze as Stefan finally looked to her with his matching green eyes. "But I'd rather have you with us."

"Come on brother," Damon said as he planted his hand on Stefan's shoulder, stepping up beside him. "We can do this, together." He looked to Sarah, determination in his eyes. "As a family." Sarah smiled, grateful for what he was saying and doing. This was it, what she wanted, their family working together to end the woman who broke it up in the first place. "I've got your back."

"And I've got Damon's back," Sarah added as Stefan looked back towards his sister, knowing what his job was. "So who's going to have my back?"

Stefan needed no more than two seconds to decide his answer to that question. "I do," Stefan said firmly. And just like that, they were back on schedule.

* * *

Standing on the back porch, Scarlett checked her phone for the fifth time that minute. It was taking too long. They'd told Sarah and the others they were ready almost three quarters of an hour ago. They should have been upstairs by now, beating the crap out of Katherine and killing her for everything she'd done. Instead, Scarlett was stood outside, tapping her foot as she unlocked her phone, shifting through her recent texts. Nothing new, no matter how many times she refreshed it.

She'd come out side to cool off, to help her stay calm as they waited for the signal, turns out, it wasn't helping. Letting out something suspiciously close to a growl, Scarlett forced her phone back into the discreet pocket off her dress. At least Sarah had had the foresight to give her a dress with pockets, a rare thing it might be, but Scarlett would rather die than carry a purse and she couldn't very well carry her phone about in her hand all night.

"Hey," Jeremy said, hand going to the small of her back as a comforting smile formed on his face. Scarlett did her best to smile back, but it fell short, her mind too focused on the plan and the delay that was growing by the second. "Take a breath," Jeremy said soothingly, his breath tickling her ear when he leaned over.

"But what's taking them so long?" Scarlett asked, fingers digging into her palms as she looked back to the Lockwood mansion, as if she'd see Sarah there, waving her over. She just couldn't stand all this waiting, it put her on edge, waiting for things to go wrong, which seemed more and more likely with each passing second.

"They're over a hundred years old, I'm sure they know what they're doing," Jeremy said comfortingly as he turned Scarlett back towards him, taking both her hands with his own as he smiled at her unsure blue eyes.

"Apparently you remember nothing I've told you," Scarlett teased with a grin as she looked back into Jeremy's soft brown eyes. "They may be old, but they're hardly evil geniuses." Jeremy chuckled at that, and Scarlett managed a smile before it softened, remembering why they were here. But it had been enough to give Jeremy an idea on how to distract her from the constant waiting.

"Do you want to dance?" Jeremy suggested, still holding onto Scarlett's hands, swaying them back and forth ever so slightly.

"No, Jeremy, no. I–I don't want to–" Scarlett began, unnaturally nervous, as her gaze averted from her boyfriend's.

"Come on, you'll love it," Jeremy said as he gently began to pull her hands, stepping towards the dance floor.

"Jeremy, now's not the time–" Scarlett moaned but yet again Jeremy cut her off, now more forcefully pulling her. She could have stopped him by little more than digging her heels into the ground, but she let him guide her, caught up in whatever whirlwind he was throwing at her now.

"One dance, please," Jeremy said, gentle but pleading smile at his lips. "We're gonna have our first dance at some point and it's either now or at our wedding," he joked. And Scarlett knew it was a joke. But it didn't stop the thoughts drifting into her head. Distracting thoughts that took her mind completely off of Katherine and put her body on autopilot. _Did he really think they could go the distance? Did he think about stuff like that often? Why was her mind stuck in the past, on what had happened with Mason when Jeremy's was so far in future? And why wasn't she more freaked out by what he was talking about?_ Maybe because she knew he was just joking…and maybe because the idea wasn't entirely crazy to her ears.

Either way, next thing she knew she was on the dance floor with Jeremy, too far in to make an easy escape. _Had he said that deliberately to distract her so he could get her on the dance floor?_ Maybe Jeremy was more crafty than she'd been giving him credit for.

When he saw the dazed and distant look in her eye fade his smile grew. Scarlett's eyes narrowed back playfully in return and he began to laugh a little. "Are you really that scared?" Jeremy asked as he held out his hands for Scarlett to take.

"Let's just say wolves aren't natural dancers," Scarlett said as she awkwardly took Jeremy's hands. Glad that it was down to him to lead and all she had to do was hang on and hope for the best.

"I don't know," Jeremy shrugged, grinning as the two began to sway along with the other couples to the slow melody that was playing. "I saw a pretty good youtube video that says otherwise." Scarlett laughed at that, finding herself lost in the simple and slow movements. Despite its simplicity though, Scarlett hit Jeremy with her knee several times by accident, and once on purpose when he was making her laugh too much.

After that she managed to get a hang off it and with Jeremy's lead they managed to avoid crashing into any of the other couples. She did try more than once to edge them away from the dance floor, but Jeremy tactfully moved them back in, chuckling when he saw Scarlett glare at him. It turned into a bit of a game between them. Both fighting for control in the most subtle ways possible, both bursting into laughing fits that no one else understood. It was nice. And just what Scarlett needed as a distraction. She could always count on Jeremy to distract her when she needed it, and help her focus when she needed that too. It seemed that Jeremy was always just what she needed. She could only hope she was the same for him, despite her betrayal.

The buzz from both their pockets, told Scarlett the dance was over. Keeping one arm around each other, they both grabbed their phones to find they had the same message from Damon. It simply read, 'Now,' which was all they needed to know. It was time to make their move.

Taking in a breath, Scarlett moved her hand into Jeremy's, holding it tightly as she lead him from the dance floor. Once they were clear of the dancers, she looked to him and he nodded. She then closed her eyes and inhaled, a mixture of scents, fragrances and aftershaves all filling her nose. She picked through them one by one within seconds, hardly even realising she was doing it, as the wolf searched for its prey. Finally it found the scent it was after, Katherine's.

Opening up her eyes, Scarlett followed the invisible trail that hung in the air. With her hand still holding Jeremy's, he was pulled along too, stumbling until he found his footing and remained close by Scarlett's side. It was less than a minute until they found Katherine, by the main back door, talking with the woman from before, the one Bonnie had pointed out to her. Scarlett's gaze narrowed, inhaling the mystery woman's scent once more, double checking that she definitely had it stored in her head for later.

"You okay?" Jeremy asked, giving Scarlett's hand a squeeze.

"I was about to ask you that," Scarlett said with a brave smile. "After all, you're the one whose about to go and talk to the girl who looks identical to his sister."

"Maybe, but she's not my sister," Jeremy said with certainty in his eyes. A certainty that filled Scarlett with confidence. "Let's do this," he said as they made their way towards Katherine. "Elena," Jeremy called out, catching both Katherine and the mystery woman's attention. She really was getting good at this impersonation thing, so good that she could even respond to Elena's name.

The couple came to a stop before Katherine and her friend, both looking pointedly at the mystery woman. Noticing this, Katherine gave her friend a pointed look of her own before nodding, motioning for her to leave. The woman plastered on a smile, muttered a goodbye, and then left. "What is it Jeremy?" Katherine asked in her best Elena impression. Or at least Scarlett assumed it was her best, because if it was half-assed then it was pretty damn good.

"We've got a message from Sarah," Jeremy answered calmly. It was pretty incredible how well he was doing, especially since Scarlett was practically crushing his hand in hers, scared to loosen up even a little.

"Oh?" Katherine asked intriguingly, eyeing them both up, lingering on Scarlett's necklace just long enough to make the werewolf reach up to make sure it was still there with her free hand. It was.

"She, Stefan and Damon want you to meet them at the edge of the lake by the woods," Scarlett continued, voice calm like Jeremy's, even under Katherine's gaze. It was only when her gaze moved over to Jeremy and he started talking, that her heat skipped a beat.

"And they brought the moonstone," Jeremy added.

"You know with messenger pigeons you're supposed to separate the love birds, right?" Katherine pointed out condescendingly, mirthful eyes moving between the couple. It didn't hit home though, since neither Scarlett nor Jeremy had any clue how carrier pigeons worked. It still held that classic Katherine sting though, like all her words did.

"I wouldn't know," Scarlett shot back, forcing a feisty grin onto her face. "I eat pigeons when I'm feeling peckish." She knew Jeremy was grinning along side her, could see it from the glare Katherine was sending them both. But the vampire tensed when Scarlett let her eyes flash, reminding her that she could kill her just as easily as she could kill her. One bite was all it took, and Scarlett was very tempted to take that bite.

Once her eyes faded though, Katherine relaxed again. She continued to glare at the couple for a moment before sighing, rolling her eyes at the pair before stepping back. Her eyes remained on Scarlett though, until she was a few paces away, then she turned and sauntered off towards the woods. It was for show, as both Scarlett and Jeremy knew, but that was part of the plan.

"Have you sent the text?" Scarlett asked Jeremy, eyes remaining on Katherine as she weaved through the crowd, making sure she wasn't trying to eavesdrop on them.

"I have now," Jeremy said, grinning as Scarlett turned to face him. She smiled back at him but it didn't hold up for long. Her face soon became serious and his much in the same. "Be careful," he said hands cupping Scarlett's face.

"I will," Scarlett replied before leaning over for a kiss. She didn't have time to make it one worth remembering but she did her best. But she had to get moving before Katherine got there first. Regretfully, Scarlett pulled back, sharing one last smile with Jeremy before she slipped out of his grasp and briskly made her way back into the house. In a few minutes it'd all be over.


	15. Who We Are Beneath Our Masks

_And now for the good stuff! Hopefully this chapter isn't too long for you guys, but things kinda just kept going and_ _well...you'll see. ;) Plenty of moments for you to all sink your teeth into so please let me know what your favourite bits were from this lengthy chapter. This also marks the end of the first Act of season 2, so starting with the next chapter I'll be changing the cover for this story to its Act two cover. I am going away however for a few weeks and won't have internet, so earliest I'll be uploading is the w/c the 8th of July. It'll be like my standard two week gap, but hopefully after that I'll be able to fire through chapters on a more regular basis. Anyway, enough blabbing form me, you're here to find out what happens next so go on and enjoy! I put a lot of work into this one and there's definitely some personal highlights here and I can't wait to hear what you all think!_

 _And thanks for all the favourites and follows since last time!_

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Who We Are Beneath Our Masks**

* * *

Scarlett arrived with just enough time to find a decent enough hiding place before Katherine soon followed up with Caroline. It had to be said the new vampire was putting on one hell of an act. Crying and babbling like a sobbing widow as her makeup ran down her face. Katherine, of course, didn't care, dragging her along by her wrist, rolling her eyes as Caroline continued to cry. Such an inconvenience for her.

"Which room is it?" Katherine demanded, shooting Caroline a silencing look. The blonde girl quietened down at her glare, now sniffling silently before she nodded towards the room Sarah and the others were set up in. Shoving Caroline aside, Katherine made her way into the room and took one glance around, a dissatisfied line forming along her forehead. "Where is she?" Katherine asked in reference to Bonnie, who she believed to have the moonstone. Another part of their plan. A plan that was now on Katherine's radar, as Caroline's crying turned to chuckling. Slowly Katherine turned around, glaring eyes finding a smiling Caroline, a sight she did not like.

"I did it," Caroline said, the realisation hitting her as she smiled a dream like smile, unable to believe what she'd just done. "I really didn't think that I'd be able to fool you but I did it!" Practically snarling, Katherine advanced, ready to rip Caroline's heart clean out when suddenly she was pushed back. She tried again, determined to tear that smile right off of Caroline's face but the invisible wall blocked her again. Then she realised, she couldn't leave the room.

Caroline smiled back, hands going to her hips as her head cocked to the side, triumphant smile growing. It was then Katherine realised she'd been set up, and she didn't need to be a genius to know who by. "Sarah, Stefan?" Katherine said, already knowing they were in the room with her as she turned around.

Both Salvatores had stepped form out of their hiding places, now stood behind the couch which separated them from Katherine. Both smiling smugly as Sarah twirled a stake back and forth between her fingers, Stefan stood at her side with his hands in his pockets. "Hello, Katherine," Stefan replied, while Sarah tilted her head like Caroline, smile growing.

"Goodbye, Katherine," Caroline said from behind, waving her fingers in goodbye when Katherine looked back. She rolled her eyes at the smug little blonde vampire, fully planning on getting her revenge once this was all over. She turned back around, stepping towards her two flames, hands on her hips as she sized them both up.

"You don't really think that either of you can kill me with that now, do you?" Katherine asked, lifting her chin at the two smug vampires she'd created over a hundred years ago.

Still twirling the stake, Sarah looked to Stefan who looked back at her, both faking intense thought. When they were done they both turned back to Katherine, mocking frowns on their faces. "No," Stefan answered for Katherine, who was oblivious to the door that crept open behind her. Damon slid out, stake gun raised directly at Katherine's back.

"But he can," Sarah said, grinning growing as she nodded behind Katherine. That was Damon's signal and he took the shot without even blinking. Katherine wasn't fast enough to react and the wooden stake stuck her, narrowly missing her heart, and imbedding itself in her back. She gasped in pain, more form the shock than the actual pain. Credit to her though, the ancient vampire remained on her feet, even if she was hunched over in a very unladylike like way. Much to Katherine's shame.

Sarah savoured the look of Katherine in distress, but only for a second before she advanced along with Stefan. They moved in a blur, each heading around the other side of the couch before coming up against Katherine. Stefan leapt into the air, fist raised as he swung towards Katherine. She counted and shoved him off into the wall, but left herself vulnerable, allowing Sarah to stab her with the stake. It might have only been in Katherine' left arm, but it was enough to do some damage.

Then it was Sarah's turn to receive some of Katherine's brute force as she turned back around and slammed her arm into Sarah sending her flying across the room. Taking the chance to remove the stake from her arm, Katherine did so, right before Damon yanked the stake from her back. She grunted in pain, swiftly spinning as Damon tried to stab her. This time she was quicker, grabbing his stake wielding time before stabbing her own stake into Damon's side.

Damon clenched her jaw, desperately trying to hold back a scream of pain. Shooting him a smug grin, Katherine then twisted his stake wielding arm, forcing him to drop it. But before it could reach the floor, Katherine snatched it out of the air and went to stab Damon through the heart. Then her arm froze in midair. Her head snapped to the side, finding a mutated claw like hand holding her arm. And at the end of that furry hand, was Scarlett, now half wolf, half girl, an animal like smile on her face as her glowing eyes connected with Katherine's.

"Have you met the new girl?" Damon croaked out, grinning despite the pain he was feeling from the stake in his side.

Scarlett leapt towards Katherine, mouth widening for one good bite as she unleashed a growl. Katherine went down under the werewolves weight but not for long, quickly turning the tables and pinning Scarlett down beneath her. During that time though, Damon pulled the stake from his side, throwing it over to Stefan while he healed. His brother caught it and then ran in, tackling Katherine off of Scarlett before ramming the stake into her leg.

Another bit back grunt of pain from the eldest vampire before she threw Stefan off and sent him flying into Damon, both collapsing in the corner as Katherine climbed back up. She went to pull the stake from her leg but then Sarah was in front of her, stake gun in hand. She fired it but Katherine was ready this time, catching the stake before doing the same with Sarah's next shot. Before Sarah could fire another, Katherine threw one stake back, catching Sarah in the shoulder, and then stabbed the other one into Scarlett when she came at her for another attack. She'd gotten the werewolf good, but it wasn't enough to kill her, the wood stake piercing her lower chest. It was enough to shock Scarlett's body though and leave her breathless as Katherine shoved her to the ground.

She'd live, and heal up quickly once she got the stake out of her and while Katherine knew that, she didn't have time to kill the wolf. But she did have to slower her down were she could. Her problem now was that both Salvatore brothers were back on their feet and Sarah had removed the stake Katherine had hit her with.

Stefan and Damon both flecked their wrists and stakes slide out from beneath their jackets, now appearing in their hands. Katherine glowered back at the three siblings, each armed with a stake, and her with nothing. Sarah moved first, chasing Katherine as the vampire darted across the room. Stefan cut her off though, swing his stake towards her arm once more. Katherine avoided it and managed to do the same with Sarah, kicking her back as she did. But there was nothing she could do against Damon who tackled her to the ground, stake going into Katherine's arm and through the floor.

He held it in place, keeping his weight on it and her left side while Stefan threw himself down on Katherine's right arm, slamming his leg down on Katherine's to keep her from moving. Now Sarah had her chance. Her brothers had Katherine pinned, and her chest was a clear target. Tightening her grip on the stake, she lunched herself into the air, bring the stake down towards Katherine's heart as she was about to land, only to then find herself on the floor across the room.

She heard the grunts of Stefan and Damon, as Katherine freed herself, throwing them off to separate corners off the room. Sarah looked up, ready to resume the fight when she froze, unable to believe who had stopped her from killing Katherine.

It was Ronnie. Stood in the middle of the room, looking longingly down at Sarah, sorrow in his eyes. Sarah stared back up from the floor, her brothers having recovered now, seeing the same thing as her. Their gazes only lingered on Ronnie though, going back to her, their sister who could only stare up at her boyfriend. "No," she whispered, desperate for him to give her an explanation, anything. Just anything other than what she feared. "Please…no…" Ronnie's gaze lowered, sadness growing as he avoided Sarah's gaze. Tears were coming out now, Sarah's heart breaking in two as she realised everything around her was real. It didn't matter what they had said just a few days ago, didn't matter that they both loved each other, despite how many times they'd parted or broken up. He'd betrayed her, done the one thing she'd never expected him to do. And it wasn't just some nightmare, or Katherine's cruel mind games. This was real. And if she needed any further proof of that, she just had to look at the bitch herself, and see that victorious smug grin of hers.

Even now she was stilling winning, still a step ahead.

"You!" Sarah roared, vampire speed kicking into over drive as she ran for Katherine, only to be cut off by Ronnie who grabbed her shoulders, holding her back at arms length. He was trying to talk to her, trying to calm her down but she was too far beyond that now. If it was possible to have a bloodlust for another vampire, Sarah was experiencing it now. Ronnie, a part of her life she thought untouched by Katherine, had in fact been infected just like everything else, and Sarah was so angry. So hurt. So heartbroken. The only thing keeping her from completely breaking apart right now was the bloodlust, the need to kill, the desire to end the woman who had taken everything from her and was still doing it after one-hundred and fifty years.

She tried to throw Ronnie aside but despite her superior strength, he had too good a hold on her and she wasn't thinking clearly. Couldn't think clearly. Especially with Katherine laughing away, enjoying the revelation that she'd known about this whole time. _How long?_ That's all Sarah wanted to know. _How long?_

It was Stefan in the end that cleared Sarah's path, grabbing Ronnie and dragging him aside with him, holding him down as Sarah lunged towards Katherine, Damon running to back her up. Neither had stakes though, so it was a blur of fists and fury as Sarah unleashed all her emotions into complete wild attacks, all of which Katherine countered. As for Damon, he kept his distance, going in when he saw an opening but otherwise staying out of his sister's way.

As for Ronnie, he struggled for a bit before slamming his elbows back into Stefan, freeing himself. He rushed up to his feet, heading to break up the Katherine, Sarah, Damon fight when Scarlett slid in, claw catching his leg and bringing him down. With a growl, she then took his leg and swung him back over towards Stefan who swung his fist right into Ronnie's jaw as he passed. A bone cracking noise echoed through the room as Ronnie's body twisted in the air before falling flat on the ground. He was back up in a blur, but both Stefan and Scarlett stood firmly in his path, blocking him from ending the fight going on behind them.

Sarah had lost all control by this point, randomly lashing out with none of the techniques she'd picked up over the years. It didn't matter, none of it, all that mattered was killing Katherine by any means necessary. She was going to rip out her heart, just like Katherine had done to her so many times now.

She swung and Katherine ducked, grabbing Sarah's arm before her free hand slammed into Sarah's back forcing her into the wall. The devil's chuckle filled her ears and Sarah's eyes widened with rage. No more. She was down letting Katherine win. She was going to win this time, and she was going to kill her!

Kicking off the wall, Katherine lost her grip as she and Sarah toppled to the floor. Damon called out to Sarah and threw her a stake just as she looked up. She caught it and in a blur was on top of Katherine, stake above her head, clean shot at her heart.

There was no time for witting last lines, Sarah didn't feel like saying them anyway. All she wanted was the kill, the satisfaction of ending Katherine Pierce's life. And she was about to have it.

"Stop!" Jeremy shouted as he appeared in the door way. Not that Sarah would know, she didn't look away from Katherine's calm brown eyes, which stared back into her very soul. "You're hurting Elena! Everything you're doing to her is hurting Elena!" Jeremy shouted at them.

All eyes went to Sarah, but she was already lost in her own little world, with just her and Katherine. She'd heard the message, but did it really change anything. Katherine had to die, so what if Elena died. She'd known anyone of them could have died tonight going in. She hadn't wanted anyone of them to die but as long as they got Katherine she didn't care. None of them had. And this hadn't been for Elena anyway. It had been because they had to get rid of Katherine, the devil in human flesh. So why hadn't she killed her already?

She had the chance, a chance she'd never had before, maybe her only chance to kill the woman who'd taken everything from her. Her family, her friends…her love. Everything. So why now, why when she finally had her chance, was she trembling so much. Hands posed above her head, both clutching the stake, tears still streaming down her face as she faced the choice ahead. Kill Katherine and Elena, or save them both.

She let out a sad little groan of effort, tears still coming as she stared down into those calm, knowing, smug eyes. And to make it worse, Katherine smiled. Not a large one, just a simple turn of the corner of her lips. But it was enough. Enough to send Sarah over the edge as she cried out, before throwing the stake aside.

Sarah screamed then, screamed right into Katherine's face, unleashing everything she had into that one vocal attack, hoping that somehow that would be enough to kill Katherine and she'd be free of any guilt over Elena's death. Katherine didn't even flinch. She just smiled back, satisfied that she'd won yet again. Like she always did.

"Are you done?" Katherine asked, light playful tone the last thing Sarah needed to hear right now. She lifted her fist, ready to strike Katherine across the face. "Uh, uh, uh," Katherine sang out, eyes dancing with a sinister kind of glee. "Remember. Hit me and your only hurting Elena. And we both know that poor girl hasn't got my naturally healing skin."

Another groan of restraint as Sarah dropped her fist.

"How?" Damon demanded, eyes glaring at Katherine, needing to know how they'd come so close only to lose like this.

"You're not the only ones with a witch on your side," Katherine pointed out, eyes never leaving Sarah's, as the youngest Salvatore remained on top of her.

"Jeremy, go and check on Elena. Make sure she's okay." Stefan ordered Jeremy, but he remained stationary, eyes going to Scarlett as she shifted back into her human form. Scarlett knew he was waiting for her say, not wanting to leave until he knew she was okay. It was sweet, but not the most helpful thing.

Especially since it distracted everyone, giving Katherine a chance for further mischief. In one smooth movement, she had her hands around Sarah's head, pulling her down to her lips, noisily kissing her as Sarah struggled to pull away. Stefan raced over, grabbing Sarah and hauling her away from Katherine. But that then freed her, and before anyone could stop her she was over by Scarlett. She snatched the necklace from her neck, throwing it aside before shoving the defenceless wolf against the wall. Baring her fangs, Katherine went in for the kill as Jeremy cried out Scarlett's name.

She didn't get the chance to taste Scarlett's blood though, as Damon grabbed her by the throat, shoving her over towards Ronnie. He caught her, holding her up as Damon stood between them both and Scarlett. Furious blue eyes locking with Katherine's. "Stay away from her," he snarled. Katherine smirked back, happy at the response she was getting.

Seeing that she wasn't about to make another move, he turned his back to her, bending down and retrieving Scarlett's necklace. "This is yours, right?" Damon asked rhetorically as he handed the necklace back over to Scarlett. She looked down at the slim black crystal in her hand before looking up to the blue eyed vampire, appreciation in her own blue eyes. He smiled a little back, before going serious again. "Go with Jeremy. You're not a vampire so you can leave, and since we can't kill Katherine you're not much good to us in here. You're just someone else she can use against us." Despite his rough tone and word choice, Scarlett knew he was sending her out for her own protection. Just like she knew Sarah would be saying the same thing, if she wasn't so shocked, heartbroken and all around mess.

So she nodded in thanks then stepped out, Jeremy's arm going around her waist as he lead her away. "Aren't those two just the sweetest?" Katherine asked mockingly, eyes going back to her and Ronnie who stood behind her. "Definitely a contender for the cutest couple since you two just broke up," Katherine said, finger swaying between Sarah and Ronnie. Her smirk grew at Sarah's hurt expression, despite how she tried to hide it, and as her brothers set their glares on her. "What? Too soon?"

"Sarah," Ronnie said, stepping past Katherine and towards Sarah. He didn't get far though, with his sentence or with his approach. In a blur of movements, Stefan and Damon were in front of him, blocking his path as they both glared back at him. Probably would have killed him then and there had Sarah not been in the room. But the second she gave the go ahead he would be dead, especially after what he'd just done to their little sister. They might not be the best of brothers, especially towards Sarah, but they wouldn't let any boyfriend do to her what Ronnie had just done. He'd committed the ultimate betrayal towards Sarah, he'd sided with Katherine, and while both Damon and Stefan had done that, they'd never let any of Sarah's boyfriends do it too. Not when they knew the damage it would cause, or rather, had caused.

Ronnie looked to them both and knew not to chance his luck. He did try to look past them but Sarah avoided his gaze and eventually he stepped back before Stefan or Damon's glared burnt him alive.

"So," Katherine said aloud, eyes going to her as she sat herself down on the couch. A smile on her lips as she watched Sarah sobbing silently on her left while Stefan and Damon glared at her on the right. "How about that moonstone?"

* * *

Clutching her necklace in her hand, Scarlett didn't have time to put it back on properly. She could feel its power flowing through her now, merely by holding it, but she couldn't stop to secure it to her person. Not with Elena on the brink of death. At least that was how Jeremy had described it before they raced down the stairs back towards where Elena and Bonnie were at. With her dress now ripped it was a lot easier for Scarlett to run, and more importantly keep up with Jeremy who would have left her behind had he not being dragging her along by the hand. She could feel his panic, his fear. If he lost his sister then that would be his entire immediate family gone. Scarlett had gone through that, but she'd never had a sibling, and although Jeremy and Elena weren't exactly on the best of terms right now, they both still loved each other and would never want the other to be harmed.

As they shoved their way through the crowds of people, some started to muttered rude remarks, mostly the posh raised nose types. They quickly shut up though and turned away when Scarlett snapped back at them, a growl seeping into her voice. Others stared in distort when they heard her use such language, but none challenged her and all turned away when she glared their way.

It did help though, and soon she and Jeremy were through the crowds and back outside. Still holding her hand, Jeremy led her around the side of the house to a small set of garden chairs and a table, where Elena and Bonnie were sitting. Elena barely holding in her cries of pain, blood seeping through various parts of her clothing. All spots where Katherine had been hit. It was then Scarlett realised what Jeremy had said. Literally everything they did to Katherine, happened to Elena too. Which means if they'd killed Katherine, they'd have killed Elena too.

As they got closer, Jeremy lowered himself, kneeling down before his sister, next to Bonnie who was tightly holding Elena's hands, chanting something beneath her breath. Whatever it was it seemed to be helping Elena, but the cuts on her body didn't seem to be healing at any supernatural speed. It made Scarlett wonder if this link was beneficial to Elena in any way. Though if Katherine was behind it, she'd probably gone out of her way to make sure Elena suffered just that little bit more.

"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked his sister hurriedly, needing an up date since he'd been away. Scarlett didn't get to close, standing behind Jeremy as he comforted Elena and Bonnie did her best to help. There wasn't much she could do other than be there for Jeremy and Elena. She had no magical healing blood or spells. It was a situation she wasn't fond off, especially when she could be up stairs killing Katherine. She just hated feeling so useless.

"Are they?" Elena replied, looking up to the second floor windows of the Lockwood house.

"They're stuck in there with her," Jeremy explained.

"And Ronnie turned out to be working for Katherine," Scarlett added grimly.

"What?" Elena gaped, cringing from the sting of pain that suddenly splashed through out her body. "But–But wasn't he… How's Sarah?" Scarlett didn't have an answer for that, because she didn't really know, hadn't had time to check how her mentor, guardian, was feeling about everything. Not with Damon and Jeremy rushing her out of there the second they realised the situation. Her facial expression must have been enough though, as Elena's eyes filled with sorrow and sadness upon seeing it.

"You were right," Jeremy said, looking to Bonnie as he broke the silence. "Katherine had a witch link Elena to her."

"The girl I saw," Bonnie stated in realisation, looking to both Jeremy and Scarlett.

"You mean the one you saw after we set up the room?" Scarlett asked as Bonnie stood up, letting go of Elena as Jeremy took his sister's hands.

"Yes, that one. Can you help me find her?" Bonnie asked quickly.

"I've got her scent, I can lead you right to her," Scarlett explained before she took off back towards the crowds and the doors into the Lockwood house with Bonnie racing after her.

"Where are you going?!" Jeremy called after them, still holding Elena's hands as they watched the witch and wolf run off.

"There's another witch here, we're gonna find her!" Bonnie called back before she and Scarlett vanished around the corner and back into the house.

Once inside, Scarlett lifted her chin, inhaling the air. It took a moment, and it wasn't helpful when Bonnie stared telling her to hurry up, but she found the scent, and the direction it was going in. "This way," Scarlett said breaking into a jog as she and Bonnie made their way through the house, Scarlett sniffing as they entered a new room, double checking they were on the right trail. She couldn't have gotten far, and once they de-linked Elena from Katherine, then they could get back on track. Scarlett just hoped it wasn't too late. For Elena or for Sarah. One thing she knew for sure though, things would change after tonight.

* * *

"The four of us together again," Katherine said from her spot on the couch, eyes scanning over the three Salvatores as she spoke. Stefan was closest to her, stood off to her left, hands in his pants as he eyed her carefully. Sarah was further back, half turned, shielding herself with her body language from Katherine, but continued to glare at her all the same, though refused to meet the vampire's eyes. As for Damon he was stood by the door, hand pressed against the invisible wall as he tried to force his way out. "Plus one more," Katherine then added, rolling her head to the right, smiling up at Ronnie who was stood next to her. He didn't look at her, his eyes never having left Sarah since the fighting stop. Just wanting her to look at him, give him the chance to explain but she was avoiding his now haunting blue eyes like the plague.

"A bit cramped I suppose but we can always change that," Katherine said as she turned her gaze back towards Sarah. "Want me to kill him for you, Sarah?" she asked, seriousness in her tone. Sarah locked eyes with the woman who'd just caused her heart to break for the umpteenth time, seriously considering her offer. Part of her did want Ronnie dead for what he'd done here. Another part still loved him. And another part was trying to kill itself because she was possibly agreeing with Katherine. Silence was her best option, so silence is what she gave Katherine, plus a heated glare.

"If anyone's going to die tonight, it's you Katherine," Damon spoke up, turning around with his usual charming grin. Always ready to be used no matter the situation.

"Something tells me your sister might disagree with you on that," Katherine hummed, her eyes moving over to Ronnie before she began chuckling to herself, clearly pleased with what she'd done.

"Stop it, now," Stefan said in a level voice.

"I'm not doing anything," Katherine said with a shrug, hiding her smile for just a moment before it returned.

"Sarah," Ronnie spoke up again. Instantly Sarah averted her gaze from Katherine, not wanting to risk seeing Ronnie's face right now. She couldn't. Even thinking about it was too much, too heartbreaking. The tears were coming back and she had to stop them, couldn't let Katherine see her cry, see that she was winning. "Sarah, please, just listen to–"

"I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you," Damon growled. Charming smile vanishing the second Ronnie spoke. Their blue eyes connected, and Damon raised the stake in his hand towards Ronnie's chest. They were a good few meters apart, but Ronnie still hesitated, knowing full well who'd win in this fight. He was younger, not stupid, and knew how it would go unless someone intervened.

"You see her life," Damon began, stake moving over to Katherine. "Is momentarily valuable." Katherine smiled back at him, taking it as a compliment. Damon ignored her, moving the stake back over to Ronnie, rage blazing through his blue eyes. "Your life however just got demoted to below the pizza guy I've been planning to kill for the last two months because he always brings me cold pizza, and I've really been wanting to kill him. So that puts you in the special, high priority kill list, were I burn you alive for what you've done to my sister," Damon growled, grip tightening on the stake so much it threatened to snap in his hand.

"You really think I'm scared of you, Damon?" Ronnie asked unfazed by his threats.

"I don't really care if your scared or not, point is, stop trying to talk to my sister!" Damon shouted, taking a threatening step towards him, stake still raised.

"I just want to talk to her," Ronnie replied, meeting Damon's gaze.

"Well she doesn't want to talk to you," Stefan cut in, Ronnie's gaze switching to the calmer of the two brothers. Or at least he thought until he saw Stefan's eyes. Filled with the same rage full fire as Damon, only managing to stay in control of his body and actions, unlike Damon. Though very much just as angry and probably in agreement with his brother on the idea of killing him for what he'd just done.

"Forget it, Ronnie," Katherine spoke up, breaking the unbearable silence in the room as the two brothers faced off against Ronnie. "You're wasting your time. She doesn't want to talk to you." Sarah's gaze began to drift back, now that Ronnie was silenced once more, and therefore less likely to try and get her attention. Something she didn't want to give him, even more so than Katherine. "Besides, it's not like your even her type." That brought Sarah's gaze fully to her, making the eldest vampire smile as she sucked in her audience. Unable to look away as she drew them in with her words. "We all know who she really loves."

"Stop it," Stefan warned as he and Damon's glares moved onto her now.

"I'm just speaking the truth," Katherine said, lifting her hands up gracefully into the air.

"She doesn't love you," Damon snapped. "None of us do."

Katherine smiled at them all, tilting her head as she lowered her hands once more. They were all just play things to her, they all knew that. "Maybe you don't love me, Damon. Which, by the way, I'm hardly broken up about." Damon moved, about to snap back, but Katherine turned her gaze from him, moving on like he'd just lift the room. "But Sarah and Stefan," she began, locking her eyes with the two sets of matching green. "I can see it in their eyes. They both still love me."

She waited for the repose but neither reacted. The thought of their humanities have been turned off drifted through, but she knew it was impossible, at least for Sarah. And as for Stefan, while it would make things more interesting, it just wasn't something he'd do. She did however see and hear Sarah's fingers dig into her palms, so much so that blood began to seep out, filling the air before the cuts began to heal over. Like they always did. Stefan however, just met her gaze head on, cool as a cucumber.

"It's just through one ear and out the other with you, isn't it lady," Damon groaned, rolling his eyes before they landed back on Katherine. "Nobody loves you!"

Katherine looked back at him, matching his gaze as her eyes narrowed, irritated that he wasn't playing the game the way she wanted. "Does Elena enjoy having you all worship at her alter?" Katherine asked, her gaze passing over them all before it honed in on Sarah. "You know she's just as bad as me, right? If not worse."

"You're wrong," Sarah replied simply, her voice oddly calm, certain.

Katherine almost sneered in response, but managed to keep herself in check, taking in a short breath before recomposing herself. "Really? Cause from where I'm sitting I can see history repeating all over again. First it's the two brothers, then you'll fall in love with her."

Stefan chuckled, looking to Damon who grinned back before they both turned back to Katherine, seeing right through her. "You do realise how pathetic you look right now, Katherine? We can all see through you," Stefan said as he gestured to his siblings, both of which were glaring at Katherine along with him.

"So it doesn't bother you that Damon's in love with your girlfriend?" Katherine asked, face passive as she looked between the brothers.

Stefan sighed, shaking his head before he focused his gaze once more. "You know, this whole Mason thing has me a bit confused. Why a werewolf? The moonstone can break a curse that would help them destroy all vampires so what's in that for you?" Stefan asked curiously, trying to get some answers out of Katherine for once. Sarah didn't hold out much hope for her answering. She never did.

"Sorry about your pet wolf, probably should have kept him on a tighter leash," Damon spoke up, trying to bait Katherine into an answer. It didn't work, she wasn't that stupid and just as smart as them, at least enough to see through their ploys, just like they saw through hers.

"I'll have to remember that for next time," Katherine replied, attitude seeping into her voice, intentional or not, it was hard to say. "But he wasn't the only wolf in town." Sarah tensed up at that, knowing that Scarlett was another of those wolves. Seeing this, Katherine turned her attention back to Sarah, uncrossing and crossing her legs again. "In fact, maybe I'll take yours, Sarah," Katherine said with a devilish grin.

"You go near her and I swear to God, I'll–!" Sarah shouted, pulling out a stake, ready to advance until Stefan stepped in her path, pushing her back before she could fall into Katherine's trap. The vampire on the couch just chuckled in amusement, having gotten the entertainment she wanted, the reaction. She could wait, sooner or late the spell keeping her trapped would fall and she'd leave without a scratch on her. All she had to do was wait, and have some fun while she did. And with three Salvatores to entertain herself with, how could she not.

* * *

"Come on, Scarlett, where is she?" Bonnie hissed from behind as Scarlett continued along the trail.

"Don't rush me," Scarlett snapped back, sniffing to make sure she was on the right path still. The scent was definitely getting stronger and was fresher too, that meant they were catching up to her.

"We've been weaving through this house for the past eight minutes," Bonnie grumbled as she followed Scarlett. She did have a point though, Scarlett wasn't dumb, she'd noticed that all they'd been doing was walking around the house, going through the same rooms over and over again. Whoever this witch was, she was smart, smart enough to have clocked what Scarlett was at the same time she clocked Bonnie. Her trail over lapped several times, deliberately making it harder to follow, but Scarlett never fell for it. It slowed her down, but never put her on the wrong path. Even so, it was getting tiresome.

"Well, feel free to try a spell or something," Scarlett suggested over her shoulder as they walked back into the main hallway for the fourth or fifth time.

"I need something personal to her for that to work," Bonnie explained.

"Guess my nose is looking better then," Scarlett replied, grinning at the nervous witch. Maybe not her best decision, but she was enjoying herself again, much more than she had been during the fight with Katherine and everything leading up to it. Tracking someone was simple and basically just a supernatural game of hide and seek. There was no tension other than that coming from Bonnie, just a bit of sport. Or at least that was how her mind saw it.

Another sniff of the air and Scarlett knew for sure she'd found the witch. "She's in the dinning room," Scarlett declared, pointing to the doorway up ahead.

"Are you sure?" Bonnie asked eagerly.

"Positive," Scarlett confirmed before looking to Bonnie who was now staring at the doorway. "Well, we going or what?"

"Wait," Bonnie said before Scarlett could take more than a single step. The dark skinned witch looked to Scarlett and with a pleading look, Bonnie asked, "Can I do this alone? Witch to witch." Scarlett frowned, not sure it was such a good idea, especially with Elena and the others' lives on the line. "Please, Scarlett. I just need to talk to her."

Once again it appeared she was being left to wait while everyone else did everything else. She wanted to help, be there to support her friends, but in this case she could see Bonnie's point. She was a big threatening wolf, while Bonnie was a familiar witch. It wasn't exactly hard to work out who'd be better for negotiating. Nodding, Bonnie started to smile gratefully.

"Thank you," Bonnie said before heading off into the dinning room, leaving Scarlett surrounded by the masked guests. She remained in the hallway though, in case Bonnie needed her help.

She tried listening in but couldn't hear anything form inside the dinning room. She began to frown, trying to focus her hearing. She could hear everything else in the house, even the Salvatores and Katherine bickering up stairs but not a word form the dinning room. It didn't take long for Scarlett to begin to panic. She wasn't okay with this, wasn't willing to trust this mysterious witch like Bonnie. She started to advance towards the room when suddenly she froze, a feeling like no other passing through her. It was almost like how she'd felt when she first ran into Mason, but stronger, louder. Almost like a silent howl.

Something clicked in her head though, instinct from the wolf telling her, and she knew what had happened, knew what the feeling was. Someone had just triggered their werewolf curse. And considering the amount of pre triggered werewolves they knew, it wasn't hard for Scarlett to guess which one had done it.

She turned, the wolf guiding her as she ran through the hallway towards the back off the house, towards Tyler's dad's study. That was were the howl had come from, that was were the wolf was telling her to go. That was were Tyler was, and presumably whoever he'd killed. _Oh, God who had he killed?_

Once she reached the room, Scarlett slowed, looking all around before sliding into the study, making sure to close the door behind her. After that she turned to the room, quickly taking in the situation. Caroline knelt over a the dead body, the girl she and Jeremy had hung out with not all that long ago. The blonde vampire quickly relaxed when she saw it was just Scarlett, thankful it wasn't someone else who'd scream. Matt was nearest Scarlett, on the floor with a bleeding nose, out cold. And Tyler was furthest away, across the room, hand desperately running over his head as he muttered to himself. He was in shock, or at the very least panic. Hardly surprising consider what was about to happen.

 _Oh, crap!_ Scarlett's eyes shot to Tyler's. Remembering what had happened when she first triggered her curse, she suddenly realised she had nothing to compare it too. She'd triggered the curse the night off the full moon. But had she turned that night because of the moon, or because she'd triggered the curse. If it was the latter, then they were about to be in a whole lot of trouble.

Suddenly Tyler dropped to his knees, hands clutching his head as he groaned in pain. Scarlett moved, getting behind Caroline as she stood up, both watching Tyler as he held back a scream of pain. "Tyler? Tyler? Tyler, what's happening?" Caroline asked, taking a step towards him before Scarlett yanked her back. "Scarlett?"

"Stay back," Scarlett ordered, shoving Caroline back towards the dead girl as she cautiously approached Tyler, one had raised while the other warded Caroline off. She looked back to Caroline, letting her know how serious this was with one look. The blonde backed down, watching from a distance as Scarlett turned her attention back to Tyler. "Tyler, talk to me. What's happening?"

If he was trying to speak, it wasn't coming out as anything coherent. Just a mixture of growls and groans, not exactly what Scarlett wanted to be hearing. And yet, there was no sign of his body changing, no snapping bones, no hair growth. There was just pain. A sample of what was to come every full moon apparently. She might have gotten used to the pain, but she could see how only experiencing it one night a month, without a choice, could drive people insane. The pain had been unbearable at first, but with practise she grew accustom to it. But Tyler wouldn't have that ability. It would be a never ending cycle of dread and pain. And this was just a preview of what was too come.

Finally his head lifted, eyes having changed into that of the wolf. Bright amber with black backgrounds. Then they faded, his eyes returning to normal as he fell forwards, Scarlett only just catching him. Before she knew it, he had his arms wrapped around her in a hug, his whole body trembling from the snippet he'd just had. There wasn't much they could do now, for Tyler anyway. Other than dispose of the body like Sarah had done for her when she first turned. Caroline ended up taking on that responsibility, while Scarlett remained with Tyler, consoling him over what had happened, and for what was to come. She doubted he remembered any of it. He really was in shock now.

* * *

"Damn it. Where's that witch?" Damon grumbled, back at the doorway, staring out as he leaned against the invisible wall, near empty glass in his hand. Sarah had her own glass, having topped it off and finished it twice now, and halfway through her refill. The drink was possibly the only thing keeping her sane right now, and yet at the same time it was pushing her towards the edge. Of course it didn't help that Katherine was constantly eyeing her up, and Ronnie was giving her the sad eyes, trying to get her to talk to him.

She was in total agreement with Damon, Bonnie couldn't get them out of her fast enough. Killing Katherine had been demoted to a pipe dream, she now just wanted out the room, to get away from her and Ronnie. To lock herself in her room and cry. A childish thing she knew, but her vampire heightened emotions were all over the place right now.

"We could play charades," Katherine suggested with her playful voice. Sarah rolled her eyes, practically stomping off across the room as she threw back the rest of her alcohol, desperately needing a refill. "Not a fan, Sarah?" Her hand tightened around the glass, nearly shattering it as the other trembled. The pouring liquid was out of control, bouncing all over the place, even after it was in the glass. More than a few drops vanished over the side and onto the wooden surface, but Sarah hardly cared. When she was done she thumped the glass of bourbon back down, taking a gulp of her fresh glass.

"You bargained the moonstone," Stefan suddenly spoke up, from his position near the couch that Katherine was pacing around. Ronnie, still stood over in the corner on his own, finally stopped looking at Sarah and looked over to Stefan along with everyone else.

"What are you mumbling about over there?" Damon asked aloud, obviously bored. And why wouldn't he be? He'd come to kill Katherine. Instead he was stuck in a room with her, not allowed to kill her unless he wanted to take Elena with her. There were other words to describe how he was feeling but bored was the one he choice. Because that was what the conversation and situation was, at least by his standards.

"When you struck a deal with George Lockwood, to help you fake your death, you told me that you gave George something that he needed. It was the moonstone, wasn't it?" Stefan explained his thoughts aloud, leaning in towards Katherine as she passed by, doing her worst to hide a pleased smile. She picked up one of the loose stakes around the room, twirling it between her hands as she turned to face Stefan.

"Good for you, Stefan. Two plus two," she actually did sound impressed, but by this point all the Salvatores had given up on trying to figure out if she was being genuine with them or not. Honesty went out he window over a century ago, and by now had been splattered all over the pavement. "And it would have worked except that people found out that I wasn't in the tomb." Irritation crept into her voice as she turned, eyes narrowing in a glare aimed at Damon. "Thanks to you, by the way." Damon just raised his glass, plastering on a smug and satisfied grin before tilting the glass back towards his lips. "Have I mentioned how inconvenient your obsession with me has been?"

"You and me both, Honey," Damon growled back as he lowered his glass.

"At least Sarah had the decency to try and stop you both from exposing me," Katherine added with a deliberate smile to Sarah, making her stomach turn. As if she didn't feel bad enough already, now she'd discovered she'd been helping Katherine this whole time by trying to keep her brother from getting her back. Even when she won she still lost, as tonight was proving.

"Why do you need the moonstone back?" Stefan cut in, trying to get more information, since he had the opportunity, but also trying to get Katherine off his sister's back.

Katherine turned her gaze back to him, making a show of eyeing him up. "I love you in a suit, so dashing." That caught Sarah's attention. Not because of what Katherine had said, she'd said a bunch of lines like that before, but because of her bad excuse for a distraction. She was deflecting all of Stefan's questions, meaning she didn't want him asking them or even thinking about them. Which also meant Sarah should be taking notes and asking questions of her own.

"What were you doing with it in the first place?" Stefan asked, stepping towards Katherine as Sarah looked over, watching the two face off.

"You're wasting your breath, Stefan," Damon said with a roll of the eyes.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she stole it," Sarah muttered, taking a drink as Katherine looked her way, using it to shield herself from Katherine's eye line.

"So in 1864 you faked your death," Stefan pointed out, gaze narrowing on Katherine suspiciously. "Who were you running from Katherine?"

Katherine stared back at him, irritation only seeping out her eyes. She wasn't liking these questions, wasn't liking how logical Stefan was being when she wanted him as high on his emotions as Sarah and Damon were. "I've got an idea, let's talk about Lexi," she declared with a grin.

"Don't you dare," Sarah snarled, grip tightening on her glass to the point that you could hear the cracks sliding up the side of the glass. "You didn't even know her."

"Oh, but I did," Katherine drawled out, eyes alight with mischief. "I saw her and Stefan in Chicago, 1987, at that concert." She winked at Stefan before her gaze moved slight, focusing on her two favourite Salvatores. "Of course she was only there because I told her to be. I needed someone to watch out for you Stefan." Sarah's entire being twisted, her face dropping, feeling like it'd fallen right off. _No, please no_. She couldn't take it if Lexi had also been one of Katherine's spies too. Not after everything they'd been through together. She couldn't lose that friendship like she'd just lost her romantic one.

"You're lying," Stefan declared, voice now low, doing its best to hide his emotional outburst. But that was what Katherine wanted, for him to start walking on eggshells, just like his siblings.

"How would you know?" Katherine teased back. "It's not like she's here to defend herself, and Sarah was sharing a bed with Ronnie and she didn't even–" The smashing of glass echoed around them before Sarah had Katherine against the wall, the stake that the eldest vampire had once been holding now in her possession and right above Katherine's heart. She raised her hand, ready to drive the stake in, rage fuelling her very being when Katherine just smirked back at her, no ounce of fear in her eyes. _Well there would be in a minute_ , Sarah decided.

"Sarah don't!" Stefan cried out from across the room.

"Yes! Sarah, please do it," Katherine drawled out seductively, her hips brushing against Sarah's. She was losing her mind. She couldn't take this much longer. Being in this room with Katherine, listening to her lies unable to block them out. She knew Elena would die if she did it but she couldn't take anymore. If she could turn off her emotions, even a little then it'd help, but they were permanently locked on. No more off switch. That meant in moments like this, her emotions got the better off her, just like Katherine wanted.

Sarah no longer cared if she won one last time. She just wanted it to be the last time. She swung the stake towards Katherine's chest, needing for this to finally be over and damn the consequences. Katherine never once wavered, never even blinked. Just stared back into Sarah's eyes knowing how it would all play out. Sarah hated her for that. But hated Ronnie even more for grabbing her arm before she could kill Katherine.

"You'll kill Elena!" he shouted at her, trying to snap her out of her rage induced state.

"I don't care!" Sarah yelled back, her emotions now in full control. She did care, but she cared more about seeing Katherine dead. She tried to power on through to plunge the stake into Katherine's chest. She should have been able to too, she was stronger than Ronnie, and yet he still managed to force her back.

It didn't stop Sarah though, the second she found her footing she was running back towards Katherine. Ronnie was in her way but she fully planned to shove him out the way, at least until he tackled her first, taking both of them over the couch. He yanked the stake from her grasp, throwing it aside before trying to pin her down. But with Sarah's erratic thrashing he didn't stand a chance.

Once this would have just been a game to her, something to get them going before sex. Let him touch her, run his hands over her, let him kiss her. Now all that made her sick, to know that he'd just been conspiring against her this entire time, working with Katherine of all people. Having him look at her was bad enough, but to have his hands on her bare skin, it made her wish she was a snake, so she could shed her skin and never have to remember how they'd once touched each other.

After a moment she knocked him off her, and then in a burst of speed she was on top of him, one hand holding him down while the other formed a fist. Several powerful punches to the face later and he was left with a bloodied face, broken nose and bruised face. All of which was already healing. She punched him a few more times, trying to make him stop, to make sure she left scars, like he'd done with her.

It didn't take her long to give up on that idea, now just wanting to get away from him. She stormed across the room, back over to the mini bar were she grabbed herself a fresh glass and some more bourbon. "Sarah," Ronnie called to her again. From where his voice originated from, Sarah could tell he was back on his feet. Probably already healed up too, though the blood wouldn't magically disappear. She didn't turn around, just downed her entire glass before placing it back down on the counter with a thud.

"Sarah, just–"

"Be quiet!" Sarah snapped, turning around to finally look him in the eye. Nothing but hurt swirling through her eyes which made Ronnie step back. "Don't you get it! You betrayed me! You stabbed me in the back and for her!" Sarah erupted, trembling finger pointing to Katherine who was now sat down, enjoying the show.

"I can explai–"

"No you can't! You can't just give me some magical explanation that makes all of this okay! You know what she did to me! You know how she's tormented me this whole time! And you've been helping her!" Sarah roared as she threw her glass at Ronnie, narrowly missing his head as he leaned to the side, eyes shutting at the shattering glass from behind him.

"I loved you!" Sarah cried out, unable to contain every emotion inside her right now.

"I lov–"

"No you didn't! Otherwise you never would have helped her!" She then grew quiet, even more hurt and tears coming out her eyes now. Her once cool green eyes now trembling with the tears that slid down her cheeks. "I trusted you…with everything. Every dark little secret, every insecurity, every…" She couldn't finish. Hands going to her face as she wiped away the tears. She'd gotten enough out to regain control of herself. That was all it was, venting some steam, like she had when she attacked Katherine. He already knew what he'd done to her, she didn't need to explain it to him.

She turned away, hand going to the minibar to stabilise herself. She took a few deep breaths, imagining Lexi there with her, helping her through it before she opened her eyes. Reminded about the grime reality and that Lexi wasn't actually there, and instead she was now stuck with the two people who'd hurt her the most.

"What game should we play next then?" Katherine spoke up, back to enjoying herself. "We haven't even begun going into each others' heads yet."

"Alright, I've had enough of this," Damon declared, picking up a stake as he placed his glass of bourbon aside.

"What you going to do Damon, kill me?" Katherine asked with a mocking tilt of the head.

"No," Damon scoffed, appalled that she thought so little of his strategic mind. "I'm going to kill your latest boy-toy." Damon was then on Ronnie before anyone could respond. Pressing the youngest vampire against the wall with the stake ready to be plunged into his heart. "Any objections?" Damon asked Katherine with a smirk.

She shrugged back from her seat. "Not from me." She then turned to Sarah, wearing a mask of sympathy. "He hurt Sarah. He deserves to die." Sarah stared back at her, trying to figure out her angle. As always Katherine just smiled back.

"That settles that then," Damon said as he turned back to Ronnie stabbing him with the stake. Sarah gasped, thinking he'd actually killed Ronnie. Even Katherine perked up an intrigued eyebrow. "You getting it yet?" Damon snarled to Ronnie. "That bitch over there doesn't give a crap about you. I could have killed you right now and she wouldn't even bat an eye." He pulled the stake from Ronnie, the man gasping as his lungs stared working properly again. "And yet you chose her over my sister."

"Well this looks like a lot of fun," came a new voice. The five vampires turned around to find a tall, slim, attractive woman with dark skin stood in the doorway to the room. In her hand. The moonstone. All their eyes widened when they saw that. "The spell on this room has been broken, you're free to leave, Katherine," the new woman explained.

"Great," Katherine said as she stood up, making her way over to the mystery woman. Sarah quickly sized up the woman, then ran over, trying to cut Katherine off from getting the moonstone when her head began to explode in pain. She wasn't even halfway across the room when she dropped to her knees, clutching her head. She felt Stefan grab her, holding onto her as he shouted something. She couldn't understand it, the pain too much until it suddenly vanished.

One look up and Sarah knew what this mysterious woman was. A witch. She and Katherine gave Sarah a quick glance, making sure she knew her place before they resumed their conversation. "When I hand this over my debt to you is over," the witch declared.

"Done," Katherine said happily.

"I owe you nothing," the witch repeated, needing to be sure of the agreement.

"I said done," Katherine snapped. "Now give it."

"Please, don't," Stefan said from along side Sarah, while Damon remained across the room, holding Ronnie to the wall as they all watch. The witch didn't bat an eye, placing the moonstone into Katherine's out stretched hand before letting go. Sarah's heart sank when she saw Katherine's triumphant smile.

Then suddenly that smile was wiped away, replaced by uncertainty. Then came a croak. A croak from Katherine. She was struggling to breath, as they all soon realised. Confusion took over and she looked to the witch, her witch as she began to sink to the floor, unable to drop the moonstone that was now pulling her down like anchor.

"You should have told me another witch was involved," the witch spoke up, eyes glaring down into Katherine's. "She's a Bennett witch, Katherine, but I'm sure you knew that."

"Wait, Elena!" Stefan cried out as he stood up, pulling Sarah up with him.

"Elena's fine," the witch said as she looked to them, ignoring Katherine as she fell to the floor, lying on her back as she choked to death. "The spell is broken. She'll heal quickly, Bonnie's with her. I apologise for my involvement." She was sincere about it, Sarah and the others could see that. The witch then gave one final glance at Katherine, and then left without another word.

"What a nice lady," Damon said with a grin once she was gone.

"Katherine…" Ronnie said said, trying to shove Damon aside so he could go and check on her as she continued to struggle on the ground.

"Oh, shut it," Damon snapped as he grabbed onto Ronnie's head, twisting it with out a second thought before the snapping of his neck filled the room. His body dropped down, dead, but of course would come back. Now all that was left was Katherine. Croaking madly as she clung onto the moonstone, trying to find her breath but unable too. The three Salvatores gathered around, Damon passing the stake off to Sarah. She took it, eyes never leaving Katherine's as she watched the desperation settle in. The silent begging for her life. Sarah waited until it was gone, and then she knelt down, taking the moonstone from Katherine's hand.

* * *

Caroline was outside in the hallway, dealing with Mrs. Lockwood and handling the cover story. Apparently she was developing a knack for disposing of dead bodies. Probably not a great thing, but for their lifestyle, a skill you needed to survive. Especially recently. Scarlett was stood over Sara's dead body, not having touched it or moved it. She just stood, staring down at the lifeless eyes. She was getting for to used to all this, or maybe she'd just grieved too much over Mason's death and didn't have any empathy left over for Sara, a girl she barely knew.

She looked over, seeing Tyler sat on the couch, hunched over with his hands clasped together. His head kept lifting, looking at the dead body before lowering to his hands, shaking before repeating the process. The shock was fading now, reality settling in. Not just the fact that he'd killed but that he'd triggered his curse, the curse his uncle had apparently warned him about, made him terrified off. For Scarlett it wasn't like that, but from her chat with Mason, she could understand why it was see as a curse by others. Not everyone was like her, and Tyler certainly wasn't, but she was still going to help. She owed him that much.

Taking the spot on the couch next to him, she sat down, hands uncomfortably sat on her lap. She wished Caroline would hurry up and come back, she knew Tyler better and would be able to handle the emotional stuff better too. She was even wishing Jeremy would show up, again just because he was more empathetic than she was. Not that she didn't care about Tyler, she just didn't know what to say or really how to help him through it. But she still had to help all the same.

"It won't be as bad as you think," she finally said, cringing at her own words, but hiding it when Tyler looked her way.

"What?" he asked.

"Being a werewolf. There are…benefits."

"She's dead," Tyler said, pointing to the dead body just a meter or two away. "She dead and that's my fault. Don't you get it? It's not just the fact that I've triggered this curse, it's that I've killed someone!" Tyler snapped as he stood up, glaring angrily down at Scarlett who rose up with him, hands held up in apology.

"I know, I know alright. But you can't change that," she replied, putting her hands on his shoulders, trying to metally will him to calm down. "This is a part of you now, but I promise, I will help you get through this."

"So I'll be able to control it like you?" Tyler asked hopefully.

Scarlett couldn't stop her face from giving the game away. Even so she had to lie. She was starting to like Tyler, and wanted to help him but to trust him with her secret, with her necklace. She couldn't do it. It was to important to her, not just for the abilities and control it granted her, but because it was from her mother and intended for her. The only people that knew about it were people she trusted and would have no reason to take the necklace away from her. But Tyler would have a reason, to free himself from the curse and to leave Scarlett high and dry.

"No," Scarlett answered. "I'm sorry." Tyler let out a disappointed and hopeless sigh, head lowering to hide the fear in his eyes. "I'm pretty sure it's specific to me, this control thing. I think you'll be like Mason, changing only on full moons without a choice in the matter." Tyler pulled away, turning his back to her as he ran his hands down his face. Scarlett followed, refusing to let him walk out and be on his own. She grabbed his shoulder turning him back around and leaving it there so he couldn't make another break for it. "Listen to me. I'm going to help you get through this. I'm not going to leave you to suffer alone. I'll be there to help whenever you need it," she promised and from the look in his eyes, he was grateful for her just offering. Scarlett could only imagine what all this would have been like had she not had Sarah there to hold her hand through it all. Tyler needed the same if he was going to survive it.

A forced cough caught their attention and they turned to see Caroline had entered the room. "Eh, your-your mom's talking to my mom now," Caroline explained to Tyler. "I've told them what we agreed on." She looked to Scarlett who nodded in thanks, knowing the only weak link was Tyler. He wouldn't say anything though, not at the risk of making things even worse for himself. He was taking their out, without any questions. "And Matt's in the car, sleeping it off. I'll deal with him, I don't want him involved in any of this." Again Scarlett nodded, understanding.

"What are you doing?" Tyler asked, eyes going to Caroline in confusion.

"I'm fixing a very bad situation," Caroline replied sheepishly, a little stunned by the fact Tyler was suddenly questioning her.

"Why?" Tyler snapped, unable to understand why someone would just help him out the goodness of their heart. Scarlett he could understand, she was like him and wanted to keep her secret which meant helping him, but Caroline… He couldn't understand why Caroline would be helping to cover this up. "Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me, when you have no idea what any of this means?!"

Caroline remained still, eyes locked with Tylers for a moment. Then they moved over to Scarlett's, who was standing behind the newly triggered werewolf. Scarlett nodded subtly, letting her know it was okay and the blonde vampire turned her attention back to Tyler. "Actually, Tyler, I think I do know."

"No, you don't, Caroline," Tyler said sadly as he shook his head.

Her eyes moved down, looking at the tear in his jacket from where he'd been stabbed. "Has your wound healed?" she asked simply. Frowning, Tyler began to undo the top of his shirt, pulling it aside so that he could see the stab wound that was no longer there. He stared at it, then looked at Caroline in disbelief.

"How did you…?" he trailed off, meeting her knowing green eyes.

"She knows about me," Scarlett spoke up, Tyler swiftly turning to face her and her folded arms. "And now, she knows about you too." Alarm flashed through Tyler's eyes but Scarlett quickly put him to ease. "You can trust her, Tyler. I do." She looked over to Caroline, smiling softly. She might not have known her secret for that much longer than Damon, but she'd still kept it and that counted for something. She'd even kept her secret about what happened with Mason, which for a gossip like her really meant something. "And she hasn't let me down," Scarlett said with a smile to her friend, which Caroline returned as Tyler looked uneasily at them both.

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Stefan asked for the fifth time as he and Sarah made their way across the lawn. Despite their torn cloths, bloodied bodies and their tormented minds, Sarah smiled, looking to her brother as they walked side by side. Her arms folded while his were in his pockets.

"Yeah," Sarah answered with a firm nod, smile never wavering. "I've got to give it to Damon. He knows how to get revenge."

"But wouldn't you rather have her dead?" Stefan asked, pulling her to a stop as he took her arm.

Sarah couldn't help but nod at that. "Yeah, but that's also the easy way out. For her and for me. I've been holding onto this hatred for over a century and I've just got to get over it. Maybe after tonight I finally will. And then, someday down the road, I'll kill her. When the time is right for me. Not her," Sarah explained as she met her brother's eyes. He smiled uneasily back, but was content to go along with what Sarah wanted, even if it was also what Damon wanted. She'd suffered the most from Katherine, so as far as he was concerned, what she said goes. He just wanted to be sure it was what she wanted and not because Damon had talked her into it.

"If you're sure–"

"I am," Sarah cut in with a smile before then looking over towards the short hill by the edge of the Lockwood property where Elena was waiting, staring out across the small lake. "And besides, haven't you got a girl to meet?" she teased, eyebrows jumping up and down, making her brother chuckle. He looked over to Elena, happiness in his eyes. The nightmare that was finally over. Sarah was happy for him, happy for them both, and despite everything happy for herself. It was time to move on.

"Go'n get her," Sarah said, nudging her brother's arm. He smiled gratefully before jogging over to met his girlfriend. He called her name, coming to a stop beside her as they stood by the lake. They chatted for a moment, about how Katherine was truly gone and how they were both happier for it. Sarah caught snippets of the conversation, despite her best attempts not to. She was happy for them, but didn't need it rubbed in her face. Not right now.

Then Stefan reached for Elena, going to cup her face but she took his hands, pushing them down. The sad realisation settled in as Sarah's happy expression lowered into a sad one. It hadn't changed anything, Elena still wasn't sure being with Stefan was safe and still needed time. Even after everything that happened tonight, Katherine had still won. She'd gotten in Elena's head, made her unsure and question something as simple as love. Just like she'd done with Sarah.

As Elena parted, walking away and leaving Stefan alone, Sarah vamp speeded silently towards her brother. He felt her presence behind him, turning with a still face but heartbroken eyes. "Come here," Sarah simply said, pulling her brother into a hug before he could stop her. She heard him sniffle a little and shed a few tears. He'd already had his big cry over the break up, and it was just a matter of time, he knew that. Elena had told him so. But it still hurt, on a night when he thought he'd won. And they had won, just not every battle.

After a few moments, Stefan seemed to pull himself together, pushing Sarah slightly to indicate it was time for her to let him go. Sarah released him, stepping back to find his brave smile and green eyes meeting hers. She smiled back at him, gently slapping his face in a playful way. They both chuckled at that as Sarah's hands cupped her fragile brother's face. "Come on," he said, nudging his head towards the woods beyond the lake. Sarah lowered her hands, staring off in the direction they were going, face turning still. "Let's go and end this."

* * *

 _I'm going to kill you, Lucy._ That was Katherine's first thought when she awoke. Her head pounded a little as she caught her breath, returning to life. An after affect of whatever witchy mojo Lucy had used on her, one that was quickly fading. But even with her vampire healing, it still took her second to get moving. Looking around, she found herself in a dark passageway, leaning against the wall. Stone, the ground beneath her cold dirt. She coughed, waiting for her eyes to adjusted as she continued to take in the cold air.

 _The moonstone_ , she suddenly thought, hands hitting the ground in search until she found it. She smiled a little at that, through her laboured breathing. At least she still had that. Her bargaining chip. Pushing herself up off the ground, she found Lucy's spell had done a lot more damage than she thought. Her head might be fine but her entire body was burning up, aching as she used the wall to help herself up.

Blood. She needed blood. Seeing a light at the end of the passageway, she began to move towards it, keeping one hand on the wall to steady herself. She made it a few steps, coming to the opening. She went to step through only to then find a wall stopping her. An invisible wall, like the kind that prevented her from entering a house without being invited in. She pushed against the wall, fighting off the urge to panic as she got control of her breathing. Then they stepped into view, the Salvatores. Sarah in the centre flanked by her two brothers, all with stone cold expressions on their faces. Katherine could see beneath them though, see the conflicting emotions off hatred, sadness, love and joy. All things they felt for her, no matter how much they denied it.

"Where am I?" Katherine snarled at the three, none of which flinched the way they might once had. Something was different now. Something had changed, she could tell, but she wasn't about to admit that, not even to herself. She was still in control, still had all the power over them and always will. Still knew what they didn't, the larger game at play, meaning she still had something over them. Always a plan B.

"Where you should have been all along," Damon answered, trying to hide the sadness in his eyes.

"The tomb beneath Fell's Church," Stefan added for more clarification, his eyes as still as his face.

"You should have killed me," Katherine groaned, dreading the idea of being trapped down here for God knows how long. It wouldn't happen though, she was still in full control. Her little Salvatores just didn't know it, which was exactly how she wanted it.

"Yeah, we should have," Sarah agreed in a more light tone than her brothers, nodding her head. "But then this is so much more rewarding. It's ironic, and unlike death, this goes on for as long as we like. Only ending when we decide to end it," Sarah explained as her still face turned into a mixture of triumph and sinisterness.

"You still couldn't do it," Katherine chuckled, her teasing smile forming as she leaned against the wall. "Even when I was defenceless and at your mercy, you couldn't kill me." Her gaze swept over the three siblings as she said triumphantly, "None of you."

"Oh, we could have killed you," Stefan replied calmly.

"But we took a vote on what to do," Sarah added in the same tone.

"Guess who won," Damon finished with his smug grin for added effect. Katherine exhaled a laugh, smiling at her three sirelings. They were all so young and naive, thinking they knew this world after being in it for a century. They truth was they knew nothing, nothing of the true monsters that lurked in the night. They thought she was bad. They'd be begging for her back once they discovered what was really coming. She was already looking forward to that, body tingling at the thought. She bit down on her lip, purring out a chuckle as she pressed herself against the wall.

"If you say so?" Katherine said in a light mocking voice as she shrugged. She'd never believe any of them could kill her, because the truth was they did all love her, and they could do nothing about it. Nothing but admit it. And until that day they'd lose every time because secretly, they wanted her to win, to escape, to live.

Despite her smugness, which usually sent Sarah into a fit of rage, the youngest Salvatore just smiled back. Admittedly unsettling Katherine. "We do say so," Sarah declared as she stepped forward with a smirk on her lips. "And do you know what else we say?" She placed her hands on the large slab of rock that acted as the door to the tomb. Katherine's eyes widened, meeting with Sarah's as for once her true feelings were unleashed. Sarah saw her fear and grinned back as she said, "Goodbye, Katherine."

She pushed the rock, the large slab scrapping against the ground in a mixture of groaning and screeching. "No, Sarah, don't. Sarah, don't. You need me, Elena's in danger." That got her to hesitate. It might have come out more panicked and frightful than she wanted too, but Katherine now had all their attention. Her dark brown eyes met with Sarah's glaring green, the slightest doubt in them, but that was all Katherine needed.

"Nice try," Sarah snarled, ready to push again as her brothers watched silently from behind.

"I'm not lying," Katherine said calmly, eyes forcing Sarah to believe her, because she was telling the truth.

"Then start talking, or I shut this door," Sarah snapped back, eyes challenging Katherine to test her, to give her an excuse. As much as Katherine was enjoying seeing Sarah in this power position, it couldn't have come at a worst time. She was so close. She just needed a bit more time and her freedom, which was starting to slip away from her.

Bitting her lip, Katherine considered her options. After a second Sarah shrugged, going to move the rock again. She pushed it forward an inch and Katherine caved. "Alright, alright alright!" she cried out, much to her embarrassment. "She's the doppelgänger, that means she's important. It means people want her and they will come for her. She has to be protected." From the looks she was getting from the three younger vampires, they seemed to be believing her. Good, since it was the truth after all. She just needed to give them enough to get her out of this tomb, enough to trust her and let her go.

"Thanks for the heads up," Sarah said, almost sounding genuine. "But we don't need your help protecting Elena. We can do it just fine on our own. And we'll all protect her, because unlike you, Katherine–" Sarah snarled as she leaned into the invisible wall, her face less than an inch from it, green eyes baring down on Katherine as she finally realised what was happening. "–She's worth protecting."

Then the groaning, scrapping noise started again, the rock closing in as the light began to dim in the passageway. "No, Sarah, don't! I'll do anything, please! Sarah! Stefan! Damon! You need me! You all know it! You need me!" Katherine cried out frantically as she pounded against the rock, doing all she could to stop it. But it closed all the same. The last of the light snuffing out as the rock slid into place, remaining there no matter how many times Katherine punched it or much she screamed. Fear took over, fear that she'd been pushing down for so long. And she screamed, screamed the same thing over and over, hoping that one of them would come to their senses and let her out. They never did. She continued to scream all through the night. Then the hungry started to settle in. She lost her fight, nightmares beginning to creep out of the shadows, coming for her now that she'd finally been broken. By the Salvatores of all people. She saw them as well as the one she truly feared, standing at the end of the passageway. All coming for her. And when she saw his face. She screamed like only he could make her.

* * *

After dealing with Katherine, Sarah had been on a high. Until she got home. Then reality had knocked her back down, as she realised who she had to deal with next. Stefan and Damon had offered to deal with it for her, but she'd declined them. She needed to know the truth, know what was real and what wasn't. Which meant facing him.

Sarah had watched as Damon tied him up in the study, sitting him down in front of the fireplace, the same place Mason had sat not all that long ago, while Ronnie assisted Damon in his torture. The irony wasn't lost on her, she just didn't find it amusing. She pulled up a chair, sitting down in front of Ronnie before sending Damon and Stefan out. She could hear them listening and waiting outside the door but didn't bother to send them any further. She knew she might need them and preferred that they were close.

It took a while for Ronnie to awake, healing from the broken neck Damon had given him. He sat slump in his chair until finally he awoke, head flailing a little as it rose. The blue eyes Sarah once adored blinking rapidly as he tried to work out what was going on. Eventually his gaze lost its blur and everything came into perspective, and while that was happening Sarah sat patiently. Her legs spread, elbows propped on a leg each, hands joint tighter beneath her chin. Eyes staring at Ronnie until he finally began to stare back uncomfortably. Once she knew she had his attention, Sarah leaned back, arms lowering as she rested her hands on her knees.

"I want the truth," Sarah said quietly, struggling to keep her eyes connected with Ronnie's. But she had to, to make sure he was telling the truth. Could she even trust that about him anymore, she wondered. In any case, she wasn't going to break eye contact until he did first. She wasn't going to show him how much he'd hurt her and how weak she felt now. Despite the fact he probably already knew.

Ronnie nodded in understanding. Taking a few breaths as he worked out what to say. "Before I met you. I met Katherine. When she found me I…I was in a pretty bad place. At deaths door, sick with the same illness that killed of my entire family. I'd lost the will to live, was just waiting to die like the rest of my family. What friends I had then had their on problems and couldn't risk helping me and getting infected with what I had. So I was completely alone and in extreme pain, just waiting for the end so it would all be over. Now imagine how I would react, when a beautiful woman comes to me and says she can save me?"

Sarah glared at him, knowing exactly who he was referring to her. Her grip tightened on her knees but she remained quiet, kept her contentment in check and allowing Ronnie to continue with his story. "I didn't want it. But then she compelled me. Showed me why I should live and how I didn't have to give up. She offered me a second chance, and when I took it, she led me out of the darkness."

"She is the darkness," Sarah cut in angrily. "She's a black hole that sucks in all light. Anything good in her radius is turned to dust, or twisted and corrupted until it's just as evil and messed up as her."

"I know what she did to you, Sarah. I'm not defending that. I'm just telling you what she did for me. She brought me back, not just to life, but in a spiritual sense. Everything I am now, mind and soul, it's because of what she did for me when she saved me." Heartbreak then came into his eyes, making Sarah's lips part slightly as he continued on. "I do love you Sarah. I have done for a long time now. But I owe Katherine everything. So even though I love you, I'm always going to pick her. Like how you pick your family over me." That hurt. He probably didn't mean it too, but it had. To see the parallel laid out for her. "It's not because of love, it's because of loyalty. Because of what she did for me. I can't ever repay that."

There was a pause as he let his words sink in. They continued to stare at one another, both fighting to hold their heightened emotions at bay. Sarah also fighting to hold back the tears. At one point she sniffed, gaze averting for a second before jumping back to Ronnie's. She brushed her hand against her nose, playing it off as an itch before placing it back down on her knee. Then she asked the question she'd been dreading. "Is she the reason you and I were together?"

"I love you," Ronnie said reassuringly, leaning as far forward as his restraints would let him.

"I mean the first time," Sarah cut in. "When we started going out the first time, before either of us knew what this was. Was that her choice, or yours?"

"Mine," Ronnie said passionately. "Katherine just wanted me to befriend you but I was more than happy to date you, and grateful when it turned into more than that."

"And yet you still lied," Sarah said, tears rolling out the corner of her eyes and down her cheeks, while her face fought to remain as still as it could. Shaking with effort. "You told her all about me and never once mentioned anything to me."

Ronnie fell silent, the conflict clear in his eyes but at the same time obvious as to how he felt. He truly did believe he'd done the right thing, even now, even after everything they'd been through and everything Katherine had done. He still believed she was worthy of his loyalty. More so than Sarah. "Sarah. I love you. I will always love you, I always have loved you… But Katherine is to me what your brothers are to you. I might not like it, but I can't walk away from her. And it'll always be her before anything else…even you."

That last bit was the final straw for Sarah. She broke down enough to let out the tears and a heartbroken whimper. That was it, he'd made it clear, it was Katherine before her. Always had been, always would be. Part of her wished they could have continued on in the dark, pretending like everything was perfect and there was nothing wrong. But there was no going back now. They'd both made their choices, no matter how much it hurt.

As her hands moved to cover her face, she heard her brother enter. Stefan got to her first, pulling her up into a hug as she hurried her face into his chest, letting out her heartbroken sobs into his torn and bloodied jacket. From his tied down position, Ronnie watched with torn eyes of his own. He hated doing this to Sarah, but he'd know it from the day she saved him, from the day he'd been reborn. Katherine comes first.

While Stefan comforted his sister, Damon made his way in front of Ronnie, blue eyes glaring down at the younger vampire, rage boiling inside him. "You know, Ronnie," Damon began with his angry blue eyes boring into Ronnie's saddened ones. "You've known my sister a long time. But I don't feel you know me and Stefan all that well. So let me clear something up." Suddenly his hand broke through Ronnie's chest, grabbing hold of his heart as the young vampire gasped for air, pain consuming him as he felt his life line being yanked on. "No one hurts my sister. I don't care who you are, I don't care what you are. You break her heart, and I'll break yours," Damon snarled, leaning in as he watched the terror take over Ronnie's eyes. He then leaned past Ronnie, his lips inches from Ronnie's ear as he whispered, "The only reason this is quick, is because she asked for it."

Ronnie's eyes went to Sarah, realising what was about to happen. He wanted to let her know he was thankful, not just for this but for everything. And that he was sorry. Sorry for what he'd done and that if he could change things he would. But at the same time he wouldn't change a thing, because everything had led him to her and he'd loved her. He just wished he'd never had to break her heart. He waited for her to look at him, to say goodbye. But her face remained buried in Stefan's chest, her brother holding her, whispering comfortingly to her while her other brother held his heart in his hand. He hoped they were both worth it. He then felt Damon's hand slid from his chest, and then it was over. He was dead.

* * *

The next few hours were quiet in the Salvatore house, but even then Sarah felt like she needed to be alone. She loved her brothers, but being in the same house as them, in separate rooms while they all contemplated what had happened tonight, all listening in on one another, it felt claustrophobic. So Sarah made her way over to the garage. Damon caught her in the hallway, deliberate no doubt, making sure she wasn't going far. Once he was content he moved on and Sarah left the house.

Despite the hour, Sarah didn't feel all that tired. Lingering adrenaline perhaps, her vampire abilities adding to that. It would be morning soon, she could feel it despite the comforting blanket of darkness around her as she walked across the driveway and over to the garage. It opened with the usual clanking nosies, picking up pace as the door got higher and higher until it suddenly stopped with a slight bang, wobbling for a moment before it became quiet again. Just as quiet as it had been in the house. Only now the night birds and noises from the forest were clearer than they had been before.

Sarah chose to shut them out, stepping into the garage and removing the blanket that rested atop her bike. The bike he'd given her. She sighed in a mixture of sadness and longing. _What would she give to have a different life_ , she wondered. A normal happy life with someone like Ronnie, to be human and to have a family. Anything but her brothers was the answer. Even then she knew it was a pipe dream. There was no turning back once you became a vampire. For the most part she enjoyed it, revelled in it. But tonight, she was beginning to realise just how long eternity was. Especially when it felt like you were constantly being stabbed in the back by the people you cared about.

Sitting down, Sarah folded her legs on the stone floor, making herself comfy as she stared at her bike. She really had liked that bike. Now all those memories were gone, the good ones. Her and her baby, her and Ronnie. All ruined. She couldn't even look at the bike now without feeling a pit in her chest, an empty spot where her love for it had once been. She wondered if she'd even still use it, how riding it would feel after everything that went down tonight. And what was the point in having a bike you never used or cared about. Another sigh left her lips.

"Hey," came a light peaceful voice from behind. Sarah looked over her shoulder, smiling a sad smile when she saw who it was.

"Hey," she replied to Elena.

"Scarlett told me about Ronnie. How you holding up?" Elena asked, making her way into the garage, arms folded over, hands tightly clenched at her sides.

"I'm alright," Sarah answered, turning back to the bike and realising how much of a lie those words really were.

"No you're not," Elena countered sadly, hating that she was right. She waited for Sarah to respond, but she didn't. Knowing that Elena was right and no longer having the strength to try and hide it. Elena sighed, taking the last few steps over to Sarah before holding out her hand. The vampire turned, frowning lightly at Elena's hand before following it up her arm and to Elena's own sad smile. "Come on. There's something I've got to show you."

"I really just want to be alone right now, Elena," Sarah said as she looked back to her bike. Elena however, was not letting her take that option.

"It wasn't a request," Elena said, bending down and taking Sarah's hand before pulling her up to her feet. Sarah stared in confused outrage, but didn't fight as Elena dragged her along, leading her out of the garage and across the driveway.

"Elena, what are you…" Sarah words fell short, the confusion dropping like her words when she saw Caroline standing in her drive way. Beaming smile on her face as she eagerly awaited Elena and Sarah. Next to her, a tarp, covering whatever she was stood in front off. "Caroline? What are you both–"

"Don't talk, you'll ruin the surprise," Caroline cut in promptly, and to Sarah's amazement, she found herself shutting up. Lips sealing and refusing to open as she stared at Caroline.

With her smile growing, the blonde vampire skipped eagerly around the tarp, making her way behind whatever it was hiding while Elena stood along side Sarah, soft smile on her lips. She was just as heartbroken as Sarah was right now, but despite it she was still here, smiling about some secret only she and Caroline knew about. Sarah turned to Elena, staring at her as if that would pressure her into giving her some answers. The brunette just smiled back at her, a smidgen of Caroline's eagerness and excitement in her own eyes.

Turning back to Caroline, the young vampire waited until Sarah's eyes were back on her, then dramatically pulled the tarp off in one fell swoop like a magician's assistant. It was then Sarah saw what it had been hiding, the tarp, which landed next to Caroline but no longer touching the brand new beautifully blue motorbike. As awe took over her features, Sarah approached the bike, her hand running over the body of the vehicle. It was just like the bike Ronnie had given her. Only a darkish blue, and completely new, although you'd think the same about the bike Sarah already had, considering how well she looked after it.

"Caroline…? Elena…? What is–" Sarah asked, both amazed and confused by what was going on as she looked between her two friends.

"It's your new bike," Elena answered with a smile at Sarah's reaction.

"From us," Caroline added, almost jumping on her tip toes, yet managing to pull back her smile just enough to make it smaller than Sarah's.

"But, why?" Sarah asked, unable to piece it all together as she looked between Elena, Caroline and the bike.

"Well," Caroline began in her usual sheepish Caroline manor that they'd all grown accustom to. "We remembered what you told us about Ronnie giving you your bike, and how that was a big sign of love and all."

"So we thought," Elena jumped in, stepping up to Sarah's side as the three closed in around the new bike, as if it was a newly born baby. "After what happened, that maybe you needed a new bike. One that's about friendship instead of love," Elena explained as she placed her hand on top of Sarah's that was resting on the new bike. Sarah glanced over to Elena, seeing the girl smile at her and she couldn't help but smile back, grateful to have friends like this.

"Oh! And I also compelled the guy to make it exactly like your old bike, except blue instead, and then got him to give it to us for free," Caroline said gleefully, making Sarah laugh. By the way she said it she was obviously proud of that fact and was hoping Sarah felt the same way, which she did.

"But then I told Stefan and he said he and Damon would pay for it," Elena explained, the voice of reason as she shot a parental and amused look towards Caroline.

Caroline began to pout at that, folding her arms as she kicked the ground. "Way to suck the fun out of it," she grumbled, only to make Sarah laugh again.

"It's a good thing you came up with the back up plan then," Elena pointed out with a playful grin. All at once Caroline perked back up, clapping her hands together eagerly as she beamed back at the two.

"Oh, yeah! Come on, let's show her the next bit," Caroline said, almost vamp speeding around the bike before grabbing both Sarah and Elena's arms and dragging them back towards the garage. It wasn't like they weren't trying to follow her. It was just she was walking a hell of a lot faster and they were both struggling to keep up with her, which made it look like she was the one in control suddenly. Once they reached the open door, she let them both go and jogged ahead inside. Following at a slower pace, Sarah walked in with Elena to find Scarlett stood alongside Caroline. A table full of various mundane weapons between them including baseball bats, tire irons, shovels and even a tank of gas. "Tad da!" Caroline cheered, gesturing to the table as Scarlett smirked from the opposite side.

When Sarah went speechless once more, now completely losing the plot, Scarlett explained it to her this time. "Well since you have your new bike and all, we figured you wouldn't be needing the old one. So we thought it'd be a fun idea to completely and utterly destroy it," Scarlett said in an almost sarcastic cheerfulness.

"Like a cleansing ritual," Caroline added.

"It's not a cleansing ritual, that's dumb," Scarlett said over to Caroline while keeping her eyes on Sarah and Elena.

"Their not dumb," Caroline shot back, eyes also remaining on Sarah and Elena.

"Yes they are," Scarlett replied as Sarah and Elena looked to each other, doing their best not to laugh at the argument going on in front of them.

"Will you stop it, you're ruining the moment," Caroline hissed, finally looking over to Scarlett.

"You're stupid cleansing crap is ruining the moment," Scarlett growled back.

"Eh, guys?" Elena spoke up, with her and Sarah on the verge of bursting out into laughter as both their lower lips trembled in unison. The arguing vampire and werewolf turned to their friends, suddenly realising their argument hadn't been as subtle as they'd thought.

"Sorry," Caroline quickly apologised as the fight left both her and Scarlett.

All the same, Sarah could help but smile at them both. "It's fine. And thank you," she said, making her way over to the table. She went to Scarlett first, pulling her into a grateful hug which she returned. Then it was Caroline, who practically leapt onto Sarah the second she was within range. Both thankful for surviving Katherine and her manipulation, together. Lastly she turned to Elena, the pair embracing each other in a tender hug. Before they parted however, Elena placed a gentle compassionate kiss on Sarah's cheek.

"We're all here for you, whenever you need us," Elena said as she stared into Sarah's eyes with a confirming smile. Sarah almost started crying again then and there, but having cried enough today, she managed to keep the joyful tears to herself. With friends like these, and brothers like hers, she'd be fine. She believed that now, for the first time since Katherine had returned. She truly believed it was all going to be okay, even if it was a few weeks away.

"So, how do we do this exactly?" Sarah asked, glancing over to her bike as she quickly whisked away any lingering tears.

"Easy," Scarlett spoke up. "Like this." She turned to Caroline motioning for her to follow her lead. The two then started to grin before they both used their supernatural speed and strength to grab Sarah's old bike and fling it out of the garage and into the drive way. With their combined strength it was more than enough for them to throw the bike in such a way that it flew straight through the air before crashing onto the ground. Silence settled in, before the four women then erupted into insane cheers and screams.

They each grabbed a weapon and the tank of gasoline, then ran over to the bike, beating the crap out of it until there was nothing recognisable left. It might have hurt a little, but the feeling of doing it with her friends and the fact that it was proof she was moving on made Sarah forget all about whatever pain she might once have felt by doing this to her bike. Then, once they'd tired themselves out, Sarah poured the gasoline across her bike, lit a match and then flicked it over towards the bike. The thing erupted into flames and they broke out into more cheers and joyful screams as they watched the bike turn into a bomb fire.

It was then Sarah realised how far she'd come in such a short time, not just in terms of getting her family back together, which she'd now done, but in her life. She had a home, had friends, people she truly did care about, enough to put her own goals aside to help them. Tonight she could have killed Katherine, could have done what she'd wanted to do for so long. But instead she spared her, originally for Elena and now for herself. She was done letting Katherine dictate and control her life. She was a footnote on her life's story now. She would no longer influence her actions and thoughts. This was her life now. And she was going to enjoy it with the people she loved.


	16. Don't Go Near Him

_Review responses:_

CharmedbyCharmed: _Thank you! I worked really hard on it, so I'm glad you enjoyed it and it left an impact. You do raise an interesting point with that question though, I had never thought about it like that, so I might have to bring that up later in a future chapter. Maybe she did feel it, maybe she didn't? We'll find out together! I'm also really proud of the girls friendships too, I wished there been a little more of that in the show honestly. But there's a lot more Elena/Sarah coming up and Caroline and Scarlett will be hanging out a lot more from now on too, so hopefully you enjoy them._

 _It feels like forever since I uploaded, but maybe that's just because I've been away. Anyway, onto the second arc of the story now, and we all know what's coming up! So, so, so pumped to get to the Originals and more werewolves! But before I get ahead of myself, let's get through the this kidnapping fiasco. I've also changed the cover of this story for the second arc. It'll go back to what it was at the end of the story, just so you know._

 _And thanks for all the favourites and follows while I've been away, it's always appreciate as are your kind reviews!_

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Don't Go Near Him**

* * *

The year was 1904, and it was a good year for Sarah. As a matter of fact, the last two years of her life had been brilliant. And it was all thanks to Ronnie. The man had been a shining light in the otherwise dark world Sarah had been inhabiting since she turned into a vampire. Before he came along, she'd been a monster. Killing and draining people of blood like it was no ones business. Lexi had taught her a better way, but hadn't managed to help her with the internal pain she felt each and every day. Ronnie numbed that pain, pushed the thoughts of her broken family, of the woman who tormented her to the back of her mind. That was why she loved spending time with him, because he not only distracted her, but filled the void with something else. Made her feel less empty.

"You're a devil, an absolute devil," Sarah laughed as she slapped her hand against Ronnie's knee, laughing over the story he'd been telling her.

"Well I think they probably thought the same once I showed them my fangs," Ronnie chuckled, retelling the story of how he'd feed on a group of thugs when he first turned, having enough control to spare the woman they'd been threatening. Of course that was only after he'd killed them all, draining them all dry as the woman ran off screaming. It might not sound all that funny, but to Sarah it was. Maybe it was the way Ronnie told it, or maybe it was just him.

As their laughter died down, Sarah finished off her drink, sighing in sweet delight as she sat the empty glass down. "So were is this friend of yours then?" Ronnie asked, making a show of looking around as he did with his gorgeous blue eyes. "I thought she would have been here by now."

So had Sarah, but then again Lexi was a bit of a wild one. "She'll be here. She sent a letter ahead to let me know she was arriving today."

"Well maybe there's been an accident or the route she's taking got blocked?" Ronnie suggested as he sipped at his beer.

"I very much doubt that would stop Lexi," Sarah said with a chuckle, thinking back on her time with Lexi. "When she puts her mind to something, nothing can stop her."

"Too right," said Lexi as she walked up to the couple, smile growing when she saw Sarah.

"Lexi," Sarah said eagerly as she stepped over to the blonde vampire, both throwing their arms around one another in a friendly embrace. "How are you?"

"Not as good as you apparently," Lexi declared as they parted, feisty grin on her lips that made Sarah laugh. She turned her gaze onto Ronnie, looking the man up and down before turning back to Sarah. "I see what you mean, he is hot," Lexi said, grin turning to a smile as Sarah blushed. "I'm Lexi by the way, you are?"

"Ronnie," the man said with a half bow to Lexi.

"Oh, I like him already," Lexi said, sharing a chuckle with Sarah. "Gotta say though, thought he'd be more nervous from your letters."

"Oh, I"m nervous," Ronnie admitted, genuine sincerity in his eyes as he let out a breath, also taking a sip of his beer to calm his nerves. "Do you have any idea what sort of standards she holds you to. I've got a lot to live up too."

"Hate to burst you're bubble there, Blue Eyes, but no one's every going to top me," Lexi said as she placed her arm around Sarah, smiling at her friend.

"Oh, how's Stefan doing by the way?" Sarah asked, her brothers coming back into her mind at the mention of blue eyes, like the ones Damon had. She hoped he was doing okay, but hadn't heard from him in some time. She kept in contact with Stefan but Lexi still advised they stay away from each other, for their own good. They'd met up a few times over the years, just for a few days along with Lexi before going back to their serpent lives. That had been the hardest bit for Sarah.

"He's doing well, staying on his diet. I had to chain him down to the floor before I left but I reckon he'll be fine like that for a week or two," Lexi explained nonchalantly with a shrug at the end, bringing a grin to Sarah's face.

"You are wicked," Sarah said in delight.

"Indeed I am," Lexi agreed. "Now let's get some drinks in us, or more precisely, me and then you two love birds can tell me all about what I've been missing up here in New York. And later on I've got a surprise for you," Lexi said teasingly before compelling the bartender to get her a drink, for which Ronnie offered to pay for. Always the gentleman.

"What kind of surprise?" Sarah asked noisily, leaning down on the counter along with Lexi.

"Just a show, and I'm hoping a couple of my friends will be passing through so I can introduce you to them," Lexi explained, the grin on her lips telling Sarah she was up to something else. But unlike with Katherine, she actually enjoyed Lexi's surprises and always felt a little excited by that look on her friend's face.

"Do they drink?" Sarah asked.

"All the time," Lexi answered as the bar tender brought back fresh beers.

"I'm liking them already," Sarah said with a grin as she and Lexi clicked glasses before each taking a swing of their beer.

* * *

"Get dressed." It was never the nicest way to be woken up in the morning, but Scarlett had come to expect that at least once a week she'd be rudely awoken while living in the Salvatore house. If it wasn't Sarah waking her up for an early training session, it was some life threatening vampire problem that they were dealing with. Or it was just Damon being Damon. However, instead of the usual, "Get up you freeloader," he said, "Be down stairs in five minutes or else I'm dragging you out of here by your ankles."

Scarlett lifted her head from her pillow, glaring at the doorway were Damon had been. She'd only narrowly missed him, judging by the sound of his footsteps as he walked away from her room. She was tempted to see how far he'd go with the ankle dragging threat, the idea actually sounding quite funny. Then she imagined Damon never letting her hear the end of it and decided to get up, throwing on her usual jeans and a t-shirt, grabbing her hoodie before running down stairs to meet Damon. She used her fingers to comb her messy hair as she went, doing her best to straighten it out only for it to curl back up into its messy state. It didn't take her long to give up, figuring her hair would fix itself like it did most days.

When she reached the bottom, Damon was already waiting for her in the front hall, brown paper bag in hand. As she approached, he threw her the bag and she caught it before the smell of morning cooked meat hit her nostrils. "Beacon sandwich," Damon explained as he opened the door. "Now chop, chop, I've got to have a word with you and the cheerleader turned vampire before school."

"Is this supposed to count as breakfast?" Scarlett asked, pulling out the poorly put together sandwich and frowning at both it and Damon.

"Just get in the car," Damon grumbled nodding towards the door. Scarlett rolled her eyes, ducking under his arm as she made her way outside, taking a bite out of her breakfast sandwich as she did. "And don't even think of eating that in my car."

The drive was relatively painless, good mood still lingering from his triumph over Katherine. It wasn't so good however, that he'd let Scarlett finish her breakfast in the car. She got half the sandwich eaten before getting in, and then was forced to wait until they reached Caroline's, before she could continue. It was finished by the time Caroline answered the door, explaining that her mom was already at work, assuming that was who Damon was looking for. When he pointed out he was looking for her, Caroline was a little shocked to say the least, but invited them both in all the same.

It was then he revealed the reason for dragging Scarlett over to Caroline's so early in the morning, it was because he wanted an in detail play by play on what happened with Tyler. Why he needed Scarlett when he had Caroline - a woman who could use ten-thousand words to describe one corner of a photograph, never mind the entire thing - was beyond her comprehension. But seeing as Caroline let her raid the fridge, she stayed and kept her mouth shut as she ate. That was until Caroline got a proper look at her and sat her down on her bed, brushing the messy strands out her hair. It oddly reminded Scarlett of how her mother had done the same after she had her baths as a kid, telling her a story as she brushed her squeaky clear hair. She struggled against it as much now as she had then, but Caroline wasn't willing to let her go, pulling her back down onto the bed every time she tried to get up. Eventually Scarlett stayed put, letting Caroline treat her like a doll while she explained everything to Damon.

"So Sara attacks Tyler – Sara from school, not your sister Sarah – and he pushed her away and she tripped and she fell and she hit her head and then…" Caroline grimaced, realising what she'd started to say and how easily she'd been about to say it. Shame passing through her green eyes briefly. "Well, you know," Caroline went on before lifting the brush back up to the top of Scarlett's scalp, running it through her hair once more.

"Does Matt remember anything?" Damon asked from the doorway.

"Hmm, he thinks he blacked out," Caroline answered, running the brush one final time through Scarlett's hair, now moving more fluidly and bringing the werewolf a lot less pain. Catching her reflection in Caroline's mirror, she had to give the blonde vampire her credit, she knew what she was doing, even though she'd only fixed her hair. "But I think they were both compelled by Katherine. That's why we covered for Tyler and said it was an accident," Caroline finished explaining as she climbed off the bed, making her way over to her wardrobe.

"Yeah, I don't understand that. The guy's a tool," Damon said with a confused brow as his blue eyes followed the young vampire. Scarlett had to agree with him on that one, Tyler was tool, but so was he, and both of them had done good things. Usually for the wrong reasons but who was she to talk. Like Damon and herself, Tyler just needed help. At least that was Scarlett's two cents as she sat on the bed, legs folded as she munched on a bag of cookies from Caroline's cupboard.

"Gee, duh. Tyler getting blamed for Sara's death just opens up questions he can't answer," Caroline explained as she pulled on one of her shoes before reaching for the other. "And do you really think that it's a good idea for him to tell his mom he's a werewolf?"

"Well, no," Damon agreed, condescension in his voice as he eyed Caroline, silently surprised by her quick and logical thinking.

"And that werewolf road leads straight to Vampire Boulevard. I thought I was thinking fast on my feet," Caroline said defensively as she plucked a scarf from her door, throwing it around her neck before wrapping it loosely around once, completing her outfit for the day. She seemed pretty pleased and content with it all as she looked herself over in the mirror. That was until she looked over at Scarlett and her happy exterior turned to a moody frown. "Scarlett!"

"What?" Scarlett said, mouth full of cookie coming out as she did.

"You've left cookie crumbs all over the place," Caroline grumbled as she ushered Scarlett of the bed, quickly brushing the cookie crumbs into her hand.

"We're still house training her," Damon said smugly from the door, to which Scarlett shot him a glare, throwing a cookie at him when he continued to grin at her. He caught the treat and took a bite out of it, deliberately leaving more crumbs on the floor for Caroline to groan over.

"Why did I ever let you two in here," Caroline grumbled to herself as she dropped what crumbs she'd picked up into the bin, she'd have to deal with the rest after school, she was almost running late now. She turned, finding Scarlett still munching away and quickly snatched the bag from her hands, finding that there were only two cookies and a bag full of crumbs left, from a bag that had been full when Scarlett first brought it in. "Scarlett!" Caroline moaned again.

"Sorry, werewolf hunger," Scarlett said sheepishly.

Another grown from Caroline as she pushed past Scarlett, then Damon, making her way into the kitchen where she threw the bag down on the counter. "Last time I open my kitchen to anything supernatural." She turned around, beginning to frown as a question popped into her head. "So, can Tyler turn into a wolf now?" she asked, stepping out of the kitchen and into the hallway were Damon and Scarlett were waiting for her.

"Only on a full moon," Damon answered.

"Unlike me," Scarlett added before continuing with, "But he'll have supernatural strength, speed and possibly the nose and hearing stuff that I can do."

"Oh," Caroline said, sounding a little worried.

"He won't be as strong as us though, not without the full moon," Scarlett added, hoping to put Caroline at ease. It didn't seem to comfort her all that much, but her beeping phone was a nice distraction. Not long after Scarlett's own phone went off, a text from Jeremy popping up. It was a just a sweet little message saying good morning and that he was looking forward to seeing her at school so they could share in the torment. She sent him a quick reply only for him to send another text within seconds of hers, but with nothing to do with what they'd been talking about. He was asking about Elena being over and to give her a message.

Scarlett didn't get much further though as Damon was suddenly snapping at her and Caroline, both girls looking up from their phones as the blue eyed vampire glared at them both. "What'd you two tell him?" Damon asked, as if repeating himself.

"Nothing, really," Caroline said as she looked to Scarlett who nodded in agreement. "I don't think he knows much of anything. He seemed really freaked out and honestly, I felt kind of bad for him," Caroline explained, grabbing her bag and keys before making her way towards the front door, leaving her two supernatural friends behind in her hallway.

"He's got to know something," Damon thought aloud.

"He knows as much about werewolves as I do and nothing about vampires," Scarlett pointed out, having already told this to all the Salvatores, but to a paranoid Damon that was never going to be enough, she should have known that.

"You wouldn't happen to have some werewolf mind reading trick would you?" Damon asked, eyes moving to Scarlett who tilted her head to the side with a lowered brow in a 'seriously?' look.

"No, I don't," Scarlett said condescendingly to which Damon sneered at her.

"We could always just ask him," Caroline called back as she reach for the door, only to jump back when Damon was suddenly in front of her, advancing towards her as he grabbed her jacket, pulling her towards his burning blue eyes.

"No, we can't Caroline," Damon snarled. Scarlett rolled her eyes from behind Caroline who was admittedly, a little scared by Damon. He might not have been as terrifying as Katherine, but she still knew what he'd done to her prior to being a vampire and that, when she first turned, he'd wanted to kill her. He might even still do it if given the excuse.

"He cannot know about us. A bite from a werewolf can kill a vampire so don't be his friend."

"Except I'm a werewolf," Scarlett spoke up from down the hall, grabbing both vampires' attention as they looked back. Shrugging, she continued with, "And I'm always able to bite and kills vampires." She smiled at Damon, seeing the irritation in his eyes at her challenging him.

"Difference is we don't trust Tyler, he's a douche," Damon explained, making a point of treating Scarlett like some kind of child, who didn't understand what she was talking about. But she knew damn well what he was saying and knew how to turn it around on him.

"So you trust me then?" Scarlett asked pointedly, smirking away as Caroline hid her own grin of amusement from the glaring Damon.

"Don't push it," Damon simply said, letting go of Caroline and opening up the front door. "Now get out of here, and remember, stay away from Tyler," he warned, pointing his finger at both Caroline and Scarlett.

"Yes, sir, mister boss man, sir" Scarlett said sarcastically as she marched out after Caroline, the blonde doing her best not to giggle as Damon followed them out, rolling his eyes at the youngsters before closing the door behind him.

* * *

"Ugh," Sarah groaned, her throat closing in on itself as she sipped on the tinny cup of vervain Stefan had supplied her with. It was a sound idea, in theory. Drinking vervain like Katherine had done to make them more resistant to its effects on them. The major down side to that. The after taste was worse than anything Sarah could think off.

"Stop being dramatic," Stefan teased, taking the tiny cup back, placing it in his locker before handing her a water bottle. "Here."

"I don't think water's going to do me much good, Stefan," Sarah croaked out, hand rubbing her throat as she moved her mouth around in an attempt to stretch it and get some feeling back.

"It's not water, it's blood," Stefan explained as he leaned in towards his sister, grin on his face.

She stared at him for a moment, before taking the water bottle from him, twisting the top as she asked, "Should I be worried?"

"No. I've got it under control and I'm sticking to the schedule," Stefan said with an easy smile that made Sarah want to believe him, but after everything they'd been through, she was really hoping this wasn't a sign of him relapsing. But his progress over the last few weeks had been good, and she'd stopped hovering around him as much, leaving him deal with the blood on his own. So far nothing bad had come of it. And even drinking from the bottle as Stefan spoke, she could tell he hadn't had a lot from it, and that it was old blood, not having been topped up recently. Maybe he really did have a handle on it this time. Lexi would be so jealous that she'd been right…sort of.

"Thanks," Sarah said holding out the bottle for Stefan to take back. He did so, placing it back in his locker before closing it. He then turned to leave, Sarah pushing off the locker she'd been leaning against as they made their way towards their first class that day. However, they quickly slowed in pace when Jeremy approached them.

"Hey, Jeremy," Stefan greeted the young man.

He was straight to the point as he joint the two Salvatores in a walk down the hallway. "Look, Elena's got to let me if I'm supposed to cover for her. Jenna's cool with the two of you but you guys are pushing it."

Stefan looked to his sister, seeing she was just as confused as him he turned back to Jeremy and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"You and Elena," Jeremy said with a smile. "Look, I'm glad you guys are back together but if she's gonna sleep over–"

"Wait, wait – Hold on a minute," Stefan cut in as he and Sarah came to a stop in front of Jeremy, both staring at him with matching expressions of confusion. "We're not back together," Stefan pointed out.

"She didn't stay at your place last night?" Jeremy asked, confusion forming on his face as he continued to smile.

"I didn't see her last night, or at all yesterday," Stefan explained before looking to his sister.

"She texted me that morning asking how I was doing but I never got a reply after that," Sarah explained, arms folded as she looked between her brother and Jeremy.

"Well then, where the hell is she?" Jeremy asked, to which neither Salvatore had an answer.

After asking around, they quickly came to the conclusion that Elena had been kidnapped. Her car had apparently been abandoned down the road form Bonnie's, where she was supposed to meet her friend for some normal ani't supernatural stuff. As it turns out, she never arrived, and Bonnie just assumed something had come up but was surprised to find her empty car down the road that morning. Sarah got Caroline and Bonnie to ask around, see if anyone might have an idea of what happened to her, while she got Scarlett and Jeremy to go to Elena's car and see if their local werewolf could pick up a scent. As it turned out, what trail Scarlett could pick up vanished by the road, adding to the kidnapped theory.

While Sarah had been coordinating all that, Stefan called Damon, getting him to meet them both at the school before he went around joining Bonnie and Caroline in their search for information. No surprise, no one in the damn building knew anything. Still, it kept Caroline from going supernova. Bonnie kept an eye on her and Sarah asked Scarlett to do the same for Jeremy once they got back to school. Not exactly where he wanted to be but Scarlett managed to convince him it was the best idea. After all that, Damon finally arrived and Stefan and Sarah made their way outside, meeting him in the car park by his car.

"This has Katherine written all over it," Stefan decided, once he and Sarah had finished giving Damon the update, as he now paced back and forth in front of Damon's car. A sibling at each end, watching him. Sarah leaning against the hood of Damon's car while he stood with folded arms by the other side.

"Katherine's in the tomb. How could she possibly have orchestrated this?" Damon asked with a snort.

"What about that thing she told us before we locked her away?" Sarah asked, looking between her brothers, aiming to get their thoughts on the matter.

"You mean that desperate lie, please," Damon scoffed.

"No, no, she's right. Remember Katherine warned us Elena was in danger," Stefan agreed as he pointed to Sarah.

"Yeah, only if we let Katherine out, which we're never going to do," Damon declared as he stood up, throwing his arms up in the air.

"Well then who took her Damon? Who else would want to take Elena?" Stefan demanded, angry at his brother's attitude to the fact Elena had been kidnapped and they knew next to nothing about it.

"He has a point, Damon," Sarah had to admit, to which Damon began shaking his head, hands going to his hips. _Was it ever going to end_ , he wondered. He could have sworn his supernatural life never had this much drama prior to his return to Mystic Falls.

"I want to talk to her," Stefan suddenly declared.

"And now he's gone off the deep end," Sarah said in deadpan.

"She's the only one with any answers," Stefan snapped, feeling like his siblings weren't taking this seriously enough.

"Alright, let me tell you how that's gonna go," Damon began as he walked over to his brother, placing his hands on both his shoulders. "We're gonna go ask her for help, she's gonna negotiate her release which we're gonna be dumb enough to give her and she's gonna get out and kill us. This is exactly what she wants!" Damon explained, angry that his brother was falling into another of Katherine's mind games, especially after they'd just gotten rid of her.

"I don't really care," Stefan said as he knocked his brother's arms away before heading back towards the school.

"Stefan!" Sarah called after her brother, in no mood to deal with this pointless drama when no matter what, Katherine wasn't getting let out. And since that was the only thing she'd trade for information about Elena, it was never going to work.

"It's Elena," was all he said in turn before marching into the school to find the only one who could let Katherine out. Bonnie. Sarah shared a look with Damon before then pushing of his car and heading into the school after her hot headed, idiotic, brother. Who for once wasn't Damon.

* * *

After sniffing out Elena's car and finding only dead ends, Scarlett and Jeremy thankfully managed to make it back before second period. They quickly split up, heading off to their own classes, which wasn't easy seeing as how Jeremy was obviously needing her for support. She told him to call her if he needed her and she'd be there in a heartbeat, which seemed to reassure him as they parted.

She had to make a quick stop at her lock though, grabbing her books for math before going to class. Once she got them, she elbowed her locker shut and was about to continue on through the mass of people when saw Tyler by the water fountain, splashing water on his face as he took in deep breaths. She felt sorry for him, he was obviously struggling and confused, a fact Scarlett could tell even without listening to his pounding heart. She'd shamefully forgotten about him the last few days, prioritising other things over the newly turned werewolf who was clearly having a rough time adjusting. Guess full moons weren't the only bad time to be a werewolf without a magic necklace. Scarlett was starting to understand why it was referred to as a curse.

She started to walk, heading down the hallway towards Tyler when someone grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop with a surprising amount of strength. Though it wasn't that surprising when she followed the hand to find it attached to Caroline, her cautious green eyes connecting with Scarlett's cool blue. "Damon said we're not supposed to talk to him."

"Quick reminder, Caroline. Damon's not the boss of anyone, least of all us," Scarlett spelled out for Caroline, pulling her arm from her grasp. "Now I'm going to go over there and try and help my…whatever the hell he is in relation to me now." Rolling her eyes at her lame finish, Scarlett continued on down the hallway, leaving Caroline behind, watching as she went up to Tyler. "Tyler, hey, how's it going?"

"Not great," Tyler admitted with a sigh, still leaning over the water fountain before running his hands over his face with fresh water.

"Anything I can do to help?" Scarlett asked, placing her hands over one another as Tyler straightened up, turning to face her. One hand in his pocket, the other clinging tightly to the strap of his bag.

"Yeah, actually. Is there anything else I should know…about this werewolf thing," Tyler asked nervously.

"I mean, what did your uncle tell you?" Scarlett asked sheepishly, squirming a little at the question. She wasn't used to being seen as the experienced one by…well by anyone, and it was a little intimidating. And even then she didn't know everything about being a werewolf, as she'd already told Tyler. She'd only met two other wolves and that had been Mason and him, the experience and knowledgeable of those two know being dead. So knowledge wasn't exactly her strong suit.

"Not a whole lot, other than it's a curse and to avoid it at all coast. Bit late for that though," he scoffed at the end, a hallow chuckle coming out before he continued. "All I really know is during next full moon I'll be growing fur all over and dropping onto all fours for the night, and not in a good way. So is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Sorry, Tyler. Like I told you before, I don't know all that much myself. Everything I told you I either learnt on my own, or Mason told me before he left," Scarlett said apologetically, but that didn't seem good enough for Tyler. "I guess there's the pack thing."

"Pack thing?" Tyler questioned.

"Werewolves are apparently like really wolves, and when they form groups it's called a Pack. Unfortunately, I don't know any packs and besides you and your uncle, I don't know any other werewolves," Scarlett explained, watching as Tyler's nostrils flared.

"Great. So you know literally nothing that I couldn't have worked out for myself, and you don't even know anyone else like us, who I wouldn't already know because I'm related to that one person. Thanks," Tyler growled sarcastically before shoving his way past Scarlett, bumping into her shoulder on purpose.

It took everything Scarlett had not to grab him and throw him into the lockers then and there. Heck she was struggling to stop her eyes from glowing, feeling them tingle as she fought the urge. It wasn't his fault, just hormones and werewolf urges kicking in for the first time. She remembered her own anger, anger for everything before she'd been freed, thanks to Sarah and her mother. Even from beyond the grave she was still helping her, allowing her to control her werewolf powers and her emotions, like she was now as Scarlett held her necklace tightly. _Tyler just needed tim_ e, she told herself. He'd come around sooner or later, just hopefully before he did something else he'd regret.

* * *

"I can't undo the tomb spell, Stefan," Bonnie explained to him as she, Stefan and Sarah gather around one of the lunch tables away from the other students. The witch had a free period and was supposed to be studying like everyone else in the lunch hall, but Stefan and Sarah were skipping classes until the missing Elena issue was resolved. "Even if I wanted to. It took both me and my Grams to undo it the first time," Bonnie reminded him.

"But I can open the door, right? I can talk to her?" Stefan asked, needing something.

"Yeah, but Damon and Sarah are right. She's not gonna tell you anything, not without something in return," Bonnie said, motioning to Sarah who was sat next to Stefan with her feet up on the free seat.

"See," Sarah said motioning to Bonnie as they both looked to her. "Even Bonnie's agreeing with me. That's gotta tell you something."

"I know, Sarah. I know. But I've got to do something. I have no idea who has Elena and I have no idea where she is," Stefan stressed, panic showing as he argued with the two which was bringing them no closer to finding Elena.

Rolling her head back towards Bonnie, Sarah politely asked, "Is there anything else you could do to help?"

"I might have an idea, but I'm going to need somethings," Bonnie said to which both Sarah and Stefan nodded in agreement. Fifteen minutes later, the two Salvatore vampires, Bonnie and Jeremy were in Alaric's empty classroom setting up for a tracking spell, map spread out across a series of desks they'd shoved together. They had hoped to get Alaric's help but he'd been called in to substitute but had left them the keys and asked them to clean up before next period.

"How does this work?' Jeremy asked as he leaned over the map along with Bonnie who was lighting candles as she explained.

"I'll use your blood to draw energy for the tracking spell. Your blood related; it'll make the connection stronger," Bonnie explained as she finished her preparations.

"Basically, just close your eyes and let her cut you open," Sarah said from behind Alaric's desk as she searched through his desk for his hidden weapon stash. He must have moved it around since last time, apparently not to happy with the idea of his students taking his weapons when he wasn't looking. Sarah might have agreed with his point had she not been looking for them right now. Fortunately, she soon spotted a secret hatch behind one of the lower drawers, concealing a duffle bag of weapons. Pulling it out, she ignored Bonnie's protests at her description of what was going to happen, dropping the bag full of weapons onto the desk. "That takes care of the weapons," Sarah explained, dusting her hands as she leaned down on Alaric's desk, just as Stefan came back in.

"Alright, Alaric said we've got ten more minutes then we've got to be out of here. He also said…" he looked to Sarah, finding that she already had the weapons Alaric had told him about. "Never mind," he mumbled turning back to Bonnie and Jeremy as Sarah smiled smugly at him.

"You ready?" Bonnie asked Jeremy, knife in hand and holding out her hand to take his.

"Yeah," he said with a nod, giving Bonnie his hand before she cut it open, letting the blood slither off his hand and down onto the map below. After a few drops, Jeremy removed his hand from above the map, taking the cloth Stefan offered him, not noticing the lingering look Stefan was giving him. It was still a good sign, Sarah thought, at least he wasn't obsessing over it and thinking about ripping Jeremy's throat out. He was at a similar stage Caroline was, in control of their diets but still tempted by the sight of blood.

Bonnie's chanting then began to fill the room and they all watched with bated breath as the few drops of Jeremy's blood began to come together over Mystic Falls. Then as the chanting went on, the red dote of blood began to move south, down towards the state boarder until finally it stopped on some forgotten country road. "There. She's there," Bonnie said, pointing to where the blood had stopped.

"That's three-hundred miles away," Jeremy exclaimed as he leaned back over the map along with Stefan.

"No, Bonnie. We need a more exact location than that," Stefan pressed, looking to the witch desperately.

"That's as close as I can get," Bonnie explained, sighing a little from exhaustion. Despite all she'd been through, she was still learning and new to the witchcraft she'd inherited. It was taking a lot out of her to perform so much magic back to back without any breaks to regain her strength.

"We can map it, aerial view will show us what's around there, help us narrow down the area," Jeremy explained to Stefan with a surprisingly good idea.

"Look at Gilbert go," Sarah said with a grin to the young boy as Stefan smiled at him too. He then made his way over to Sarah as he picked up the weapons bag.

"Call us with whatever you find," Stefan said as he and his sister made for the door only for Jeremy to start marching after them, prompting them both to stop.

"No, no, I'm coming with you," Jeremy argued.

"No, Jeremy, you're not," Stefan replied.

"No, I'm not just gonna sit here. What if she's hurt? Or worse, what if she's….?" Jeremy asked, worst fears coming out, the kind of stuff none of them should be thinking about right now.

"Jeremy," Sarah said as she put her hand on his shoulder, offering him the most comforting smile she could come up with. "You worry too much. Now go home, take Scarlett if she's okay with it, watch a movie and we'll be back with Elena before you know it."

"Bonnie, can you keep yourself available in case we need you?" Stefan asked, the witch taking her time in turning as she wiped her noise.

"Yeah sure, I'll be here if you need me."

"Thanks," Stefan said gratefully, going to walk away before Jeremy started up again.

"But you can't do this alone," he protested as the door opened, Damon revealing himself as he stood in the doorway.

"They won't be alone," Damon said firmly as he locked eyes with his siblings. "Let's go," he said with a nod towards the door.

"You're coming with us?" Stefan asked.

"It's Elena," Damon replied, using the same line his brother had on him earlier. With that he then left, Sarah and Stefan following before they gathered into Damon's car and hit the road.

* * *

From the bench, Scarlett watched as Tyler raced around the basketball court that was set up in the car park. Seems he was adjusting to his werewolf strength and speed pretty easily, judging by how he was acting out on the court. Snatching the ball from players, racing past them all, shoving those aside that managed to get in his way before then leaping up into the air and slamming the ball through the hoop. Subtly wasn't this guy's strong suit, but Scarlett really shouldn't have seen anything different coming.

Though from watching him, he seemed to be trying to let of some steam. He was tease, probably hoping the game would ease him up, rather than remind him how different he was now, which then led him right back to the murder and the fact he was a werewolf. It was sad to see him like this, especially when Scarlett thought back on her own experience when she first triggered the curse. She'd loved it for the most part, thrived with it, and had known way less than Tyler, who couldn't settle for what he had.

Mind you, she'd been the same, until she let Jeremy into her life. He'd managed to take her mind off all that, off of everything she didn't know. Tyler needed someone like that. It was obvious basketball wasn't doing it for him, and after their encounter in the hall this morning, he obviously wanted to know more. It was just fear, fear of the unknown. And what he really feared was the change itself, which in all honesty was indescribable and different for everyone, at least it was for Scarlett. She'd grown used to the pain and could push through it with ease now. For Tyler. It was gonna be hell. That was what he really wanted to know, and Scarlett just didn't have the heart to tell him, because no matter how bad she made it seem, it'd be worse.

"Hey," Caroline said, appearing at Scarlett's side and casting a shadow over her.

Scarlett looked up, eyes adjusting to the silhouette that was Caroline and her friendly smile. "Hey, Caroline," Scarlett replied politely. "What's up?"

"I was just heading home, you want a lift?" Caroline offered, seeing as it was the end of the school day.

"I'm waiting for Jeremy, but thanks," Scarlett said with a smile.

"Any word on Elena yet?" Caroline asked with a concerned look, nervously playing with the strap of her bag.

"No," Scarlett said disappointedly with a shake of the head. "That's why I'm going home with Jeremy. Make sure he'd not alone and try and keep his mind off things."

"Alright," Caroline said with a head nod before pushing a smile back onto her face. "I'll catch you later," she said with a wave before continuing on towards the parking lot. Scarlett waved after her, only to then look back to the basketball court and find Tyler gone. She momentarily frowned, nose flaring as she searched for his scent. Her eyes spotted him before her nose did, eyes widening in alarm when she saw Tyler cutting Caroline off by one of the school buses.

"Tyler! Hey," Caroline said in surprise, obviously caught off guard by his sudden appearance, and in a panic over what Damon would do to her if he found out she'd spoken to him.

"Tell me what you know," Tyler demanded, as Scarlett got up from her bench, grabbing her bag. With her hearing focused on the couple, she began to make her way over at a brisk pace, not wanting to run and draw attention.

"What?" Caroline scoffed, in fake confusion. Really obvious fake confusion.

"Tell me what you know about the curse, Caroline," Tyler snapped, advancing on her.

To Caroline's credit though, she didn't back down, on continue to frown in confusion as Tyler glared at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Now, I'm late, so…" Caroline trailed off as she went to step past Tyler only for him to grab her arm, stopping her dead with his enhanced strength.

"Hey!" he growled, only to then find himself bent over as Caroline twisted his arm behind his back. He tried to fight it, tapping into his werewolf strength. For a second Scarlett thought he might have over powered Caroline, but then she shoved him back down, pushing him the ground.

Scarlett stopped in her stride, brow going up in surprise at how well Caroline had handled the situation. After the whole Katherine thing, she'd obviously developed a bit of a back bone, at least towards other supernaturals. It suited her, better than her whining and crying thing that she'd done up until they beat Katherine.

Still watching from afar, Caroline looked over and saw Scarlett staring back. She shrugged in a 'what else was I supposed to do?' way, and Scarlett responded with a shrug of agreement while Tyler climbed back up to his feet, panting as he stared in disbelief at Caroline. "How did you…you're stronger than me?" Tyler asked, holding his sore shoulder after Caroline twisted it.

"Please, that was nothing," Caroline mumbled, playing with her bag strap as she tried to play it off as nothing.

"Listen if you know something you've got to tell me because I can't handle this. Please, just tell me something," Tyler begged, only for Caroline to sigh.

"Look, Tyler, I'm sorry, but I don't know anything. Just…Just get some help alright," Caroline finished lamely before walking off, leaving Tyler by the bus.

"What do you think I'm trying to do!" Tyler snapped after her before slamming his fist into the side of the bus, leaving a noticeable dent. Surprised by his own strength, Tyler quickly looked around to see if anyone noticed then walked off, not noticing Scarlett as she watched him go.

"So you heard all that right?" Caroline asked, appearing at Scarlett's side once more, this time thanks to her vamp speed.

"Yeah," Scarlett sighed, watching Tyler as he headed towards his car.

"Well, what are we going to do? He obviously needs help, otherwise he's going to ruin everything. First he'll get himself exposed, then you, then the rest of us," Caroline rambled on in her usual overdramatic way, though this time Scarlett could see where she was coming from. They were all in danger of being exposed as long as Tyler kept this up.

"I'll text Jeremy. At least this way he'll feel more productive, worry less about Elena," Scarlett said as she pulled out her phone, sending him a quick update text.

"And worry more about you," Caroline pointed out with a knowing look.

"Better me than Elena right now, trust me," Scarlett said, at least with her, Jeremy could hold and physically feel like he could protect her, unlike with Elena currently. "I've told him to meet us by your car, that cool?"

Caroline nodded. "Come on, we can go to my place," she said as she led Scarlett over to her car.

* * *

From her laid back position in the back seat, Sarah sat with her legs crossed at the knee, while her head used the bag of weapons next to her as a pillow. She never got why people called shotgun on road trips. The back was great when in a family of three, especially if you were the youngest, 'cause guess who gets the back seat all to herself? Oh, yeah, Sarah was more than happy to stretch out in the back while her brothers sat up front, Damon at the wheel and Stefan in the passenger seat.

"Alaric sure likes his weapons," Damon said as he eyed the one Stefan was playing about with. "What the hell is that thing anyway?"

"I don't know, it's a vervain bomb or a grenade or something like that," Stefan said, staring at the small homemade grenade, specific for vampires, before putting it away in his pocket.

"Weird," Damon said with a an eye roll.

"That's one word for it," Sarah said from the back seat, eyes closed as she took in the tension free atmosphere, because god knew it wouldn't stay that way for long. Especially with the three of them cramped together in a car for an extensive period of time. Sooner or later one of them was bound to snap, that was part of the fun in Sarah's opinion, just as long as they all made up afterwards.

"How much further is it?" Stefan asked, glancing over at his brother.

"About eighty miles," Damon answered, eyes remaining on the road.

"Who do you think took her?" Stefan posed to both his siblings.

"My guess, whoever Katherine's running from," Damon answered with a shrug, as if it really didn't matter.

"Or anyone that has a beef against Katherine," Sarah added from the back seat.

"So basically the entire world," Damon said with a smirk, glancing over his shoulder at his laid back sister.

"Well, she is the devil incarnate. I'd be disappointed if it was anything less," Sarah continued along with the joke, as she and Damon let out a chuckle of amusement.

"Thanks by the way, both of you, for helping me," Stefan then said after a moment, looking at his brother, then back at his sister.

"Can we not do the whole road trip bonding thing?" Damon groaned, rolling his eyes while keeping them away from his siblings. "The cliche of it all makes me itch."

"Oh, come on Damon. We both know that you being in this car has absolutely nothing to do with me anyway," Stefan said knowingly, to which Sarah opened her eyes and sighed. _Oh, well, the tension free atmosphere had been nice while it lasted_ , she thought as she sat up in the middle of the back seat.

"And the elephant in the room lets out a mighty roar," Damon said with a grin to hid away his thoughts.

"Well it doesn't have to be an elephant. Let's talk about it," Stefan suggested, looking towards his brother.

"Or, better idea, we could talk about, literally, anything else," Sarah suggested as she leaned forward in between her brothers, deliberately getting in between their eye line as they both frowned at her. "Come on, guys, we're finally in a good place, let's not rock the boat by bring up old pointless arguments."

"I'm not trying to start an argument, I just want Damon to open up," Stefan explained, shaking his head as if it wasn't a big deal.

"I'll open up this door and jump out before I do that," Damon grumbled as he turned a corner on the country road.

"No you won't," Stefan said knowingly, smiling smugly when Damon looked his way with a glare.

"Alright, look, here's what's going to happen. First, we find Elena – Stefan's girlfriend – and rescue her. Then we're going to find some slutty girl for Damon, since that's his type apparently," Sarah said with a grin to her eldest brother as he shot her a fake smile in return.

"Thanks, Sis."

"You're welcome," Sarah declared in an overly cheery attitude before continuing in her regular one. "Then we live out the rest of our lives happily, give it fifty or sixty years then finish off Katherine. In that order, no deviations, no arguments and no drama."

With that, Sarah then leaned back in her seat, now enjoying the ride once more. Now that she'd successfully defused the tension in the car. "And what about your love life, Sis. Where does that appear on that list of yours?" Damon asked with a smug grin. _Rats_ , Sarah thought, glaring at her brother through the rear view mirror, realising how she'd left herself exposed.

"Let's just focus on you two idiots for the time being," Sarah shot back, fully knowing that her brothers were smirking together in the front seat.

"Whatever you say, Sarah," Stefan replied, amusement in his voice as he and Damon shared a look. Sarah just rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh as she made herself comfy once more, ending where she'd started off, with her feet up on the seat next to her, and her head resting comfortably on the bag of weapons. Yeah, there was definitely nothing like a family road trip. One minute it's blissful happiness and relaxation, the next you're wondering why you ever wanted to bring your family back together.

* * *

Unlocking the door to her home, Caroline lead the way in, holding the door open as Scarlett and Jeremy stepped into the Forbes home. Once inside, she closed the door, jiggling her keys about as she lead them towards the kitchen. "Just make yourselves at home, I'll be back in a sec," Caroline said, gesturing to the table in the room. Jeremy nodded with a smile, proceeding through, but Scarlett paused, holding her finger up in question.

"Can I–"

"No, you can't have anything to eat," Caroline said instantly. Scarlett put on a pout, but proceeded through all the same, whacking Jeremy on the arm when she caught him snickering. Caroline had been explaining the eating machine that was Scarlett on the way home, comparing notes with Jeremy, who'd apparently had to pick up extra chores with Jenny in order to pay her back for all the food Scarlett was eating. Scarlett knew it was bogus, Jenna loved her, though she couldn't deny how much food she'd eaten while staying at the Gilberts'. She really should pay them back at some point for their hospitality. Which would be easier if she had some money.

She sat down next to Jeremy, who was rubbing his arm as Caroline turned to leave, only to pause as Scarlett looked up. Both had sensed it, despite Jeremy's moaning, both knew they weren't alone. Caroline looked back, as if to confirm it from Scarlett, still not fully trusting her own senses. When Scarlett nodded back and stood up, Jeremy fell silent, looking between the two. "Everything alright?" he asked, frown forming.

"Yeah," Scarlett said before sniffing the air, brow lowering as she realised who it was. "It's just Tyler."

Caroline exhaled with her usual dramatic flare, turning swiftly and marching out into the hallway. "Seriously Tyler!" she called out. "Breaking and entering the sheriff's house? Are you trying to win a dumb ass award or something?" As she shouted at the room, Tyler stepped out, glaring down the hallway towards Caroline, and then at Scarlett and Jeremy as they stepped out it not the hallway to join Caroline.

"I get it now, why you're both refusing to tell me anything," Tyler said as he gestured to Scarlett and Caroline, both of which shared a confused look before turning back to Tyler.

"Really?" they both asked.

"Yes, I do," Tyler said cockily as he took a step towards them. "I know you're all just like me."

"No," Caroline scoffed, deflecting as she lowered her gaze, even folding her arms.

"We're really not," agreed Jeremy, shaking his head.

"Go ahead. Keep dodging, keep changing the subject. But I saw how strong you were," Tyler said with a knowing smirk as he pointed at Caroline. "And I'm not leaving here until you tell me the truth."

Sharing a look with Scarlett, Caroline nervously turned back to Tyler, trying to figure out how to continue until Scarlett spoke up for her. "Tyler–" she began, only to get interrupted by Tyler, who thought he knew it all.

"Your both werewolves," Tyler said, pointing at Caroline and Jeremy who stared back with wide eyes. "And you're all in a pack," he added, waving his finger at the group of three who stared back for a moment, before all three burst out into joint laughter, confusing Tyler as he frowned back. They tried to stop, but looking at each other only made them all laugh more.

"You…You, think…" Scarlett laughed out as she pointed at both Caroline and Jeremy, laughing some more as she tried to say it. It was just so ridicules to hear it, never mind think it and then say it. To think Tyler actually thought they were all werewolves and in a pack was hilarious, even more so because if he just used his nose, instead of his thick head, then he'd realise how wrong that was. Heck, even if he thought about it for more than five seconds he'd see some pretty obvious flaws. But that wasn't Tyler. No. Tyler was the hothead idiot who just then grabbed Scarlett, pulling her away from Caroline and Jeremy as he shoved her face first against a wall.

All laughed ceased as seriousness took over, Tyler growling in humiliated rage as he pushed Scarlett against the wall. He was confused, still didn't understand and was certain he was right when he really wasn't. Jeremy and Caroline shouted out, Scarlett tried to speak but couldn't get anything audible out with half her face pressed agains the wall. "Stop lying to me!" Tyler shouted only to then be pulled back and thrown down to the floor, finding Caroline standing over him. Hissing as her eyes filled with blood, her fangs forming as black veins appeared beneath her eyes. Tyler clambered back until his back hit the wall, staring up in horror as Caroline's vampiric features faded and Scarlett and Jeremy stepped up to her sides.

"I'm not a werewolf. I'm a vampire," Caroline explained with a sympathetic smile.

"And I'm just human," Jeremy added with a sympathetic smile of his own.

"And you and I are the only werewolves in town," Scarlett concluded before stepping in front of Caroline and Jeremy and bending down towards Tyler who flinched as she got closer. "Now, how about you calm down, shut up, and listen for once in your life."


	17. Rose

_Review responses:_

Only reviewer: _Since Jeremy and Bonnie aren't going to get together in this story, I figured I'd add him into the scene with Tyler and the others. Give him a little more of a presence in the story, rather than sitting around with Bonnie not getting together. And yes, the Martins will show up soon, they're not my favourite characters either. ;)_

 _Just a quick note then onto the chapter – Elijah! Yay! But I'll be uploading again next week, no break this time!_

 _As always thanks for the favourites and follows, on this story and others, and don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts and opinions if you have the time! It's always appreciated. Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Rose**

* * *

"We're getting closer," Stefan declared as Damon rounded a bend at the end of the road. "Bonnie said there's an access road just past mile marker six."

"Great," Damon said with a roll of the eyes, smirking at his brother before looking to his sister through the rear view mirror. "Pass us a blood bag, Sis." Now sitting up in the back, Sarah reached down to the cold bag at her feet, pulling out a blood bag and slapping it into Damon's out reaching hand. "Thank you," Damon said with a grin before he began to sip from the bag, as if it was a smoothy.

Sarah just shook her head to herself, before grabbing a bag for herself and taking a drink along with her brother. As they drank though, Stefan watched, and Sarah could tell he was hungry. It was around time for his daily feed, but she was waiting for him to ask, testing his control. After all, she didn't want to be babysitting him her whole life.

It took Damon a few more seconds to realise that Stefan was watching them both, eyes going to Stefan who quickly looked away at his brother's glance. Embarrassed, even if he shouldn't be. He was taking the proper steps to better himself and that was nothing to be ashamed off. Though it was something Damon would tease him about to no end. But that was just Damon being Damon. "If you want some just ask," Damon said with a grin, to which Stefan turned back without batting an eye and said, "I want some."

"Ah, that's so sweet. You're gonna be all big and strong and save your girl but don't worry, I've got your back it'll be fine," Damon teased as he looked back to the road, sipping on his blood bag as he drove.

"Will you quit it," Sarah said, deliberately slapping her eldest brother's arm as she reached into the cool bag they'd brought. She'd been prepared for this when they stopped by the house to pick up some blood, brining along some special bags for Stefan in case he got hungry or in fact remembered it was his scheduled feeding time. Being precise with his feeding times had obviously helped, as now he was only hungry when he knew it was time for blood. It was working, he was getting stronger, healthier and in complete control. Still, Sarah tried not to get ahead of herself as she pulled out a bag for Stefan.

"There you go Stefan," Sarah said holding out a smaller blood bag than hers and Damon's. He stared at it for a moment before looking back at his sister with a raised brow. "It's the kiddy sized," Sarah teased, smiling as he snatched the bag with a growl, ignoring his siblings matching smirks. She still had the right to have as much fun with him as Damon though.

"So what's with the sudden change in diet? Afraid me and Sarah aren't going to be enough to save Elena?" Damon teased, receiving a kick in the back of his chair from Sarah as she glared at him through the mirror. She caught the hidden threat behind his words, that Stefan wasn't enough to save Elena and that he was, making him a better suitor for her.

"Quit it, Damon. Final warning," Sarah said before putting her blood bag to her lips, keeping eye contact with her blue eyed brother until he broke it off with a grumble.

"For your information," Stefan began, answering Damon's question, since his brother did sort of have a right to know. "I've been drinking a little everyday. Sarah's been watching me, making sure I don't go over board and I've slowly been increasing my intake," Stefan explained before taking a sip from his 'kiddy' bag, pacing himself just like he'd been taught.

"Does Elena know you're drinking blood?" Damon asked, frowning at the amount of restraint his brother was showing, at least in comparison to the previous times he'd drank blood.

"I've been drinking hers," Stefan answered with a thin smile to his brother.

Damon hummed, turning back to the road with an irritated and confused frown, sipping on his blood as he pondered his brother's words. "How romantic," Damon said as he stopped drinking. There was then a pause before he continued, and Sarah knew why he'd taken the pause after he started speaking. "Since we're road trip bonding, remember the days when all you lived for was blood?"

"Alright, that's it," Sarah declared, leaning forward and snatching the blood bag from Damon.

"Hey!" Damon snapped looking back annoyingly before turning back to the road, settling for glaring at Sarah through the rear view mirror as he continued to drive. "What'd you do that for?"

"I told you to stop it, you didn't, so I'm cutting you off," Sarah said with a smug grin as she shoved the blood bag back into the cooler. Stefan started to snicker, taking another drink as Sarah joined him, both grinning away as Damon scowled at them both.

After another half an hour drive, Damon pulled over onto a side road, continuing on for another half a mile until he pulled to a stop next to the tree line. Once he'd pulled to a stop, they all climbed out, Damon deliberately trying to close the door on Sarah before she got out, but she shoved it open, smirking at him as she climbed out. He replied with a forced smirk of his own before closing the door for his sister as Stefan pulled out the bag of weapons, slinging it over his shoulder as he began to walk off towards the trees with Sarah in toe and Damon behind her.

"The house should be just beyond those trees," Damon said pointing to the trees ahead of them. If they'd followed the road, they'd have gone around them, but parking here gave them cover and hide their getaway car in case they needed to make a quick escape.

Stefan was just about to walk past the first tree when Damon called out to him and Sarah. "Wait," he said, both turning around as he approached them. "I've got a lot more experience than either of you do with these sorts of things."

"Excuse me?" Sarah scoffed at her brother, arms folding as she stared back at her brother questioningly.

"Nothing personal, Sis, it's just I have a few more years of being a bad ass than you," Damon said smugly.

"Yeah, but who does it better?" Sarah asked rehotorically, but Damon didn't get that hint and they both said at the same time, "Me." Sarah began to frown while Damon continued to grin away smugly.

"What's your point?" Stefan asked, waving his hand as he tried to get his brother back to his point so they could hurry up and save Elena.

"My point is," Damon continued, truing his attention back to Stefan. "Whoever has Elena is probably who was after Katherine in eighteen-sixty-four and before that."

"And?" Stefan asked.

"And it puts them at five-hundred years old and strong. Are you sure you want to do this?" Damon asked, brow lowering in mild worry. Not that he'd admit it to his little brother and sister if they ever asked – but after all their time with him, they didn't need to ask. They could just see it.

"Yeah, I'm certain I want to do it," Stefan said simply.

"Me too," agreed Sarah with a nod as simple as Stefan's.

"Because if we go in that house, we may not come back out," Damon spelt out for them all.

"Alright, then I won't come out," Stefan said with a shrug.

"We're all coming out," Sarah said as she held up her hands to both brothers. "Now let's quit the dramatics and get in there, save Elena and complete phase one of my plan," Sarah said with a nod before she and Stefan started to walk.

"You make it sound so easy," Damon said mockingly as he followed from a few steps behind his younger siblings.

"Yeah well, phase two's when it gets real tricky," Sarah said before looking back with a smug grin of her own. "Finding you a long term girlfriend." Damon stuck out his tongue, doing a silent imitation of his sister before then following. It wasn't as grudgingly as he pretended it was, but he quickly caught up to them as they walked through the tree line, spotting the old abandoned house surrounded by the forest, facing a wide open field. Ideal place for a vampire to hide out and make camp during the daylight.

"Alright, so what's the plan then hot shots?" Damon asked, hands on his hips in a dramatic hero pose as Stefan and Sarah analysed the house, listening in to see what they heard. Distant chatter, hard to make out what it was. Possibly Elena, but hard to tell. Definitely two female voices and two male and four heart beats. Three significantly slower than one, but two of the three still pretty lively for vampires.

"We improvise," Sarah declared, looking to her brothers with a grin. Damon seemed less than pleased with her answer, but said nothing as Stefan dropped the weapons bag on the ground, bending down and unzipping it before handing out weapons. He gave Damon a couple of short wooden stakes that he stuffed in his back pockets. As for Sarah, he threw her one of Alaric's home made stake guns, filled with several sharpened miniature wooden stakes. It was pretty impressive Sarah had to admit as she looked it over. Stefan also took another gun for himself as well as the vervain grenade he'd been eyeing in the car.

"We good?" Stefan asked as he stood up, looking to his siblings.

"We're good," Sarah answered, when Damon remained quiet.

"So we've got three vampires and our damsel in distress," Damon summarised, looking to his sister. "Where does your great plan of winging it take us from here?"

Sarah just smiled back. "Follow my lead," she said confidently before dancing off towards the house, silently running with her brothers in tow, before they reached the wall of the house. All three pressed their backs against it, staying still as they listened. Some more chatting from inside, clearer now. One of the vampires was talking to Elena, fancy sounding too by the sound of things.

Sarah then frowned, counting again before coming to a realisation. One of the vampires had been killed. Only three heartbeats now. Stefan looked to her frowning, but Sarah just shrugged optimistically in response. Whatever made their lives easier.

Bending down, she then picked up a small rock, looking to both her brothers, making sure they understood her next move. When both nodded back, she threw the rock smashing the window in between her and Damon. With that, Damon then rushed in, followed by Sarah and Stefan, all taking up hiding spots in the hall they'd just broken into. Front hall by the looks of it. Big staircase at the back wall that lead up to the next floor and three archways that broke off into other areas of the house with double doors at the front. Good ambush spot. So they waited, and surely enough the vampires came to them.

One in a dark suit held Elena tightly by the arm. The other was a woman who Sarah couldn't see clearly from her hiding space. She did however get a good look at the man holding Elena, as he turned with her to face the woman, displeased by what was going on. And it was about to get a whole lot worse for him.

Damon moved first, racing behind the man and Elena, making the both look back, by which point he was gone. Stefan and Sarah then did the same, racing around the room while remaining out of sight, but letting them all know they were there. The man pushed Elena to the woman, trying to spot the Salvatore as they raced around but never finding them quickly enough. This was how good they could be when they were all on the same page. This guy didn't stand a chance.

Having taken up knew hiding spots, Sarah stopped and her brothers did the same, while the man looked around, trying to spot them or catch another gust of wind, hoping to catch them too. He turned back to the woman. "Rose," he said lowly, levelling his gaze on her.

"I don't know who it is," the woman stammered, but still Sarah didn't have a good line of sight, couldn't see her face as it was hidden behind her short brunette hair. Stefan then made a break, rushing past them both, making them look one way before he doubled back and run up the stairs while they weren't looking. They'd heard him though, that was the intention.

"Up here," he whispered, baiting them in. The man fell for it, rushing up the stairs to the landing only to find no sign of Stefan anywhere.

"Down here," Damon sang out tauntingly. The man turned back, glaring at thin air. Irritation across his brow. With his gaze distracted looking for her brothers, Sarah peeked out and fired a stake from her gun before dashing off to another hiding place. The vampires didn't even notice, preoccupied with the stake that had gone through the man's hand.

A warning shot.

He pulled it out with little care, glare of irritation intensifying. Sarah fired another shot, which he caught with his bare hand that had already healed. He didn't spot her though, she'd already moved, having given her brothers the perfect distraction. When he then looked back down the stairs, he saw that the woman and Elena were gone. Elena taken by Stefan, and the other vampire by Damon, Sarah keeping a close eye on the man in the sharp suit.

Throwing aside the two small takes he now held, the suited vampire made his way down the stairs, adjusting the cufflinks in his shirt as he did. "Excuse me. To whom it may concern, you're making a great mistake if you think you can beat me," the suited man said with a grin as he approached the coat stand in the corner. Picking it up, he snapped it in two before then adding with a ghost of a smile. "You can't."

Cocky this one, almost as much as Sarah was. Should make for an interesting show. "I repeat, you can not beat me," he said again as he began breaking the hooks off the large stake he was now wielding. Once he'd done that, he began twirling it, as if it were a bow staff. After a few twirl he settled for holding it by his side, looking around as he continued to speak to his enemies. "So I want the girl, on the count of three, or heads will roll." He then turned away from the staircase after walking back over to it, looking around the rest of the room as he asked, "Do we understand each other?"

A guest of wind then slapped the back of his neck and with a small grin he turned to face who'd appeared at the top of the stairs on the landing above. The suited man lifted his gaze, smiling a little when he saw Sarah standing at the top, legs firmly parted as she stood her ground, long raven hair draped over her leather jacket. Gun full of wood, firmly held in her hand that was relaxing at her side.

He chuckled a little, finding the situation humours apparently before then taking a single step towards the stairs. "Are you surrendering?" he asked politely, almost admiring the idea.

"Nah," Sarah said with a screwed up face and a shake of the head.

"Really?" the suited man questioned, edge hinted at in his voice, but more confused by her strategy than anything else.

"Yeah, I'm in too good a mood to surrender to the likes of you." The man raised an eyebrow, as if asking her to go on. "See, I just defeated my mortal enemy. Locked her in a tomb, left her to rot. My family recently got back together, officially – that's sort of big a life goal for me, so that's a great – and my friends all just got me a new bike," Sarah said with sarcastic mocking excitement. Directed at the man in the suit of course, not at her amazing friends and family. "So you see my life is just too good right now to get killed by the likes of you."

"That's quite a story, and an achievement from the sounds of thing," the suited man conceded, looking down momentarily before meeting Sarah's gaze with his brown eyes once more. "It would be a shame if it had to end like that." HIs grip on the large stake tightened. Sarah responded with a tightened grip on her gun.

She was just about to move when suddenly Elena spoke up from behind her. "I'll come with you," she said as Sarah looked back, frowning at her. She was hugging herself, but didn't seem all that scared, at least to Sarah, but she'd known Elena a while now and could tell easily when she was putting on a show. Her eyes met Elena's and she saw the plan in them. Elena then stepped past her, standing along side her as she looked down to the man at the base of the staircase. "Just please don't hurt my friends, they just wanted to help me out," Elena said in their defence while Sarah continued to frown from beside her.

The man then rushed up the stairs, making Elena jump and Sarah step out in front of her, raising the gun in one hand. He stopped, smirking as his head tilted, eyeing Elena past Sarah. "What game are you playing with me?" he asked suspiciously, right as Sarah felt Elena push the vervain grenade into her free hand.

"How about, _Pin_ the tail on the donky?" Sarah suggest with her own head tilt, her words confusing the suited man enough to momentarily daze him. Elena had caught her meaning though, pulling the pin from the the grenade before Sarah threw it forward into the man's face. It exploded in his face and Sarah had been expecting to get hit herself but Elena pulled her back, using her own body to shield her from the vervain as the man cried out in searing pain. As he did, he dropped his large stake, now defenceless as it fell over the side of the staircase.

And yet already he'd healed, looking back up with a more than irritated glare. He began to advance, Sarah now forcing Elena behind her as she raised her gun about to fire at the vampire's chest. He tired to rush her but a miniature wooden stake struck his chest. However it wasn't from Sarah's gun, but from Stefan's as he came down the staircase on the other side, firing away as he came down to the landing from above. Sarah then opened fired as well, the combined force of their shots forcing the vampire back as they continued to hit him in the chest.

He kept coming though, fighting back as he pushed his way up the stairs until suddenly both Stefan and Sarah were out of ammo. With the suited man now baring down on them, Stefan charged, tackling the vampire, both clattering down the stairs as they hit the bottom.

Remembering the large stake, Sarah pushed Elena into the corner and then leapt over the railing, dropping down to find Damon already there, picking up the stake. She helped him, not that he needed it, and both then turned, seeing the suited vampire stood above Stefan, hand posed and ready to rip out his heart.

In unison, Sarah and Damon rushed forward to protect their brother, the stake they both held going straight through the suited vampire's heart and out the other end. Despite this, he continued to try and fight, but Sarah and Damon now had the upper hand, and the leverage as they lifted him off the ground. They pressed on, the man glaring at them both and snarling away until the stake hit the wall, going through it and further through the vampire.

Now he went ridged, skin turning grey as his head dropped forward. Eyes lifeless as his veins began to pop out against his grey and distant face. Nothing left but a shell he'd once occupied. Hearing footsteps from behind, Sarah looked back with her brother seeing the woman's face at last. The poor woman seemed hysteric, tear stains on her face as she stared uneasily at the two Salvatores and the dead vampire. Sarah went to speak, to reassure her it was all good and they weren't going to kill her like they had with the other vampire, but before she could even open her lips the woman had fled.

Damon stepped off to go after her, but Elena called down to him, saying, "Just let her go." Damon stopped, looking up with Sarah at Elena who was stood at the top of the stairs. She raced down, Stefan meeting her at the bottom, both embracing as Sarah smiled. She couldn't see Damon's face, though had an idea about what it would be doing. God she really needed to get him a girlfriend, before the cycle began anew.

"Are you hurt? Are you okay?" Stefan asked, holding Elena tightly as she smiled against him, finally looking up with her smile just as strong.

"No, no I'm good," Elena said as she leaned back, the couple still holding onto each other as they smiled thankfully at each other. "Thanks for coming," she said, before looking past him and to the other two Salvatores. "Sarah–"

"No thanks needed," Sarah said lifting a hand. "Your my friend, it was a no brainer…sort off." Elena chuckled at that. "And besides, you saved me from that vervain grenade so your debt is paid."

"Thank you," Elena said all the same. Sarah smiled back, then followed her gaze over to Damon.

"Damon–"

"No, I'm good thanks," Damon said with his usual grin after interrupting Elena. "Other than Stefan, our family doesn't really do the whole, 'thank you,' thing," he said with a face. "Me and Sarah will be out in the car. You two just come out whenever your done with…" He glanced them both up and down, waving a hand at them as he said, "Whatever this is." He then turned, heading for the wooden doors as he called for his sister to follow him. With a last look to Elena and Stefan, Sarah smiled before following her eldest brother out, leaving the couple for a few minutes while they celebrated and enjoyed each others company.

* * *

"I know this sounds crazy but alcohol helps, or at least it helps me," Caroline explained as she walked back into the room, three glasses in hand and a bottle of booze in the other. It had been Caroline's idea to start drinking, to take the edge of them all, even though they'd all managed to calm down, especially Tyler. But Caroline being Caroline, once she opened her mouth she couldn't stop herself from rambling off as she went to get the booze. "You know, with all that inside jittery stuff," Caroline explained as uncapped the bottle and poured the amber liquid into the three glasses.

"Thanks," Tyler said, taking the glass as Scarlett did the same, only for Jeremy to be left empty handed as he stood next to Caroline.

"Hey what about me?" Jeremy asked, gesturing to Tyler and Scarlett who were sat opposite him, both with drinks in hand.

"You're nuts if you think I'm giving you drink," Caroline scoffed, smirking slightly as she did. "Do you have any idea what Elena would do if she found out, plus it's not like you need it to fight off supernatural urges," Caroline pointed out, before her eyes then went to Scarlett. She stared at he for a few seconds before then snatching the glass out the teenager's hand when she went to take her first drink. "And now that I think about it, I'm not sure I'm comfortable giving you a drink either," Caroline said as she sat Scarlett's glass on the nearby mantle above the fireplace.

"Why not?" Scarlett asked with a pouty frown.

"Whatever Elena would do to me, is no where near as bad as what Sarah would do to me if I gave you drink," Caroline pointed out, drinking at the mere thought as she shuddered.

"Sorry kids," Tyler said with a chuckle as he took a sip of his own.

"Hey," Scarlett said, catching Tyler's attention. "You want me to throw you around the room again?" Scarlett snapped.

"Sorry," Tyler apologised, taking another sip, before looking up to Caroline. "With being a vampire…do you feel…hot?" Tyler asked sheepishly.

"Not really," Caroline answered. "I don't really feel the temperature. I mean my bodies cold, because of the lack of circulation and all, but I don't notice it. There's a few tricks though, to make sure people don't realise I'm as cold as I actually am. Like drinking coffee. Lots and lots of coffee," Caroline said with a nervous laugh at the end.

"Don't know if I could stand coffee. It's like my skin's on fire," Tyler said as he stared down into his glass.

"It'll pass," Scarlett said from next to him. "You still notice it but it'll get easier. And we aren't really effected by temperatures either," Scarlett explained for Tyler, mostly to try and put his mind at easy about something that was obviously bothering him. But for his reaction of a simple head nod, Scarlett imagined it might be something more than that.

"I guess wolves and vampires are different," Jeremy said despite knowing it all already, he was playing a part for Tyler, trying to nudge the conversation along and hopefully help. It was sweet, and that brain behind that thick head of his could actually be pretty smart when he set it to something. It was finding something he wanted to use it on that was the probably usually. His school work was forever going up and down, depending on his interest in the subject as well as whatever else was going on, like this for instance. And yet he was still doing better than her.

"I wonder if there's anything similar?" Jeremy suggested, looking to Caroline, almost as if prodding her to try and find common ground with the other supernatural species across from her.

"Well I've got heightened emotions. And at the beginning they were pretty out of control," Caroline explained, looking to Tyler hopefully.

"I have that," Tyler said with a sad smile. Scarlett could relate. It was an emotional time, for her it had been exciting, for him it was scary. Just different emotions for different people. From what she gathered though, werewolf emotions weren't as intense as vampire though. Werewolves had more…spikes in their emotions, while vampires were always high and eventually got used to it. As far as Scarlett could tell there was always going to be a random spike from time to time and you never really got used to it. She just happened to have a better control over it thanks to her necklace. It really was the gift that kept on giving.

"So…is there anyone else like you?" Tyler asked, looking to Caroline. She opened her mouth to answer, then caught sight of Scarlett's shaking head for next to Tyler. It wasn't obvious to him, but one look and Caroline knew that Scarlett really didn't think it was a good idea for her to tell him about the others. Damon in particular, which Caroline could figure out for herself. So she quickly adjusted her answer, figuring she could explain later if she had to. Better that than risk Damon coming down on her like a stack of bricks, and there was no guarantee that Sarah would come to her rescue on this and Stefan would probably be on the fence too.

"Just me," Caroline answered. "It's a really long story we can share another time. How many other werewolves are there?"

Tyler looked to Scarlett who shrugged before he looked back to Caroline. "Just us I guess, and my uncle Mason, but he left town," Tyler explained sadly, before Scarlett awkwardly looked away at the mention of Mason. Caroline and Jeremy did the same, remembering how they were involved in his death. Scarlett was looking away not only because of that, but at the memory of him and her that flashed through her mind. Luckily Tyler was too consumed in his miserable thoughts to notice any of this and by the time he looked back up, the others had all recovered from their guilty thoughts.

"Look, Tyler," Caroline began as she set her glass aside on the mantle next to Scarlett's, taking a step towards Tyler as she did. "You can't tell anyone, okay? Not about you, Scarlett, not about me. No one will understand." Tyler made an obvious look to Jeremy. "He's the exception," Caroline quickly answered.

"Plus I kind of figured it out with Scarlett," Jeremy said jokingly as Scarlett shot him a look, remembering exactly how he found out. He hadn't had a clue and had only found out because he was on to Anna, who despite being a damn old vampire, was really bad at hiding her secret in comparison to Scarlett who'd been a werewolf for a couple of months at that point.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to tell anyone," Tyler promised with a low nervous voice.

"I want to tell you about my mom and yours and the founding families and the council but I need to know I can trust you. This is life and death, Tyler," Caroline stressed.

"It's okay, Caroline," Scarlett spoke up, meeting her green eyed gaze before turning to met Tyler's brown eyed one. "We can trust him," Scarlett said with a friendly smile, trying to make him feel at ease. Maybe it was the wolf nature, but she did trust Tyler, with her secrets and with all the wolf stuff. Just not with the Salvatores, not yet. To many things could go wrong and she cared about them all to much to let that happen, even Damon, as much as it irritated her. So she was going to take this step by step. Even if the wolf inside her was excited to have someone around like itself – that Scarlett didn't have a complicated history with either.

"Thanks, Scarlett," Tyler said sincerely as he smiled at her, only for it to fade as he looked down once more.

"We're all here for you man," Jeremy added as he stepped closer towards Scarlett, the group tightening around Tyler, letting him know they were all there to help him.

"Look, I'm…I'm sorry about earlier. It's just, I feel alone with this," Tyler explained as he looked back up. "This–This thing is gonna happen to me. On the next full moon, I'm gonna turn and I won't be able to stop it and it just sounds so–so–so painful," Tyler explained as he began to hyperventilate, sniffling a little as tears pricked the macho man's tough exterior. "I'm scared," he finally admitted only to find himself wrapped in Caroline's arms.

"It's okay," she whispered soothingly to him, holding him as he hugged her back, still trying to fight the frightened tears even now.

"Don't worry Tyler," Scarlett said, putting her hand on his shoulder as she stood up. "You're not alone. I promise. We'll be with you, every step of the way." As she spoke, she felt Jeremy slid his arm around her waist, holding her against him as she let her head rest against his chest, keeping her hand on Tyler's shoulder as she did. They weren't going anywhere. She hadn't been alone when she went through this, and neither would Tyler. For her it had been quick, instant, over before she knew it and had had no knowledge about what was going on. It had been scary but it had passed. For Tyler it was a million times worse. Knowing what was coming and that it would still be worse than whatever he could think off. It was the kind of thing that could drive someone mad, like it was to Tyler. But she would help him, especially since no one else would.

* * *

"You want a drink?" Damon asked, walking into the study to find his sister sat in front of the lit fire, staring into the flames. A book rested in the spot next to her, but she hadn't opened it. Had sat down with the intention of reading but once she had couldn't find the strength to go through with it. It had been happening a lot recently, ever since Katherine walked back into her life. She just couldn't sit and enjoy a book anymore. It was hell. Thankfully though, there was a substitute for that, which Damon had just suggested.

"Please," Sarah groaned out as she looked over her shoulder, Damon stood at the minbar behind her, smirking away as he threw together a couple of drinks.

"Scotch?" he asked, pouring the drinks before she even answered.

"Thanks," Sarah said as he passed her the glass, before taking a drink from his own as he leaned down onto the minibar's counter top.

They were both aware Stefan had entered the room, but didn't both to say anything as they drank. Sarah staring off into the flames, glass of scotch now in hand while Damon just stared off into space. "Where's Elena?" he asked, solely because he noticed she wasn't here but their brother was.

"She's home," Stefan answered as he descended the short set of stairs, making his way over to join his brother and sister.

"And you're here why?" Damon asked as he turned around, glass now in hand once more. Sarah was just listening though, lost in the flames as she thought of old memories. Something else she'd been doing a lot of recently. She had Ronnie to thank for that one.

"Because she wanted to be with Jeremy and Jenna," Stefan answered understandingly, just content with the fact that Elena was safe again.

"Here," Damon said, holding out his glass. Stefan took it, raising it in thanks as he made his way around, sitting next to Sarah on the couch. Drinking from the glass as Damon poured himself another glass.

"Listen guys, about what Rose told Elena, about the curse…" Stefan began trailing off a little at the thought of it. That had been a bit of a shock to hear, that after everything, Elena was the key to breaking this sun and moon curse they'd all heard so much about. With the moonstone and Elena's blood, apparently they could either free werewolves from the moon, or vampires from the sun. It certainly made the car ride home a little less victorious. All of them knowing what would follow now that Elena officially had a target on her back.

"Don't worry," Sarah spoke up. "We'll protect her. Just like we told Katherine." She lifted her drink, taking a gulp before going back to watching the flames dance for her. Her own privet little show between her and the fire, lost in the imagination of her mind.

"Shouldn't be too hard. From the sounds of it, barely anyone knows she even exists," Damon said with a shrug as he downed his own drink, topping it up once more as Stefan looked back over the couch at his brother.

"You know, the only way we're gonna be able to do that is if we're not fighting each other," Stefan pointed out to Damon who met his gaze. "We let Katherine come between us. If we let that happen with Elena, we're not gonna be able to protect her."

"I one-hundred precent agree, Brother. Which is why it's Sarah's job to keep us in line," Damon said with a smug grin towards the back of his sister's head before he took a drink from his fresh glass of scotch.

"Hooray for me. Nothing I love more than playing mother to you two," Sarah said in monotone enthusiasm, tired from the day and ready to rest. Leaving her brothers' pointless squabbling until tomorrow. She could worry about how she was going to deal with it then. For now, she was taking the victory and waiting for an excuse to go to bed while she sipped at her scotch.

"I seem to remember you enjoying it when we were younger," Stefan pointed out with a smirk.

Sarah looked to him, her face exhausted but still managing a grin for him. "That was different. I was a child, and wanted to be grown up and in charge." She turned back to the flames. "Now of course I realise how much of a pain that is." She took a swing from her drink, Damon doing the same as they both finished their glasses. Once they had, Damon sat his down, heading for the doorway.

"Well, I'm off to bed. Night kids," Damon said with a wave over his shoulder.

"Don't even start with that," Sarah warned, pointing to him over her shoulder while Stefan chuckled form next to her.

"Want another?" Stefan asked, holding out his hand for her glass.

"Might as well," Sarah sighed handing him her glass. "Doubt I'll be able to sleep now that he's riled me all up," she added in the same monotone voice as before, smiling tiredly while Stefan chuckled at her joke. Once he refiled their glasses, he sat back down with her, the two quietly enjoying each other's company while they watched the flames party for them and they nursed their drinks.

It was well past midnight before they finished their drinks, finally feeling like they could sleep now that all the drama had past for the day. Stefan was the first to get up, turning off the lights before taking Sarah's glass and his own, leaving them out to be cleaned in the morning. A chore he normally found himself undertaking in the mornings after any of them had been drinking. Usually his siblings where too hungover to deal with the clean up.

Sarah stood, walking towards the fire, about to put it out when suddenly a floor board creaked. She looked up, turning around to look at Stefan who had heard it too. She stepped towards him then heard a floor board creek from behind. They turned and the wind tinkled their necks. Turning back around they found nothing there before the same feeling happened again. At first Sarah thought it might have been Damon, but he'd been too tired for this kind of trick. There was someone with supernatural speed in their house.

She knew it wasn't Scarlett either, she'd texted earlier, saying she was spending the night with Jeremy and Elena. Partially acting as a guard dog but also staying per Jeremy's request. Sarah had been more than happy with that idea, but now that left just her and Stefan to deal with this new threat.

She turned back to her brother, seeing he'd retrieved two stakes from one of their hidden spots in the study. He threw one to her and she caught it, both looking to where they'd last felt the wind, where the supernatural probably was. "Who's there?" Stefan called out, holding up the stake and ready to fight. Sarah was a little more relaxed, arms at her side while she firmly held her stake. Ready to move at a moments notice though. She caught sight of a shadow moving from the hallway and watched as the supernatural revealed herself to be the vampire from house where they'd saved Elena today. Or as Sarah knew her…

"Rose," she said in greeting. At the sound of her name the woman teared up a little. Sarah could guess way. The other vampire, the one she hadn't seen that had been killed. It must have been Trevor. He'd been like family to Rose, her best friend if not more than that.

She put her stake down on the minibar and approached the older vampire, gently wrapping her arms around her as Rose did the same. Crying softly for a moment as she buried her face into Sarah's shoulder. Sarah didn't mind, she just held her old friend, giving her some time to pull herself together. She'd never been one for crying, to iron willed for that. That had been something Sarah liked about her, but losing Trevor, it was going to do a lot more than shake the foundations. "I'm sorry," Sarah said softly to her, letting her know she knew and that she didn't need to relive it by telling her. She kept saying it, over and over until Rose pulled away, having recovered from her little break down.

"Thank you," Rose said with a sad smile to Sarah.

"Sorry to interrupt," Stefan spoke up, Sarah looking back over to her brother who had a frown of confusion, stake now at his side seeing that there was no threat. "But who are you?" Stefan asked, looking at Rose.

"My name's Rose," she answered, giving Stefan a proper look up and down.

"Lexi over sold him a bit," Rose muttered to Sarah who allowed herself a grin as she looked back to her friend.

"Well, you remember Lexi," Sarah said before the two began to chuckle softly. She then looked back again, seeing her brother was even more confused than before. "She's a friend of Lexi's, Stefan. That's how I know her. We've met a few times over the years."

* * *

The streets were a mural of shadows, twisting and turning to the dim light that flickered from the street lamps, and from the building windows above. It was quite a sight, hence even more when you were a vampire. Or at least that's what Ronnie though, telling Sarah and Lexi so as they made their way down the ever populated streets of New York. Sarah wasn't quite sure if it was the liquor bringing this enthusiasm out of him, or Lexi that seemed to eagerly agree with him. Then again, she was also very drunk. They all were, but vampires could hold their alcohol a lot better than any human could. At least that was what they always told themselves, but even vampires had a threshold and Sarah was confident they might well have passed it.

"How much further is it, Lexi?" Sarah cut in, disrupting their conversation about art. It might have been art. Sarah heard the worlds 'colour,' 'light,' and 'tapestry,' and assumed it was art related. She'd been dropping in and out of the conversation, snuggled up against Ronnie, her head resting with a dreamy smile on his shoulder while his arm cuddled her waist. It was all truly romantic. At least until Lexi's big mouth ruined the moment. Sarah swore Lexi would never mess with Stefan if he got into a relationship, but if it was her, Lexi was differently going to intrude. Payback probably for messing up her routine with Stefan. Big sisters could be so annoying.

"Just around this corner," Lexi said as they turned, and in so doing Lexi crashing into Sarah, both only held up by Ronnie who miraculously managed to stay on his feet. Lexi descended into mad laughter while Sarah scolded her, only to then join in along with Ronnie as they continued on down the street. People gave them odd looks, most crossing the street to avoid them. The right decision. But they'd already ate at the bar, Lexi said they should before attending the festivities. It had been nice feeding with Lexi again, as it had been so long since they'd last shared a drink together.

"Alright, we're here!" Lexi announced, throwing up one arm while the other remained around Sarah's shoulder, not willing to let go in case she stumbled again. Before the three was a brick building, like all the rest in New York with a few signs out front to attract people in. And there was a line. A long line.

"The theatre?" Sarah asked in disbelief as she looked to a grinning Lexi. "You promised me a show."

"This is a show," Lexi exclaimed, words slurring in her drunkenness.

"An entertaining show!" Sarah shot back.

"You enjoyed it when we saw it last week," Ronnie pointed out, sensible even when drunk.

"Ah ha!" Lexi declared, pointing a swaying finger at Sarah. "So that's why you…" her words trialed off, frown forming as she tried to recall what she'd been about to say. Definitely too much to drink. They alone probably drained the bar off half it's contents, same for the humans they left behind. "What was I saying?"

"Something about me being right," Sarah said with a giggle that she couldn't stop all of a sudden. It had been the same back at the bar. After Lexi got involved, she'd been giggling right up until they left, and now she'd started again.

"Doesn't sound like me," Lexi said as she stared up at the night sky in thought. Unable to focus for Sarah's giggling fit. She ended up looking back to her, slapping her arm with her hand. "Will you stop giggling!" Lexi snapped in a pouty manor. Sarah just continued on.

"She can't help it," Ronnie said, smiling as she watched Sarah continue to giggle against his chest.

"She can too," Lexi growled, almost falling into Sarah again. "She just likes to pretend she can't."

"Don't know what you're talking about," Sarah replied her giggles dying down.

"So where are your friends, Lexi?" Ronnie asked, looking towards the crowd out front in case anyone had noticed them. Most of the people who had seemed to be dreading the idea of them coming inside. Some had even left the cue for the same reason, hardly wanting to spend time with a bunch of drunken hooligans when they'd come to enjoy a show. The rest just ignored them, focused by others things.

Lexi looked towards the crowd, eyes squinted as she stood up on her tip toes. Only able to by leaning on Sarah, practically pushing her down as she did. Then her eyes widened and she broke out into a smile. She lifted her hand, waving it madly back and forth, her weight moving with it, making it hard for Sarah to remain standing. "Hey, Rose! Trev–!" she didn't get the rest out, suddenly falling down on top of Sarah in a very unladylike like manor. Now they had the attention of the whole line, most of which were now tutting and staring on in disbelief, and some even in outrage.

"Ops…" Lexi mumbled from on top of Sarah.

"I'll, 'ops,' you in a second," Sarah snarled out as Ronnie helped them both up.

Once back on her, feet Sarah brushed down her cloths and then noticed the two strangers standing before her. Both smirking as they eyed the three. The woman had short brown hair, done neatly up behind her head, dressed in similar cloths to Sarah and Lexi. Her green eyes shining with amusement. As for the other, he was only slightly taller than the woman, stubble lining his jaw much like Ronnie's, though not as bold. His hair was brown too, combed over in a fashionable style. He's smirk said he was amused like his companion but it didn't quite reach his blue eyes.

"I see you haven't changed much," the woman said as she eyed Lexi.

"So much for cutting back on the drinking," the man added with a chuckle that the woman joined in.

"Shut up," Lexi snapped with a grin. "I could empty a whole bar if I wanted to and still walk away."

"Remind me who you just fell on?" Sarah asked with a glare at Lexi.

"That was entirely your fault," Lexi said with a look to her friend.

"How about introductions?" Ronnie asked with a hopeful smile. "Before you two end up on the street again."

"Watch it Blue Eyes," Lexi warned, using the nickname she'd given him at the start of the evening. She then turned to the two strangers, pointing to them both as she introduced them. "Sarah, Blue Eyes. This is Rose-Marie and Trevor."

"Nice to meet you," Rose said as she shook Sarah's hand while Trevor shook Ronnie's.

"You too," Sarah replied.

"And my name's Ronnie, not Blue Eyes," Ronnie informed them both as the two smirked back at him.

"He's drunk, ignore him," Lexi said as she waved him off, giggling along with the others as Ronnie rolled his eyes.

"So, I believe we have a show to see?" Trevor stated with a look to the theatre.

"Don't get your hopes up. It sucks," Sarah warned as the group of five began to make their way inside.

"Keep talking like that and they're going to kick you out," Ronnie pointed out with a grin, lips tickling the side of Sarah's head.

"I'd like to see them try," Sarah responded with a challenging grin.

"Alright fine, I'll kick you out then," Lexi warned before the entered the theatre, their laughter echoing out into the street as the door closed behind them.

* * *

"Lexi always said you were one of the good ones," Rose said to Stefan once Sarah had finished explaining how they met. Struggling a little bit when it came to the parts involving Ronnie. She'd felt like she'd gotten over it, or maybe she'd just pushed it down, but talking about it still brought up that feeling of betrayal. That was always going to be a tough pill to swallow. "At least more so than her anyway," Rose said with a thin smile and nod to Sarah.

"Hey," Sarah said with a frown of light offence as she patted Rose's arm. "I'm the one that's supposed to be your friend remember."

"Sorry," Rose said, a little ashamed until Sarah smiled at her softly, letting her know it wasn't serious. It was Trevor's death. She normally would have played along, like Lexi would have. But she was a wreck without Trevor, broken and feeling utterly alone. "I'm not even sure why I came here. It's just when I saw you I–I didn't know what to think."

"It's okay," Sarah said as she rubbed Rose's shoulder. "I understand why you ran back at the house."

"I don't have anywhere else to go, Sarah," Rose said as she looked up into her green eyes. "Without Trevor I don't…I can't…" She just couldn't find the words to describe it. No one could. It was worse than losing a limb, she'd just lost a part of who she was. "All I know is I don't want to run anymore."

"Well, you can stay here for a while if you like," Sarah said, knowing full well Damon would have something to say about it. He always did, especially whenever Sarah started letting people stay in their house without consulting him. But this was her friend and she wasn't going to kick her out right after she'd lost her best friend. She might just need to get to Damon before he found out was all. Otherwise he might well try and kill her.

"Thank you," Rose said sincerely. "But there's something you should probably know. And before I tell you, this isn't me trying to negotiate my stay here. I want to help. But you all need to know the full story before we go any further."

"What full story?" Stefan asked, arms folded as he stood behind the couch with a concerned frown. The one he usually had before someone told them bad news.

Rose looked to him, then back to Sarah, seriousness in her green eyes which made Sarah panic a little. She knew it took a lot to shake Rose, and even with Trevor's death in mind, she looked properly terrified, but managed to hide it from everywhere but her eyes. "You might have killed Elijah, but this isn't over." Elijah, that had been the name of the vampire she and Damon killed. That's what Elena had told them on the ride home. "The Originals, they'll come for her, Elena. They have to. They're doing it for him."

"For who?" Sarah asked, feeling a lump in her throat form for some unknown reason.

"Klaus."

* * *

Walking up to the old worn house, hands shoved in her rain coat pockets, Amelia prepared herself for what was on the other side. She'd received the call but had a feeling she was too late. She had a sort of sixth sense about these things. She pushed open the front door, letting it creek as it swung open. Then she stepped inside, one step, then another. She turned to her right, finding a man in a sharp suit hanging from the wall. A large stake through his heart, holding him up against the wall, his skin grey and body limp. She checked her watch before sighing and then returned her hand to her pocket. Assuming when she'd gotten the call and the time it was now, combine that with when the confrontation most likely happened and when it ended, and he was due to come back any second.

A second passed, then the sharp suited man's head lifted up, the grey to his skin fading as he looked down at the stake in his chest. He grabbed onto it with both hands and started to push, trying to get it out of him but was met with very slow progress.

"Let me," Amelia spoke up as the man looked over to her, his expression neutral, as always. She smirked a little as she walked over to the man, grabbing onto the stake with one hand and then pulling it out in one fluid motion. She let go and sent the stake flying through the air where it landed near the foot of the stairs with a clatter. The sharp suited man dropped to the floor, straightening his tie and pulling on his jacket before looking up at the blonde haired, freckled face woman opposite him. His brown eyes meeting her blue.

"Thank you, Amelia," Elijah said with a small grin.

"My pleasure, Brother," Amelia retorted with a grin of her own.


	18. Search for Klaus

_Review responses:_

Only reviewer: _The casting for Amelia in my head went to Melody Perkins and you'll be seeing a lot of her in the next few chapters. And I'm glad you liked the idea of Sarah and Rose already knowing one another. I always thought it was odd that Lexi knew her and yet Stefan didn't, so it made since in my head at least to face one of the Salvatores already know her._

Guest: _I know, I do like my OCs and I will be doing more as this story goes on. Hopefully you are enjoying them._

 _Sorry for being a day late guys! I really thought I would have it done in time but then this blasted heatwave like thing hit and now I'm melting. Hope you're all doing okay however hot or cold it is where you are. Anyway, this chapter is one of the few that will actually encompass an entire episode, 'Katerina.' But since said character will have nothing to do with this chapter – sorry, just the way things planned out – I've renamed it._

 _As always thanks for the favourites, follows and reviews, on this story, you guys are just the best! Sorry for being late again and please do enjoy the update!_

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 **Chapter 18: Search for Klaus**

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When the knock at the door came, Damon got to it first, having been waiting in the living room. Sarah and Stefan had been in the study with Rose, so by the time they'd left the room to answer the door, Damon had already done it for them. "Hello, Elena," Damon greeted from the front hall, as Sarah and Stefan made their way towards it, Rose behind them, keeping out of sight for obvious reasons.

"Is Stefan here? He called. Said it was important," Elena said, voice strained as she stood on the front porch, waiting to be invited in. So polite.

"Right this way," Damon said, stepping aside and gesturing for Elena to come in. Sarah, could see her, but she imagined Elena was rolling her eyes right now. Even so, she stepped in slowly, almost tiredly, like it was a chore just coming by. Things must have not improved as much as Sarah thought after they saved her the other day. She must still be unsure about being with Stefan because of the potential danger it put her family and friends in. That might change though, once they told her the latest news, that she was possibly the one putting everyone she cared about in danger.

Once she came into view, Stefan spoke up. "Hey," he said, Elena turning to find him and Sarah stood down the hallway. Stefan's hands in his pockets while Sarah had her arms folded. Both with greeting smiles. Elena didn't look as happy, probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed, either that or she just wanted a normal day after yesterday. One without vampires. Sucks to be her then.

"What's this about?" Elena asked, playing with her bag strap as she waited for the reason she'd been summoned at this time in the morning, before school as well. Her answer was a visual one, as Stefan stepped aside to reveal Rose behind him and his sister. "You," Elena said slowly as she stared at Rose in confusion. Sheepishly the oldest vampire smiled back, waving uneasily back at Elena.

"What is she–?" Elena began, eyes going between Stefan and Sarah.

"Don't worry, she's alright. Yesterday was just a bit of a misunderstanding. Rose is an old friend of mine and Lexi's," Sarah explained, though Elena didn't seem too convinced. In fairness, they'd seen this coming and had all agreed they were better off pushing through straight to their point, which was what Rose had told them about last night. "She's here to help us, after what happened with Trevor," Sarah continued.

Elena looked like she was about to object but Stefan spoke up first before she could. "We can explain in the study," Stefan said as he indicated for Elena to head towards the study. Elena stared at him, before then looking over to Rose, taking a slow breath as she sized up the woman who'd recently kidnapped her. Seeing that her presence was currently making Elena uncomfortable, Rose proceeded along the hallway and into the study, trying to make things easier for her. Even then Elena still stood, brow lowered in deep thought.

"It's safe Elena, I promise, but you really need to hear what we have to say," Stefan pressed, trying to let her know how serious this information was. With another sigh, Elena proceeded on to the study, followed by the three Salvatores. From there Elena sat down on the couch facing the fire place with Rose before her while Stefan sat against the arm of the armchair on Elena's left and Damon behind the one to her right. As for Sarah she was leaning back against the fire place, arms folded as they all explained to Elena in detail how they knew Rose and how they could trust her not to hurt them now. It didn't take much convincing which was surprising considering Elena's initial reaction to Rose being in the house, but they told her everything she needed to know until she stopped them. After that Rose proceeded to pace back and forth before Elena, telling her the Klaus.

"Okay, you have to understand I only know what I've picked up over the years, and I don't know what's true and what's not true. That's the problem with all this vampire crap, but Klaus, I know he's real."

"Who is he?" Elena asked as Rose came to a stop next to Sarah.

"One of the Originals, guy's a legend," Damon answered, almost sounding impressed.

"From the first generation of vampires," Stefan added from across the room.

"Like Elijah?" Elena asked nervously, remembering how it'd felt just to be in his presence.

"No. Elijah was the Easter bunny compared to Klaus. He's a good soldier, Klaus is the real deal," Rose argued, stressing how much more dangerous this guy was compared to Elijah. Though that wasn't saying much, considering Elijah was supposed to be an original too and they'd managed to kill him easily enough, even if he was one of the oldest vampires around. But like the other vampires, Sarah had heard the stories, some even from Lexi, about what Klaus had done. Stuff that made her sick just hearing about. It was still nothing compared to Katherine though, at least to Sarah, but that was personal. The stuff Klaus did was just stories, Sarah had lived through the experience that was Katherine Pierce.

"Klaus is know to be the oldest," Stefan added.

"And the meanest," Rose added, hands going to her hips.

"Imagine Katherine, but a man," Sarah said, trying to paint a better picture for Elena in her head. Apparently it worked, judging by the lump the human girl then swallowed. They'd just dealt with one monster, now they were dealing with another that was rumoured to be even worse than Katherine. If that was even possible.

"Okay, so you're saying the oldest, most evil vampire in the history of time is coming after me?" Elena asked as she looked at the four vampires.

"Yes," Rose and Sarah answered at the same time Stefan said, "No."

"What they're saying is, I mean if what she's saying is true–" Damon said with a skeptical look to Rose as he moved over to his sister's side.

"Which it is," Rose cut in.

"And she's not just saying this so we don't kill her–" Damon said with another look to Rose.

"Which she isn't," Sarah cut in in defence of her friend.

"Then we're looking at a solid maybe," Damon concluded as he looked back to Elena.

"Look, Elijah's dead, right?" Stefan said as he made his way over to join Elena on the couch, sitting down next to her. "So no one else even knows that you exist," he pointed out optimistically.

"Not that you know of anyway," Rose pointed out.

"That's not helping," Damon said with a glare at Rose who shrugged in response.

"Look, I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him. I mean, we're talking about centuries of truth mixed in with fiction. We don't know if he's real. For all we know he could just be some sort of stupid bed time story," Stefan argued, trying to down play the situation for Elena's sake. Sarah could understand that but disagreed with it, Elena needed to know whatever she was involved in, even if it wasn't by choice.

"He's real!" Rose exclaimed. "And he doesn't give up. If he wants something, he gets it."

"Anyone getting a sense of déjà vu," Sarah asked, sharing a smirk with Damon as Rose stared at them in mild disbelief, unable to contemplate why all these people weren't taking this serious. Stefan trying to down play everything for Elena, while Damon and Sarah made jokes. Then again, they hadn't gone through the past five-hundred years that she had. Always on the run, always looking over her shoulder, even this Klaus and his minions weren't coming after her.

"Look, if you're not afraid of Klaus, then you're idiots," Rose stressed.

"Alright, we're shaking. You made your point," Damon groaned, sick of Rose's tone by this point.

Then suddenly Elena was up on her feet, pulling her bag over her shoulder as she headed for the door. "Where are you going?" Stefan asked, not having moved for the couch.

"School. I'm late," Elena answered as she turned around, pulling at her bag strap again.

"Let me grab my stuff, I'll go with you," Stefan said as he stood up, stepping towards her until Elena stopped him.

"It's okay, I know where it is," Elena said with a tight smile before leaving the room.

"She's in denial," Damon muttered to Sarah and Rose, both of which glared back at him.

"Shut up, Damon," Sarah said, her brother mocking offence as he walked off into the house leaving the others along in the study.

"You coming?" Stefan asked Sarah as he too headed for the door.

"Nah, think I'll stick around here today. Spend some time with Rose," Sarah said with a smile to her old friend.

"You don't have to–" Rose began, not wanting to get in the way of Sarah's day to day life. At least anymore than she already had.

"It's fine. Besides, I've got a Biology test I really can't be bothered with," Sarah said with a careless shrug and a grin as Rose chuckled.

"Alright, I'll see you later then," Stefan said with wave as he left the room.

Since Rose didn't have a daylight ring like the Salvatores, they were confined to the house. Which was fine. It wasn't exactly something knew for Sarah. She'd happily spent weeks in the past, hunkered down in some grotty house with Lexi and Stefan, only going out at night and hiding from the light during the day. Only difference was now they had more to entertain themselves with.

For a good couple of hours though, Sarah and Rose just sat in the living room, talking and drinking. Catching up on what they'd been up to recently. The sort of thing she'd done with Lexi. There were a few moments when Rose seemed to drift off into her head, but Sarah brought her back, recalling colourful anecdotes from the past. They laughed for a bit, recalling fond memories and experiences. Some they'd shared, some they hadn't. Sarah did her best to keep it all light hearted for Rose's sake, but she could see she was fighting an up hill battle. She needed to be active, needed to be doing something to keep her mind of Trevor, but whatever Sarah suggested Rose turned down. She was quite content reminiscing, even if it was stirring the boiling pot that was her emotions, threatening to spill over the side.

"So basically he turned out to be a double-crossing snake who was only ever with me so that he could spy on me for Katherine," Sarah finished explaining, voice light to hide her true pain as she finished informing Rose on how things with her and Ronnie had ended. Permanently.

"I never would have guessed," Rose said in astonishment. "Mind you, it's hardly the first time that bitch twisted a man into doing what she wanted. I've told you about Trevor, right?" Rose asked, gesturing with her glass of blood. There was surprisingly a lot of this when they met up, trying to remember what they'd told each other and what they hadn't. Constantly thinking they'd told the other something only to find out they'd never mentioned it before or to tell something for the third time thinking it was the first. They'd always laughed about it and it had seemed to drive Lexi insane, who apparently had an excellent memory.

"About how she tricked him into saving her and then turned her?" Sarah said, clarifying to make sure she'd heard the main details correctly. Rose nodded, sipping on her blood. "Yeah. The thing is though, Ronnie didn't even love her, not romantically at least. He loved me, but from the way he spoke about her it was like…idealised her, or something. Just because she saved his life."

"She was just manipulative like that. I understand it a little now, but back when Trevor first turned her. I was just so mad at him I wanted to…" Rose trailed off, horror flashing through her eyes at what she'd been about to say. Previously she wouldn't have thought anything off it. They were just words. Words she said a lot when he'd gotten on her nerves, but she never meant it. Now she'd give anything to have him back. Sarah could see that.

She tried to keep Rose's mind occupied but this time the emotions won out and Rose started to cry. "I'm sorry," Rose apologised as she set her drink down, covering her face with both hands as she wept. Setting down her own glass, Sarah walked around the coffee table, sitting down next to Rose as she wrapped her arms around her friend.

"It's okay. I understand," Sarah said sympathetically as she rubbed Rose's back.

"It's just… I haven't had a chance to breath since…" That was what life on the run was like. Always running, never stopping for anything, even when you needed to. Even when all you needed was a few seconds to cry. She'd been running since Trevor's death. Running from them when they killed Elijah and then running back to them but always on edge. Rose might have trusted Sarah, but she was still weary of her two brothers. More so Damon who had been threatening her since he first lay eyes on her this morning.

"You've got time now, Rose. Just breath. Don't worry, I'm not going to judge you," Sarah promised as she continued to hold Rose. Over the next few minutes, the woman managed to pull herself back together. Remarkably well considering. Like Lexi though, Rose had been around long enough to learn how to control her emotions without flipping the switch. It was something that came better with age apparently, or so Sarah was told. No vampire got used to the heightened emotions after a year or two. It was normally a century or two at the earliest.

Rose was just wiping away her tears with her hands as Damon entered the living room, matching over towards them without even noticing Rose's emotional state. "Alright Rosebud. I need some answers," Damon declared, stopping in front of Rose only to be met with her tear stained eyes. "Oh, please don't tell me you're crying 'cause your buddy Trevor lost his head."

"Would it kill you to be nice for once?" Sarah asked, looking up to her brother while Rose reached for a tissue, wiping away the last of the tears.

"Vampire switch is for this very reason," Damon said, clicking his tongue as he mimed flicking a switch. "Takes the emotion out of it," Damon said smugly to his sister who glared back in response. Because that was just what they needed right now, an older stronger vampire running around with her emotions switched off. Nothing wrong with that plan whatsoever. And all just so Damon didn't have to watch Rose cry.

"Yeah, you switch yours, I'll switch mine," Rose said pointedly as she looked up at Damon from next to Sarah.

"Is that a dig?" Damon asked, glaring down at the older vampire.

"It's an observation. Being in love with your brother's girlfriend must be difficult," Rose said with a smug little grin. Sarah however was a little more alarmed. It wasn't like it was a big secret or anything, that's why she'd told Rose, although the woman had already figured it out for herself. But it was a touchy subject, for Damon in particular, and one that Sarah wanted to avoid until he got over her. Which he would do. Eventually.

"I'm not in love with anyone," Damon scoffed defensively.

"That's not what Sarah tells me," Rose said teasingly as she looked to her friend who was slowly shrinking in on the couch. Even more so when Damon turned her way, blue eyes blazing with fury. Not that he'd admit it and risk showing his bleeding heart. However, it wasn't exactly helping to improve his relationship with Rose by bringing it up.

"Well, you know how sister's are," Damon said forcefully, trying to smile his way through the conversation. "They're always making things up."

"Maybe, but not this," Rose said knowingly as she eyed Damon up.

"Don't get on my bad side," Damon snarled down at the older vampire.

"Then show me your good side," Rose said, up on her feet in the blink of an eye, facing off against Damon.

"Alright," Damon said, backing off a little, sounding more relaxed now as he tried to turn on the charm. "Just tell me how to find Klaus."

"You don't find Klaus, he finds you."

"Come on," Damon groaned as he began to pace back and forth in front of Rose and Sarah. "Somebody's got to know somebody who knows where he is, right?"

"Add another two hundred somebodies to that and you're still not even close," Rose argued as Damon rolled his eyes in frustration at the brick wall that was Rose.

"Just humour him please, Rose," Sarah sighed from the couch, hand going to her forehead. "Otherwise he's never going to shut up."

"You got in touch with Elijah, how'd you do that?" Damon inquired, eyeing Rose carefully for any sign that she was lying or keeping something from him.

"Through a very low somebody on the totem pole," Rose answered, only for Damon to shrug, wanting more. She rolled her eyes, looking to Sarah who motioned for her to continue as well, just to keep her brother from annoying them any further. "A guy named Slater in Richmond," Rose fessed up.

"Perfect. I'll drive," Damon said in mocking delight as he broke out into one of his charming smiles.

"Great, enjoy yourself, me and Rose will be fine on our own," Sarah said with a smug smile, breaking Damon's as he sent a glare her way.

"Come on. This is the best way to protect Elena," Damon argued.

"What, by pocking the bear with your tiny ass stick?" Sarah asked skeptically, failing to see her brother's logic in this situation.

"No, by getting information. I want to know where Klaus is, that way, we know if we need to move Elena, or if we're safe here," Damon explained, and as much as it irritated Sarah, it was actually a half decent plan, provided they took it slowly. Something Damon wasn't exactly known for, which meant she'd better get involved before he found Klaus and then decided to try and kill him.

With a sigh, Sarah looked to Rose, slight plea in her eyes as older vampire folded her arms. "It would be helpful if you come with us."

"Well I can't leave while the sun's up. We'll have to wait until dark," Rose pointed out.

"Nah uh, we're going now. We've got blackout windowed car out in the garage. I'll bring it round the front. Be ready in five minutes or I'm dragging you out, daylight ring or not," Damon said as he headed towards the front door.

Sarah frowned, standing up as she watched her brother go. "Since when do we have a blackout windowed car?" she called after him.

"Ever since Stefan took my ring and I had to go a day without being able to drive," Damon called back as he opens the front door, stepping out and closing it behind him.

Once he had, Sarah turned back to Rose. "You okay with this?"

"If it will get your brother off my back, then sure," Rose sighed as she let her arms fall to her side.

"We need to take anything, or will your wit and charm be enough?" Sarah teased, grinning as Rose smiled back.

"We'll be fine, but maybe bring a few blood bags for the road," Rose suggested before the car horn sounded form outside. The impatient Damon beeping over and over until Sarah and Rose climbed into the car, Rose using a blanket to protect herself from the sun.

After that was a relatively short drive compared to their other travels out of Mystic Falls as they headed for Richmond. Damon drove, taking his directions from Rose who was in the passenger seat while Sarah sat behind, rolling her eyes every time Damon asked for Rose to repeat the destination and the directions. He really did have trust issues when it came to everyone, even people who his family vouch for. Rose grew a little irritated but managed to keep her cool as Damon tried to provoke her on the drive. Finally it ended when Rose told him to turn left off the streets of Richmond and into an underground parking lot. Damon did as told with a grumble, like he'd done whenever Rose had given him a direction.

Once inside he found an isolated area of the parking structure and pulled into a spot. The three doors them opened together, Damon climbing out the driver's side on his own while Sarah and Rose took the passenger side. While waiting for the ladies to make their way around to the front, Damon looked around the dark gloomy underground. "Back entrance. How convenient," he said, spotting the door that lead to the coffee shop they'd passed out front while coming in.

"That's the point," Rose explained as she and Sarah came around to join him. "We can't all have fancy little daylight rings."

"Jealously's not your colour, Rose," Sarah teased, the older vampire rolling her eyes at the youths before leading them towards the door joining the parking lot to the coffee shop.

"How do you this Slater guy is even here?" Damon asked as he followed form behind Rose, sister at his side.

"I called him. He's here. He's always here," Rose said with a smile over her shoulder.

"Good," Damon replied simply before he rushed forward, turning Rose around and then shoving her against a supporting pillar, pinning her by the throat.

"Damon," Sarah warned, about to advance when Damon held a finger up to her, eyes remaining on Rose who just grinned back at him. Almost as if it was all a game, a little boy trying to prove how tough he was by getting the jump on the bigger kid.

"Just one thing," Damon said, forcing a smile as his eyes narrowed on Rose. "If you're setting me and my sister up in any way, I will rip your heart out and shove it down your throat. It's something I'm very good at. Just ask Sarah's ex." His eye brows began to jump and down for a moment, until Sarah shoved him aside, his grip sliding from Rose's throat as he stumbled.

"That's enough Damon," Sarah said sternly, standing along side Rose who was leaning back against the pillar she'd been shoved agains moments ago.

"Are you seriously telling me that after everything that just went down with Ronnie, you're really going to just blindly trust her?" Damon asked, straightening up as he gestured with his thumb to Rose. The older vampire's brow lifting but Damon just ignored her as he did with most people when he was talking. He really only had the patience to put up with one person at a time.

"I'm not blindingly trusting her. We have a history that's why I trust her," Sarah argued back, arms folding as she leaned over towards her brother.

"Yeah, you had a history with Ronnie too, remember?" Damon pointed out rehotorically.

"Look, this isn't a case of Lexi vouched for her so I'll happily trust her no questions asked. She's my friend Damon. Alright a friend I haven't seen in a good few decades but I'm still giving her the benefit, because she deserves it," Sarah explained firmly to which Damon rolled his eyes as he turned away briefly, fists clenching and unclenching at his naive little sister. She and Stefan were just as bad as each other at times, at least in Damon's mind.

"Fine, whatever. But when this blows up in your face, don't come crying to me about it," Damon snarled, trying to be the big bad vampire he loved to be. The one who apparently didn't care, even though his whole family knew he did.

"Don't worry," Sarah continued, forcing a smile to combat her brother's glare. "I'll just get you to rip out someone's heart. You're very good at it," she said, echoing Damon's words from earlier as he growled back at her before storming off towards the door at the end of the parking structure.

"Hey," Sarah called after him, nodding to Rose once his blue eyes met her green. "Apologise." He muttered something that was nothing like an apology, but Sarah grinned all the same as she and Rose watched Damon march off a head, following shortly after.

"You know, I'm pretty sure you've gotten more badass since we last met," Rose said with a proud smile towards Sarah as the younger vampire chuckled sheepishly to herself. "And I see you also finally managed to get both your brothers under control. Even Lexi couldn't do that as I recall."

Sarah began nodding along. "Well it hasn't been easy," Sarah admitted before lifting her gaze and smiling to Rose. "But it's been so worth it."

"Hey, you two, enough frolicking over there. Let's go, chop, chop," Damon called from the door, holding it open as he waited for the two to catch up.

Sarah sighed. "Then, of course, one of them says something stupid like that." Rose laughed, following the irritated Sarah as she led the way through, followed after by Damon who brought up the rear as he closed the door behind them. Instantly the sound of live radio and the smell of brewing coffee hit them all. Typical stuff for a coffee shop, everything about it basic but somehow made nicer and more modern by the light wooden colours and big bold windows that should have sent any sane vampire running. Rose however continued on without a care.

"Hey, what about the sun?" Sarah asked, grabbing Rose's arm and indicating to the large windows with her unsure green eyes.

"Double paned and tempered. UV rays can't penetrate. You see the appeal now?" Rose asked with a grin, to which Sarah replied with a look of awe. It was fairly ingenious, Sarah had to admit, so much so that she wondered why more vampires hadn't been going around, compelling builders to put these windows in everything. Sure would make those that didn't have daylight rings seem more normal in the day time.

"That and the free Wi-Fi." Sarah turned along with Damon, both frowning as the hipster like man who was approaching them. His blue eyes lighting up as grin turned into a smile at the sight of Rose. Slater, Sarah presumed.

"Hey, how are you?" Rose asked, quickly going in for a hug as the Slater hugged her back.

"Good," he answered before they parted and he continued in a little more concern. "I saw you coming, what are you doing here?"

"It's a long story, but I want you to meet…" Rose trialed off, gesturing to Sarah and Damon who were stood next to her. She left room for the two to introduce themselves but Slater answered first, hand slapping the counter before he pointed to them both with a knowing grin.

"Damon and Sarah Salvatore." As he said it both Sarah and Damon frowned, confused as to how this man new them both. Even more so by what he said next. "Turned eighteen-sixty-four in Mystic Falls by Katherine Pierce aka Katerina Petrova." Damon forced himself to grin, as if basking in limelight, but the truth was he was just as confused as Sarah looked, who was wondering how the hell this guy knew their story. He obviously didn't know that much judging by what he said to Rose next though.

"So I take it I was right, what I told you about the tomb under the church was true?" Sarah could only assume he was talking about the tomb Katherine had originally supposed to be in. Of course that was were she was now, but she hadn't been there at all until she and her brothers locked her away. Word must have been passed around though, probably by Damon during a few of his drunken nights as he waited for Katherine. That had been before realisation hit him like a loaded truck, realising the woman was an evil manipulative bitch.

"Yes, it was right, thank you for the tip," Rose said with a grateful smile, though neither she nor Trevor had actually set foot inside Mystic Falls, only the guy Trevor had compelled did. Rose only knew it was true now because Sarah had told her, but considering Rose's history with the bitch, she was hardly about to go spreading it around so that her allies could rush in and rescue her. Assuming she had any that is, probably more like people who owed her favours.

As Slater then turned back to face her, Sarah plastered on a friendly smile for negotiating reasons and shook his hand when he extended it. "Nice to meet you," he said with a friendly smile, weakening however when he then went to shake Damon's hand, only for Sarah's older brother to hesitate as he eyed the hipster up and down. He did however, eventually, shake his hand, suspicious eyes still watching him carefully, in case this really was a trap. He was paranoid like that.

"Maybe," Slater added a little more nervously before then looking back to Rose. "So, eh, what's going on Rose? Where's Trevor?" Obviously Slater new Rose well enough to know she rarely went anywhere without Trevor, unfortunately, to answer that meant reminding Rose what had happened to her best friend. Damon looked away, not caring to see the woman cry or to having to deal with it, pretending to admire the rest of the coffee shop. Rose tried to put on a brave smile, her green eyes wavering beneath the tears that formed at her friend's name. It broke down though, and at her trembling lip Slater realised what had happened. His own eyes filling with sadness and apology.

Before it could turn into a sob fest though, Sarah cut in, more compassionately than Damon might have. "How about we sit down and get some coffee?" she suggested, looking to Rose who nodded in agreement as she sniffed, brushing away the tears. "Right, Damon's buying."

"No I'm not," Damon argued, shutting up after receiving an elbow to the rib. "Right, yeah. What are you having?" They got their orders in, standing by the counter until the barista brought them their drinks, each taking their coffee cups while Damon paid.

"And you're sure Elijah's dead?" Slater asked as Sarah finished explaining what had happened to Slater, taking over when it was obvious Rose couldn't continue. She mentioned how Trevor had died, but didn't go into detail for Rose's sake, though she was pretty sure Rose tuned out on purpose for that, distracting herself with something else before coming back when she sipped her coffee.

"Beyond dead," Damon said confidently, since he'd been the one to drive the stake through the Original vampire's heart.

Slater merely nodded, sipping on his coffee before leading the group over to the table he'd been using by the window before they came in, his laptop still set up, facing the seat he took as the others took the rest. "Trevor was a good man. He helped me with my dissertation on sexual deviance in the Baroque period. I was schooling for my Psych PhD," he explained as they sat down.

"Slater's been in college since seventy-four," Rose explained before sipping on her coffee.

"When I was turned," Slater said with a grin. "I have eighteen degrees, three masters and four PhDs."

"The point?" Damon groaned with a roll of the eyes, finding it laughable that a guy would become a vampire just to spend eternity in school.

"Exactly, I mean, what is the point?" Slater said with a hint of irritation as he shrugged, prompting Damon to once again roll his eyes. "What should I be doming with my eternity? If you haven answer, please enlighten me." As he continued on Sarah snuck a look to a sheepishly grinning Rose while Sarah hid behind her coffee cup.

"Oh, great, he's philosophical," Sarah said with a smirk to Rose before sipping at her coffee cup.

"Look, we need your help," Rose cut in, before a fight could break out, particularly between the two blue eyes vampires that were glaring off against each other, all while Sarah smirked against her coffee cup, clearly enjoying the show. "If someone wanted to get in touch with Klaus, how would you hook him up?"

"Craigslist," Slater said, gesturing to his laptop with his coffee cup.

"Really?" Damon said with a skeptical look that his sister backed him up on as she lowered her coffee cup.

"Seriously," Slater said as he turned his attention back to the two Salvatores who stared back at him. "I reposed to a personal ad to get sent to somebody who knows somebody who knows Elijah…who's dead, and that's where my connection ends," explained Slater, as Damon and Sarah shared an irritated look, not liking where this was going.

* * *

Walking down the street, Amelia smiled at the guitarist playing at the side of the road. She'd always been a fan of street artists and had always donated when she could, hoping to give them a chance to survive and play again. If she really liked them she'd go out of her way to pass by them each day, just so she could listen and throw them some loose change. Today however, it was Elijah who donated, bending down before carelessly throwing in a one-hundred dollar note. As change, he took a handful of silver coins, standing back up as he and his sister walked down the street.

"That was offaly generous of you," Amelia said observantly, ever so slightly lifting her brow when her brother looked her way, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Yes, well. It's important to give back to the arts," Elijah said with a careless shrug, dropping the coins into one hand before then doing it once more with the other. The two Originals then turned, looking across the street where they saw Rose, Slater, Damon and Sarah all sat around a coffee table chatting, having no idea they were being watched from across the street. Elijah no longer dead and having changed suits while Amelia was still wearing the same black rain coat as before – despite the nice weather – hands shoved in her pockets. She was old enough to know by now to never trust the weather. It could change its mind at any moment, just like mankind.

Along with her brother, the two began to listen, hearing focusing on the conversation the four were having. "Here's what I don't get," the one Amelia presumed to be Damon said from his side of the table. To his right with their backs to Amelia was Sarah and Rose. She new the latter from long ago and the other from Elijah's description of the vampires he ran into when going to get the doppelgänger. She'd told him to wait for her, but she'd known then that was never going to happen. At least he wasn't going to be making that mistake again, not as long as she was sticking to his side, like the good sister she was.

"Elijah moved around during the day, which means the originals knew the secret of the daylight rings. Now why would Klaus want to lift the curse of the sun and the moon?" Damon continued, leaning over the table as he spoke to the man across from him. A vampire Amelia was sure, true she wasn't certain, and there were many other things he could be, but vampire just made the most sense of the establishment they were in and considering three out of the four were already vampires to begin with. Still, she'd find out soon enough.

"To keep the werewolves from lifting it. If a vampire breaks the sun curse then the werewolves are stuck with the curse of the moon forever and vice versa," the vampire who Elijah hadn't encountered explained.

"But werewolves are extinct," Rose pointed out.

Amelia's eyes then narrowed. Not at Rose for her inaccurate information. It was well known those like herself and her brother that werewolves had been forced into hiding across the world. There were few places where they still walked about openly in Supernatural communities. Most had gone into wide mountain ranges or into swamps and deeps forests. Some had even moved across the world, just to escape the slaughter that had started in Europe and the New World.

What had her attention was Sarah and Damon, the two Salvatore vampires who were making faces at each other as Rose and the other vampire talked. They obviously knew about one, maybe more. _Definitely an interesting lot these Salvatores_ , Amelia decided, smirking as the conversation continued.

"Sure. I've never seen one but rumour has it–" the vampire said, looking to the two Salvatores before Sarah cut in.

"Not a rumour for us," Sarah said with a smirk. "We've run into three by last count."

"Now that's interesting," Amelia murmured, eyes remaining on the group of four while Elijah glanced her way. Having spent over a thousand years with the man, Amelia could tell he agreed with her, even if he didn't say anything aloud or even make a simple head nod. He just continued dropping coins from one hand into the other, head turning back to the conversation he'd never stopped listening to.

"God, I've got to visit this place. It sounds awesome," the vampire said giddily.

"Yeah, it's really not," Sarah deflated, leaning on the table as she continued. "Place is crawling with vampire hunters so unless you've got yourself a daylight ring, I'd stay clear for the foreseeable future." Another interesting tidbit of information. Of course it was of no concern to Amelia and her brother, they both had daylight rings of their own. Elijah wearing his on his left hand's middle finger, Amelia the same hand, but instead on her index finger.

"Can we get back to the curse, please," Damon said, leaning over the table as he glared at the vampire opposite him, wanting to get back to the reason they'd come through apparently. "Like, how we stop the curse from being broken at all?"

"What do you mean?" the vampire asked uneasily, not surprisingly against this idea.

"Well, if we make the moonstone useless, would it stop the curse from being broken?" Damon spelt out for him.

"Well, yeah, probably, but why would you want to do that?" the vampire said with a sheepishly smile.

"Tell us how," Damon snarled, brow lowering as he glared at the vampire.

"You think I'm gonna help you figure out how to do something that will piss off an Original?" the vampire scoffed before taking a sip of his coffee.

"If it helps, imagine him asking nicely for a change," Sarah suggested, leaning down next to her brother. Her tone friendlier than his, but her body language equally as threatening as his, implying neither was backing down until they got some answers.

"I am afraid to say, Brother, that I think our lie worked a little too well," Amelia sighed, watching as the conversation continued. From next to her, she heard Elijah stop passing the coins for one hand to the other, now holding them firmly in both hands.

"That was, of course, the point, my dear Amelia," Elijah said politely, eyes focused as he lifted his arm back, before then throwing it forward, flicking his wrist at the last minute and sending the coins in his hand scattering across the air before colliding with the windows of the coffee shop. All at once the glass shattered, rays of harmful sunlight bursting in and attacking the unsuspecting vampires. Of which included Rose and the other vampire with her. Damon and Sarah however, just went down like the rest of the crowd, protected by their rings. How fortunate.

"I see your flare for the dramatic hasn't faded in our time apart," Amelia said, rolling her head towards her brother who greeted her with a smirk. Both then vanishing from the scene as a crowd began to form, no one even aware that they'd been there. Or that Elijah was alive and that Amelia was also an Original. Just the way they wanted to keep it, for now.

* * *

One minute they'd been having a pleasant enough conversation about how to destroy the moon stone, the next, all the windows were exploding, sending them all to the ground. It had been insane, each and every window breaking at once and with enough force to send everyone near them flying, including Sarah, her brother and friends. At first Sarah thought it might have been a bomb, but when she sat up she only saw the broken windows. Nothing else had been damaged. More to the point, everyone outside looked just as confused as they did, no clue as to how all the windows had been destroyed at once.

But any thought of investigating and finding out what had happened quickly vanished when Sarah's hearing returned after being caught off guard. At first it was just mindless screaming, panicking over the sudden broken windows. For humans it would have been dramatic, but the vampires in the room were already healing. At least Sarah and Damon were, it was only when she heard the sizzling of burning skin that she realised what was going on. The windows protecting the none daylight ring wearing vampires were gone, meaning the sun was now burning them.

She caught sight of Slater first, as he ran for the back exit along with the vampires strong enough to pull themselves out of the sunlight. When Sarah then spotted Rose, she found her to be not so lucky. She was on the floor, rolling back and forth, sun light shining directly on her. Where as everyone else had been blown back, Rose had fallen the other way, towards the window, with no knocked over table or chairs to cover behind, she was in the open.

Moving as quickly as she could without drawing more attention, Sarah grabbed the jacket Slater had left behind and threw it over Rose, doing her best to cover her skin from the sunlight. Glancing back, she saw her brother was on his feet, scanning the crowd outside for what or who had destroyed the window. While he searched, Sarah hauled Rose up to her feet, dragging her into the shade as several others did with the remaining vampires. Most likely they knew what they were, but Sarah didn't care for anyone but Rose, who clung to the jacket shielding her skin as Sarah got her into the shadows where Damon was waiting for them.

"We're leaving, now," Sarah declared, giving Damon a firm look as he met her gaze. It was obvious he wanted to stay and find out what had happened, but when his eyes moved to Rose, they softened ever so slightly. She was a mess, skin horribly blister from the burns, healing at a snails pace, shaking uncontrollably as her fingers tightened around the jacket, despite now being safe from the sun.

Damon nodded, leading the charge out with Sarah holding Rose close as they followed. Everyone else who hadn't gotten out by then, was now charging towards the door. Those who were bleeding or burnt where being dragged out by the panicked people that held them close. Damon shoved as many aside as he could before Sarah and Rose found themselves surrounded by bodies. The sound of the back door being kicked open filled the air, despite the screams and cries that threatened to drown it out. The mob of people shrugged forwards and suddenly Sarah found herself in the parking lot once more. But she was too slow in getting out of the mob's way and found herself stumbling forward, losing her grip on Rose. She managed to find her footing but Rose wasn't as lucky. She hit the ground with a terrified scream, curling up as she yanked on the jacket, like a child trying to hid beneath their bedsheets.

Sarah went to pull her back up, but Damon got to her first. She was half ready to snap at him for yanking her up to her feet and shoving her on, but instead watched in surprise as he lifted her up bridal style, cradling her in his arms as she held onto him desperately. It was only when Damon looked to his sister, that Sarah finally snapped and elbowed the next guy that threatened to push her aside. "This way," she called out to Damon who followed her out of the mob and back over to their car.

Reaching it first, Sarah quickly pulled open the back seat, moving aside as Damon sat Rose down. "You're gonna be okay," Damon said as he pulled the jacket off of Rose, throwing it aside as Sarah got a good look at Rose. She was healing now, still shaking and panicking, but her burnt skin was beginning to fade at last. The crusty patches looking more fleshy again as they shrunk in on themselves.

"I know," Rose breathed out, in between her heavy panicked breaths.

"Who's behind that?" Damon demanded.

"I don't know. Where's Slater?" Rose asked quickly, brain obviously racing.

"He ran off," Sarah answered, watching Rose in concern.

"He's not behind this, he's a good guy, he wouldn't betray me," Rose began to ramble off, head lowering as she started to hug herself.

"Well then who the hell did it?" Damon snapped.

"It's Klaus, don't you understand?" Rose cried out, head flipping back up to reveal the panic in her eyes and the terrified tears that were flying form them. "You don't know this man, we're dead! We're all dead."

"It's okay, it's okay," Sarah promised as she wrapped Rose in her arms, letting the woman cry into her jacket as she shared a look with Damon. He had an odd mixture of sympathy, confusion and mild alarm. Something had happened, they knew that, those windows hadn't just smashed on their own. Whether it was Klaus or not remained to be seen, but Rose thought it was and she was clearly terrified. "We need to get her home," Sarah said to Damon, still holding Rose as she whimpered away. He nodded back, taking the keys before climbing into the drivers side. Sarah joined Rose in the back, holding her tightly as Damon raced them out of the parking lot and back to Mystic Falls. He did a few detours, just to be sure no one was following them. He even pulled over at a gas station for a few minutes, watching the passing cars and those that pulled into the rest area. There was no sigh that they were being followed.

Once they then got home, Rose finally started to calm down. The whole experience must have severely tired her out because she was passed out on the couch within seconds of sitting down. Covering Rose with a blanket, Sarah fetched herself a blood bag before she set up a fire and sat down to relax after the days events. Damon came in to check on her a few times but didn't say anything, just hummed in a yes and no manor whenever Sarah asked him a question. Sarah remained on the couch opposite Rose, reading once she finished her blood bag. Stefan did send her an updated text later, about what Elena had been up to that day. Talking to Katherine. Sarah's blood pressure had shot up at that, furiously typing back and demanding more information. The short version was that she went to speak to Katherine to learn more about Klaus, the curse and so on. And as such Sarah wasn't surprised to hear it hadn't gone well. Stefan promised to fill her in in more detail later, once he got home.

Shortly after, Rose awoke, looking a whole lot better, embarrassed if anything else, over her dramatic reaction. She was still convinced it was Klaus that had come after them though, but felt a lot more secure in the Salvatore house. For maybe an hour or so she and Sarah just chatted, Sarah doing her best to keep Rose's mind on other things. It did her good. Sarah then decided to get her some blood, realising her friend hadn't had anything in a while. However when she came back to the living room, Rose was gone. She walked further into the house until she caught the sound of Rose's voice.

"You're right to fight it," came Rose's voice from the study. There was a pause and Sarah had been about to enter when Rose continued. "The way you feel about her." That prompted Sarah to stop, the noise little sister in her focusing her hearing as she stood out in the hallway.

"And why's that?" Damon asked from inside the study, sat near the fireplace with Rose stood in front of him. neither able to see Sarah from her position in the hallway, and since she wasn't making any noise, they couldn't hear her either. Although both seemed a little wrapped up in what they were doing, neither looking out for her.

"Because if you want to survive, you need to not care about anyone," Rose declared. Sarah didn't believe she meant it, she was just hurting and scared. A natural defence to that was to lash out, and that was what she was doing to an extent. She'd loved Trevor, and he'd been her best friend and no matter what she'd never have cut him out of her life just to survive. It's just if she had, she wouldn't be suffering from his absence now.

"Caring gets you dead, huh?" Damon replied.

"It might just be time to turn the switch off on your emotions," Rose suggested.

Alarm bells started to ring in Sarah's head, eyes widening as she thought about rushing in and putting an end to the conversation. Even more so when Damon said, "I will if you will." She took a step, ready to knock some sense into the pair of them. She peered in around the corner and then quickly retreated, only just managing to find her feet and stop herself from creating a ruckus. In that brief moment she'd seen both her brother and Rose, standing right up against each other, staring deeply into each others' eyes.

And no sooner had Sarah found her feet, one hand landing on the wall to balance herself, did she hear the sound of them making out. Sarah might have laughed if she didn't fear ruining the moment. She'd always thought she was good at spotting things like this, signs of flirting, sexual tension. Apparently not though, judging by what was going on in the next room. She'd never even considered it.

She couldn't help but grin, looking over her shoulder to make sure they hadn't notice her and were playing some kind of trick on her. If they were, it'd gone beyond a joke now, seeing as they were clawing at each others cloths in between make outs, pushing towards the obvious source of stress relief.

That was Sarah's cue to leave, but she did so with a smile on her face. Maybe it was just them both relieving stress, maybe it was something more. At the very least, it was a distraction, and that was something Damon needed if he was going to get over Elena. Sarah hoped it was something serious and that it would last, at least until everything going on with Elena settled down. Then Damon would see that he didn't really love her, at least not in a romantic sense.

Her mind drifted back to the car ride from before, when they'd been heading to rescue Elena, or more precisely the plan they had made during that car ride. Save Elena, Stefan's girlfriend. Check. Find Damon a slutty girlfriend. While Rose might not appreciate being called a slut, it was still a check for now. That left…

Sarah groaned as she reached the stairs, heading for her room. Now she had to get her love life in order. Something she wasn't particularly fond of dealing with right now. She could practically hear both her brothers laughing at her now, even if one was out the house and the other was…busy.

She'd deal with it in her own time, Sarah decided as she climbed the stairs, drinking blood as she went.

* * *

As they waited for the home owner to answer, Amelia turned to Elijah, asking, "Do you want deal with the compulsion, or shall I?"

"I'll deal with it," Elijah answered as he turned to face his sister, lips turning up ever so slightly as he did. "Your feelings on compulsion are no secret to me, dear sister." It was true, Amelia had never been a fan of compulsion. It was a very useful tool for sure, but she just felt so vial when using it, especial when forcing people to do things that they wouldn't otherwise. For her, it was intended to keep a vampire's victims still while they fed and then to erase said victim's memories. Of course, it did have its other uses, which even if she didn't like, she had to admit it was useful. As Elijah was about to demonstrate.

The door then opened and the vampire from the coffee shop stepped into view. The one called Slater as the two Originals had found out. "Can I help you?" Slater asked looking between the two as they smiled pleasantly back.

"Why, yes you can," Elijah said as his brown eyes locked with Slater's. "You can let us come in, and close the door behind you." A puzzled look then crossed Slater's face, only for it to then double down as he stepped aside for the two Originals. Elijah gestured for Amelia to go in first and she nodded to her bother in thanks. With her hands still resting in her raincoat pockets, she nodded in thanks to Slater also before stepping into the rather nice modern apartment with Elijah behind her. The two stood side by side in the hallway, taking in the place, before turning back around at the sound of the door closing.

He was still just as confused, mouth opening and closing as he looked between the door and the two Original Siblings. Obviously a newbie vampire, especially if he didn't know about the Originals' ability to compel even vampires. "How did you…?" Slater began.

"Be silent," Elijah ordered with his compulsion, adding a held up finger for effect. Slater then fell silent, eyes widening in disbelief. "Stay still," Elijah then added before the young vampire got any ideas. He then advanced, closing in on the confused and silent vampire. "Now. We're going to need you to do something for us."

Elijah then gave Slater very detailed and precise orders as to what he was to do. Once he was done, Elijah then stood back along with Amelia and watched as Slater put on a show for them both. As told he took out his phone, calling the vampires he'd met with today. "Rose?" Slater said when the line opened up.

"Slater? Are you okay?" Rose asked once she realised who was calling her.

"Yes, I took off, I'm sorry, I was frigging freaked," Slater explained – convincingly it might be added, but then again, he'd been compelled to make it sound believable. Another advantage of compulsion that Amelia had noticed was its ability to improve anyone's acting. Give them right motivation, the right background, the right instructions, and you could find any compelled person with an Oscar in their hand.

"No, I'm sorry to involve you," Rose replied.

"Look, I want no part in any of this but I did some digging," Slater continued, just like he was supposed to.

"Okay, what did you find?" Rose asked slowly, after a moments pause.

"You can destroy the curse but you need the moonstone."

"How? What do you mean? I don't follow," Rose replied, trying to get more information out of Slater. There was no need of course, he was going to hand it all over, whether he wanted to or not.

"Can your friends get the moonstone? You need it."

Another pause. "Yes, they can get it. What next?" Another useful piece of information. The moonstone, another key piece to their grand scheme – not that Amelia felt the word was appropriate – but it was essential to have it in order to proceed. And having a general idea of where it was really did help. Before it could have been anywhere in the world, now they'd narrowed it down to the area of Mystic Falls.

"You need a witch. Get the moonstone, a witch should be able to figure out the rest." And of course, the Originals had just the witch in mind, one that had already agreed to work with them. One they could use to keep an eye on everything, and who just so happened to be already based in Mystic Falls.

Slater then concluded the call with, "Good luck, Rose," before hanging up, only to then stare down at his phone in disbelief.

"Very nicely done," Elijah applauded.

"Thanks, I have a degree in theatre," Slater admitted as he put his phone away, turning around to face the two Originals. Then, finally, he got to ask the question he'd been wanting to since they first arrived. "How can you compel me? A vampire can't compel another vampire."

"We're special vampires," Elijah said with a smirk and a nonchalant shrug.

"What, because you're an Original?" Slater asked, confusion still all over his face. So many questions, so little time. Amelia almost felt sorry for him. Of course she could humour him, let him ask all his questions then deal with him. But neither herself, nor her brother had the time.

"Yes," Amelia answered with a pleasant smile.

"Now, I want you to take this and drive it through your heart," Elijah instructed, smile never wavering as he held out a wood stake.

"But that would kill me forever," Slater said nervously as he took the stake from Elijah.

"We know," Amelia said with her own smile still in place. She may not be the biggest fan of what they were doing, but after all this time, she knew sometimes things just had to be done, and sometimes the best way to get through it, was with a smile. Even if it did make her seem a little sinister.

"But it's necessary," Elijah said, using his compulsion to make Slater believe it really was, even if he didn't want to. The young vampire held his gaze for as long as he could, fighting the compulsion. In his last moments he looked to Amelia, as if she'd save him. When she offered him nothing but a smile and cold eyes, he looked down to the stake and his trembling hands. Some could fight the compulsion for a little while, it wasn't the exact same as it was on humans. There was a more conscious element to compelling a vampire. Still, the result was always the same, and finally, Slater thrusted the stake into his own heart. One last final breath, then he hit the floor, skin turning grey and still veins appearing across his skin.

"I'll call, Jonas, let him know we're on our way," Amelia said as she pulled her phone from her pocket, bringing up his contact information as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. But that was the thing, this was her normal. Elijah hummed in agreement staring down at the deceased vampire that was sprawled out on the floor, stake stood firmly up from inside his chest.

The phone rang once, then Jonas picked up. "How can I help you, Amelia?"

"Hello, Jonas, I'm going to need you to do a little something for me and my brother…"


	19. Secret Intentions

_Review responses:_

Linkan201: _I don't really have a plan for any pairings with Amelia yet, however, it is more than likely I'll be doing Sarah/Elena (or Sarena) since a lot of people that review this story are asking for it. The only problem is I'm cruel, and plan on doing this as a slow burn (Cue evil laugh). But there a few bits here that should imply where I'm going and keep the idea of them as a couple in the forefront of your mind. And thanks for the support, hope this chapter lives up to the story thus far._

 _I made it on time this week! Yay! Originally though, this chapter was also meant to be one full episode...but then things got a little out of hand at a certain point...you'll probably be able to tell which point that is. But the overkill stuff I put in really works and I'm sure some of you guys are really going to love it! So leave a review to tell me whether you love or hate me now and I'll see you guys next week for the next chapter!_

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Secret Intentions**

* * *

In Sarah's opinion, it was a horrible idea. Beyond horrible in fact, down right stupid, idiotic and bound to bring them nothing but trouble. But when had her brothers ever cared about her opinion in regards to their ridiculous plans. They admitted it wasn't the best option, but they needed to get the moonstone, Sarah had understood that. What she didn't understand was why they needed to get it right now. Wait a few days, maybe a month. Then send someone in to get it. There was no hurry. Klaus didn't know where they were, or more precisely where Elena was, he probably didn't even know she existed, since they'd killed the one person who might tell him. Regardless though, her brothers refused to wait – and since she was hardly about to let them go in alone – she followed them down in the tomb below the remains of Fell's Church.

"Can I just say–"

"What you've been saying for the past hour?" Damon cut in as he looked over his shoulder, smugly grinning at his sister before he rolled his eyes, turning away from her frown. "No, you can't," Damon finished as he continued on down the stone steps.

"I just don't see the need to rush. If we wait a few weeks she'll desiccated and then we can kill her easily and get the moonstone," Sarah pointed out, looking back over her shoulder, hoping Stefan would support her. He didn't like this either, but his need to help Elena outweighed his distaste for Katherine.

"And what if she's desiccated already, we'd have wasted all that time wait for nothing," Damon argued over his shoulder as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Sarah glared at him in response. He knew damn well how unlikely it was that Katherine had desiccated already. She was old and had been full of blood when they threw her in the tomb. It could take weeks for some vampires to desiccate to the point that they couldn't move. Katherine would definitely still be up on her feet, and worst of all, she'd still be able to talk. "Now come over here and give me a hand," Damon said as he made his way over to the left side of the stone they'd left to cover up the tomb.

"Please, like I'm going to help that bitch in anyway," Sarah declared as she folded her arms, refusing to move from where she was stood by the stairs.

Damon rolled his eyes before then looking to his more cooperative brother. "A little help." Stefan then let slip a grin before taking the right side of the stone and helping Damon move the thing aside. Once they had it lifted up off the ground, the two brothers then backed out, away from the entrance to the tomb, and sat the large stone aside against the wall. With the stone removed, Sarah stepped over to join her brothers, stood behind them as the three peered into the darkness of the tomb.

"Please…" came a weak yet familiar voice, its user still hidden in the dark. "Come on in," Katherine then finished as she stepped around the corner and into view. She was notable different to the last time they'd seen her. Paler for one thing, hair no longer done up, its products haven worn out, leaving it straight, much like Elena's. She'd also thrown off her high heels, leaving the dress on as it was the only thing she had to wear. Annoyingly though, she still had that smug aura about her, despite her circumstances. "There's plenty of room for all of us."

"I'd rather poke my eyes out," Damon replied with a smug grin back at the ghostly looking woman.

Katherine purred, "But they're such pretty eyes."

"We're here for the moonstone," Stefan explained.

"Feel like tossing it over?" Damon added.

"Tell you what," Katherine began, making her way down the hallway towards the Salvatores, patting the wall as she did. "You get your little witch to hocus pocus me out of here and you can have whatever you want."

"Well I want you dead, so how about we cut out the middle man and you just go ahead and get to work on that?" Sarah suggested.

Katherine chuckled at that, though it sounded dry, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing against one another. "Still keeping up that act are we, Sarah?"

Sarah scowled back. She knew it was pointless to try and play this game with Katherine, she always won, always tricked you into doing what she wanted. Even so, Sarah couldn't help the need to retaliate, to run in there and kill her right then and there, even if it did mean she was trapped for the rest of her life. It might just be worth it for those precious seconds between Katherine being alive and dead. Luckily though, her brother spoke up before Sarah did something she'd probably end up regretting. "I thought you liked it in here. Nice and safe where Klaus can't get to you."

"I've had time to reconsider," Katherine admitted, her voice croaking from the lack of fluid.

"Meaning you're hungry," Damon guessed accurately.

"I'm starving," Katherine declared as she stepped into the light, now right at the entrance to the tomb but unable to take that last step out. "And dirty."

"It suits you," Sarah snapped with a sarcastic smile.

Typical Katherine though, she couldn't just take the insult and just get mad. No, instead she had to smile back. Holding up the moonstone, Katherine locked eyes with Sarah, ignoring the brother on either side of her. "Tell you what, Sarah, I'll hand over this pretty little rock right now, if you come in here and join me."

"Not happening," Damon answered before Sarah even had time to process.

"Was I talking to you?" Katherine growled, rolling her head towards the eldest Salvatore.

"None of us are joining you in there," Stefan added, Katherine's gaze moving over to him next.

"Fine," Katherine sighed. "I'll just hold onto this until you make up your minds. Now remember, your options are; let me out of here, or come in and join me." Her gaze then returned to Sarah, smirk growing as she started to back up into the tomb. "Can't wait to find out which one you pick." With that the shadows then took over her face, her body swiftly following before she stalked off further into the tomb.

"Do you want me to say 'I told you so,' now?" Sarah sighed out once Katherine was gone.

"Hold on, nothing's gone wrong yet," Damon argued as he turned to his sister. "We expected this, and since plan A–"

"You mean plan naive," Sarah corrected mockingly.

"Since it didn't work," Damon continued. "We go onto the back up plan."

"Before we do though, we should tell Elena what we're doing," Stefan pointed out, hands going to his hips.

"Agreed," seconded Sarah.

"Jeez. All right, fine, let's go and get this pointless update over with," Damon grumbled before heading out the tomb with his siblings behind him. From there it didn't take them long to reach Elena's house, where she then answered the door, frowning when she saw all three Salvatores stood on her front porch so early in the morning.

"Hey, can we talk?" Stefan said uneasily, stood up front with his brother and sister behind him.

"Why?" Elena asked uneasily.

Stefan looked back to his siblings, unsure of how to start. Damon looked back with much the same look before then nudging his sister in the back, earning a glare in response. Sarah then turned back around with a roll of the eyes, answering Elena since apparently her brother were unwilling too. "We went to see Katherine."

Lowering her head slight, Elena stepped aside, saying, "Come on in," as she did. Once inside, the Salvatores told her everything that had transpired during their meeting with Katherine that morning, before then moving onto why they even needed the moonstone.

"According to Rose's friend Slater, there's a way to destroy the spell that Klaus wants to break," Stefan explained, leaning across the island in the kitchen while Damon stood nearby, passing an orange between his hands. Elena was stood in the archway and Sarah was leaning against the wall near her, letting her brothers do most of the talking.

"No spell, no doppelgänger sacrifice. Ergo, you live," Damon said confidently.

"How do you destroy it?" Elena than asked, scratching her neck as she did. From her position Sarah's brow lowered slightly, eyeing Elena from across the room.

"By releasing it from the moonstone," Stefan answered.

"How do you guys even know this is gonna work?" Elena asked skeptically as she stepped towards the island.

"Because we have a crafty witch on our side," Damon answered.

"You discussed it with Bonnie," Elena sighed, almost disappointedly, although Sarah was the only one who seemed to notice as Stefan continued on eagerly.

"She agreed to do anything she could to help us."

"It's Katherine who has the moonstone. She's not gonna give it to you," Elena pointed out, finding the obvious flaw in their plan.

"We're gonna get it from her," Stefan said simply.

"Well, what he means to say is, we will pry it from her cold, dead hand if we have to," Damon said cheerily as he paced around the room. Both still oblivious to what Sarah had already worked out. She remind quiet though, so that Elena could hear everything before they proceeded.

"Bonnie just needs to find a way to release the seal long enough for us to get in, get the moonstone, and get out in time for her to return it," Stefan explained.

"Wow… I mean it sounds like you guys already have it all planned out," Elena said, in that same disappointed voice again, yet trying to sound grateful. Like a disappointed child on Christmas day who got the wrong brand of shoes compared to the ones they actually wanted.

"Yep, we're awesome," Damon said as he waved his thumbs towards himself and his siblings across the room.

"Except for one thing," Elena began as she leaned down on the counter.

"You don't want us to do it, do you?" Sarah spoke up, all eyes going to her. Both Stefan and Damon quickly broke out into frowns, eyes flicking in confusion between their sister and Elena. Elena held her gaze the longest with Sarah before finally nodding in acknowledgement.

"Yes," Elena answered before then looking back to Stefan and Damon, the two who seemed to be objecting this the most.

"What are you talking abut? Elena, we don't have a choice," Stefan said after sharing several confused looks with Damon.

"What about Klaus?" Elena argued as he leaned over towards Stefan, her hand going to his.

"We'll find him right after we get the moonstone," Stefan answered.

"Is that before or after he kills everyone that I care about, including all of you?" Elena argues, hand leaving Stefan's as she gestured to all the Salvatores.

"Elena, if we can de-spell the moonstone, we can save your life," Stefan stressed.

"I know," Elena said as she stood up, stepping back from the island. "Everyone keeps saying that," she sighed before walking out the kitchen, passing Sarah who's eyes followed the human out. Meanwhile, Stefan and Damon continued to share bewildered looks, right up until Jenna walked in. She quickly came to a stop though, after passing Elena in the hallway, she turned to find the three Salvatores in her kitchen.

"Well…this all looks very serious," Jenna said with an awkward chuckle as she looked around the room. Stefan at least offered the woman a smile in response. Damon however rolled his eyes at the ignorant woman before storming off into the living room, using it to get around Jenna before then cutting in behind her and existing through the front door. Stefan followed suit, mumbling a hello before then also leaving.

"Did I say something wrong?" Jenna asked with a lowered brow, thinking back over her words as she turned to Sarah.

"No," Sarah reassured with a smile as she pushed off the wall, joining Jenna by the island. "Everyone's just a little tense about this school project we have to work on," she explained, or rather lied. "Don't worry, we'll work it out," Sarah then added when Jenna looked like she might ask more questions. But after that she merely nodded, pouring herself some coffee before taking that first vital sip of the day. "So…get up to much last night?"

Several droplets of coffee flew from Jenna's mouth before she managed to close her lips, coughing internally as she patted her chest. As she did Sarah just watched with a teasing grin, unsure if the red on her friend's checks was from her choking or her embarrassment. Eventually though, she did manage to swallow her first sip, sputtering for a moment before she sat her cup down, leaning against the island with both hands.

"Who told you," Jenna asked in a level voice without meeting Sarah's eye, which only made the vampire's smile grow.

"A little birdie," Sarah answered before Jenna let out a laugh and Sarah joined in. "So how was it then?" Sarah asked once the short lived laughter died down. It was then Jenna finally turned to face her, uncontainable smile meeting Sarah which only made her own one grow as she eagerly awaited Jenna's story. She needed to hear about a good simple love story at the moment, especially after her own setbacks in that area of life.

"Spontaneous," Jenna finally came out with, blushing as she did. "One minute, we're just sitting on the couch watching a movie, sharing popcorn, and the next I was all over him." Sarah laughed in shock at that. "I mean I was like an animal," Jenna added before joining in on the laughter. "Then we were on the floor, making out, and suddenly…" She fell silent. Lips coming together in a fond smile as her gaze drifted off into the past. A few seconds, then she was back, frowning as she turned towards Sarah once more. "Hold on, why am I telling you all this," Jenna said as she straightened up, pushing back her hair as her hands framed her face. "Your in high school for crying out loud."

"Maybe," Sarah agreed as she too straightened. She then reached over, placing her hand on Jenna's shoulder. "But I'm also your friend." Jenna smiled at that, almost finding it cute. "And if that's to hard for you, I could always drop out and make being your friend a full time gig? Pay better be good though." And with that the two started laughing once more.

* * *

As she made her way over, Scarlett watched as Tyler shot layups by the basketball hoop set up in the parking lot. After a couple though, he backed up to the edge of the key that had been drown with chalk and then threw the ball up towards the hoop. Only it hit the rim, recoiling off towards Scarlett who caught it firmly in both hands as she continued on over to Tyler.

"Nice catch," Tyler said half heartedly as Scarlett threw him the ball.

"Thanks," Scarlett said with a small smile.

"Wanna play a bit before class?" Tyler asked, motioning to the hoop with the ball before bouncing it over to Scarlett who caught it once again.

"Actually, I was thinking we could talk first," Scarlett said, bouncing the ball back as she offered him an uneasy look.

"About what?" Tyler asked, catching Scarlett's unsettled tone as he held the ball.

"The full moon," Scarlett answered sheepishly. They'd been dancing around it since they last met, not really talking about it but saying they would. She was nervous in truth, which was odd considering it was Tyler who aught to be scared to all hell, seeing as it was him who was going to forcibly be changed on the next full moon.

Tyler looked down, bouncing the ball a few times before holding it firm once more. "I just think we should come up with a plan and–"

"I've got a plan," Tyler cut in, looking Scarlett right in the eye before taking a shot and sinking the ball. Only to then let it bounce off towards the grass carelessly.

"Care to share?" Scarlett asked, folding her arms.

"Not really," Tyler answered with a shrug, as he bent down to grab his bag.

"Well, how am I supposed to help you if you don't tell me your plan?"

"Look," Tyler said as he met Scarlett's gaze once more. "I get you feel you have to help and all, but you don't. You don't have to deal with this…full moon thing, so don't worry about it. I've got it under control," Tyler explained carelessly before turning to walk off.

"Hold on," Scarlett called out, following Tyler until he stopped and turned around to face her. "I want to help." Her face then contorted as she continued. "I kinda think I need to help you." Tyler screwed his face up as he eyed her in response. "I think it might be a werewolf thing. All this empathy is driving me insane," Scarlett groaned, managing to get a chuckle out of Tyler.

"I hear you," he sighed.

"So you gonna tell me the plan or what?" Scarlett asked once more.

"What plan?" Caroline asked as she jumped up to Scarlett's side, morning smile on her perky lips.

"His full moon plan," Scarlett answered before Tyler could send her away. Although with his mouth already open, he turned from Caroline to Scarlett, before then sighing as he closed his mouth.

"It's honestly amazing you kept this a secret for so long. Seeing as you all just blurt out key phrases like 'full moon,' every five seconds," Tyler groaned as he shook his head. Looking over his shoulder at the passers by to make sure none were eavesdropping or giving them stranger and questioning looks.

"Do you need any help with your planning?" Caroline asked eagerly.

"No," Tyler answered firmly.

"Oh, so you have a plan?" Caroline asked eager to hear it.

"Yes," Tyler answered, only to stumble over his mouth when Caroline and Scarlett continued to stare at him, waiting for him to go on. The pressure quickly got to him and he eventually caved, admitting, "It's more of an idea than a plan."

"Well that's okay," Caroline said enthusiastically. "I can fix that easily enough."

"I don't need your help," Tyler stressed with a smile that was meant to be confident, but instead came across as uneasy. "Or yours," he added with a look to Scarlett. The two women shared a look, both folding their arms and turning back to Tyler, who quickly shrunk in on himself under their joint gaze.

"She's the only other werewolf in town, and therefore your only coach. As for me, I'm student vice president, head of the prom committee, not to mention I single-handedly organised this town's clean up campaign. And you're really gonna turn down our help?" Caroline said skeptically.

Tyler stared at her for a moment, before looking to Scarlett who had the same knowing look. As if they were his parents looking down on him for trying to do something on his own when he clearly needed their help. "All right, fine," Tyler sighed out in defeat, finally accepting their help.

"Why didn't I just ask you for help with this in the first place?" Scarlett asked aloud as she turned to Caroline.

"God only knows," the vampire said with an eye roll before the two women made their way around Tyler and into the school. He turned, watching them go as he stared after them in complete bewilderment. One second they were offering him help, the next they were leaving him alone in the parking lot while they argued about how to help him. Pulling his bag up over his shoulder, he then jogged off after the other two supernaturals, before heading into the school to get through yet another school day.

* * *

Elena wasn't a fool, even if she knew several people who would call her one for coming here. But she's been unopposed in leaving Mystic Falls and there was no way for anyone to track. She'd made sure of that, to the best of her ability, providing everyone with fake alibis as to where she was. It was for the best, she knew that. She had to keep reminding herself that, otherwise she'd never be brave enough to go through with it. Thankfully the urge to protect the ones she loved was beating strongly with her heart. She only hoped it held up until this was all over. After that…

She shook the thoughts aside, deciding it was best not to dwindle on it. If she gave herself up, she'd get to make some reasonable demands, demands that would be granted without any bloodshed. All she had to do was keep reminding herself of why she was doing this. _To save them. To save them._ She repeated in her head over and over. It wasn't goodbye, not yet. By giving herself up she was assuring that.

Seeing Rose having stopped up ahead, Elena herself came to a stop on the last step, watching as Rose banged her fist against the apartment door. "Slater? Slater, it's Rose. Open up!" the vampire called out, resting her fist against the door as she waited for a response.

It had been easy enough for Elena to manipulate Rose into getting what she wanted. She might not have met many vampires without daylight rings – at least not many that wanted to talk to her, rather than kill her – but she imagined that the idea of a daylight ring was a distant dream for most of them. So when she offered Rose the chance to get one, it had been exactly what she needed to convince the vampire into helping her out. She hadn't told her everything obviously, she wasn't stupid and neither was Rose. She just needed to take it step by step. Always remembering why she was doing this.

"He's not home, sorry," Rose finally said, turning to Elena with a not so sorry look as she shrugged.

Elena shook her head, refusing to give in at the first minor bump. The stakes were too high to pull a stunt like that. "No. We didn't come all the way out here for nothing," Elena said firmly. When Rose stood firm, refusing to offer up the obvious solution, Elena gestured with her eyes. Looking from Rose to the door. With a sigh, the vampire gave in giving the doors a forceful shove as Elena stepped up to her side.

The doors swung open like they'd never been locked, revealing a wide open floor plan, broken up by a few walls here and there. If it was lit properly, Elena imagined it probably looked rather nice, but this looked like modern Hollywood's idea of a vampire lair. The place was caved in darkness, curtains drawn, giving the place an eerie vibe. One that suggested something might jump out at her at any moment. She really should be used to it by now, but even so Elena swallowed the lump in her throat, once again doing her best to be brave.

"After you," Rose said carelessly as she gestured into the room. Cautiously, Elena stepped in, doing her best to stand like she'd seen Sarah stand so many times before. Ready for a fight, determined to put one up if she had to. Not that she'd live long if she fought, she just needed enough time to explain herself and then she could move on.

Once she crossed the threshold, Rose followed, far more casually than Elena, who was still in her copycat fighting stance, that was probably wrong if she was being honest with herself. "Slater?" Rose called out as she began to over take Elena who was being more cautious with her steps, eyes constantly scanning the darkness. As for Rose, she headed straight through the apartment, unaware of Elena who'd slowed to a stop behind her, waiting for her human eyes to adjust to the lighting.

When her eyes finally did adjust, she got a better look at the apartment, and could see there was little threat in it. In fact it was rather homie, in a simple since. Modern, but not flashy. Probably something he compelled himself whenever he decided to settle down in Richmond.

Spotting the staircase, Elena's eyes focused on it as she waited for someone to descend. She was assuming someone was here, the vampire they were after had to be. Where else would he be during the day. As she'd been lead to believe, he didn't have a daylight ring, meaning that he'd have come back home before the sun rose, or be trapped wherever he was until sun set. So by that logic he be here, trapped in his own comfy personalised home.

"I don't think he's gonna be much help." Rose's voice suddenly broke through the silence of the apartment, bring Elena's gaze over to her. She was further along through the room, standing before a doorway into an adjoining room. Elena broke out into a short sprint, stopping as she ran in front of Rose. Then as she turned to look into the room, a mixture of irritation, disappointment and sadness left her in the form of a sigh. Before both her and Rose, lay the body of a dead vampire. Slater, as Elena presumed.

Rose quickly made her way into the room, grabbing Slater's body and moving it out of sight. She might be able to compel them out of any breaking and entering issues, should any neighbours came nosing around. But one sight of a dead body and the whole building would be alerted to their presence with a loud scream. And one vampire was going to struggle to compel an entire building by themselves before the police got involved, and then that became an even bigger problem that neither Rose or Elena wanted to deal with. So while Rose was dealing with the body, Elena made her way further into the apartment, moving towards the one thing that had caught her eye in the darkness. A computer.

It was an impressive set up with two keyboards and several monitors, all of which were showing the same wavy pattern across the screens as they waited to be turned back on at the flick of a mouse. As well as the two keyboards, the large black desk was covered in paper. Some single sheets, some stapled together, some held together by paper clips and other stored away in plastic sleeves. Quickly Elena started picking at various pieces of paper, searching for anything that might help her find who she was after.

When she heard Rose walk up behind her she looked back, just to confirm it, and then went back to glancing over the papers. "Looks like whoever blew up the coffee shop found him and killed him for his information," Elena said as she put down a few selections of paper and picked up another handful, flicking through them for anything that stuck out.

"Yeah, probably to stop him from helping people like us. The guy was a vampire almanac. Knowing too much information just bit him in the ass," Rose explained for behind Elena, before she began walking over towards the long scarlet curtains that blocked out the sun. While she was doing that, Elena continued to search the desk, throwing another collection of papers back down on the desk. Useless, the lot, with no mention of her or what she was after. Then she saw something, something that stood out. A photo, one of the vampire they'd found in the apartment and of a young woman.

Before she could study the photo any further, white light blinded her, bouncing off the photograph and hitting her directly in the face. Her free hand quickly began to shield her face before she lowered it, eyes still squinting as she looked towards the window. The window with the open curtains that Rose was standing directly in front of. "What are you–?" Elena managed to get out, still recovering from the blinding light that had hit her eyes.

"Tempered glass," Rose answered as she pushed open another curtain. Once she did she turned back to the window, standing in front as she looked out into the brightly lit world. "U.V. rays can't penetrate," she then added, standing casually as the light shone upon her, skin not burning despite the lack of a daylight ring.

For a moment, Elena just stood, watching Rose in mild awe. Taking in the look on the vampires face. Despite having something few vampires had, she still wanted more. Elena could imagine hundreds, if not thousands of vampires that hadn't looked out into the daylight for centuries, and yet her Rose was doing just that. Looking out into the bright world without getting burnt, and yet still unable to touch it, to interact with it. It must be like looking at a photo. Seeing what everyone else saw but unable to touch it, to go there. Cut off from so much. Elena could see that in Rose's eyes, the gratefulness for what she could see right now, but also the longing for more. To step out that window and live in that world. A world of light.

"And that worked out so well last time." Elena swung around at the voice, where as Rose just looked back, surprise passing across her features when she saw who was standing before them. Elena however, had a bit more of a dear in headlights look, staring back at those green eyes, identical to the ones she'd fallen in love with. In someways she could see those same green eyes in her. Sarah Salvatore. Who was stood in the doorway, staring at them both, a biker helmet grasped with one hand at her side.

A second passed then she advance, making her way into the apartment and towards Elena. Green eyes locked with her own brown. Elena stepped back, finding the desk met her as she stumbled into it, hands going back and managing to catch the edge as she stopped herself from collapsing. No sense in looking like anymore of a fool than she might already. Taking a quick breath, she reminded herself that there was no reason for Sarah to be completely aware of what she was up too. She might have an idea, or she might just assume what Rose had, that she was here to get information. Which wasn't technically a lie.

"So do either one of you want to tell me what's going on and why you're here?" Sarah asked in a more demanding than questioning tone as she stopped a few steps away from Elena. But even so, Elena felt like she was right in front of her, the vampire's big green eyes bearing down on her in that intimidating way, demanding answers. _Was she compelling her?_ Elena wasn't sure. It almost felt like she was. Either way she had to answer before Rose did and try and get control of the situation. She needed this to go her way, otherwise she might lose any chance she had of saving the ones she cared about.

"We came here to get information," Elena answered as firmly as she could, doing her best not to let her voice shake and give herself away. It was hard though, not to give in under Sarah's gaze. But she stood her ground, refusing to let her friend discover her true motives. She'd just react like all the rest, get mad and drag her out with some excuse about what was best for her, when it was Elena that was trying to save them all. "How'd you even know we were here?" Elena then asked, trying to turn the tables on Sarah and keep the spotlight off her, for as long as she could.

"I followed you on my bike," Sarah answered, holding up the helmet in her hand as her eyes widened with the obvious. "I saw you two sneaking off back at the house so I followed," Sarah then explained as she glanced over at Rose who looked away, more embarrassed than ashamed. But Rose wasn't the one Sarah had a problem with. Rose was an old vampire with superior strength and speed and knowledge. Elena was the fragile little human who always needed protecting. That's why Sarah's gaze landed back on her. But it wasn't like Stefan's, or even Damon's for the matter, were they would both look at her like she was a sheet of glass. So easily broken unless they stepped in to save her. Sarah looked at her like a person, a friend. A friend she cared about and wanted to help.

"Now, I'll ask again, what are you doing here?" Sarah repeated, eyes locked with Elena's.

Again Elena wondered if she was trying to compel her, even though she had her vervain necklace on. She stared back for a moment, lips parting as she tried to work out Sarah's angle. Studying those green eyes for any sign that she didn't believe what she'd originally said. Then it donged on her that she hadn't actually answered Sarah's repeated question yet, something she ought to do to avoid suspicion. "I told you, we came here to get information on Klaus." It came out a little fast, and Elena knew she'd mucked it up when Sarah continued to stare at her, those impossible to read eyes staring back into her own.

With a sigh, Sarah folded her arms, helmet still in hand as she gently flicked her raven hair from her face. Once she had, she met Elena's eyes once more, carefully watching them as Elena watched Sarah in turn. "The truth, please."

The statement threw Elena, mostly because of how casually it came out, how simply certain it was when Elena had been so sure she'd been doing a good job of hiding her intentions. Once more her lips parted, eyes giving her away as she began to frown, unable to control her face. Her mom had always said she'd make a terrible poker player. "Sarah…" Elena began with her weak, on the spot, defence, but Sarah cut her off already knowing where she was going.

"You're posture's closed off, indicating you're anxious. You're fighting the urge to fold your arms, probably because you know that'll be seen as defensive, which you're being. You've blinking every few seconds since I walk in, more so than usual. Your lips are tight and…" Sarah listed off before unfolding one of her arms and reaching forward, placing the tips of her fingers against Elena's neck. As they connected Elena began to feel the pulse of her heart in her ear, her cheeks flaring slightly at the invasion of her personal space. "Your heart rates increased," Sarah concluded, fingers dropping from Elena's neck as she refolded her arms comfortably. "All indicators that you're lying to me."

Elena started back in awe, glancing down at herself before confirming everything Sarah had said. She then looked back up, still in shock at Sarah's own body which gave nothing away. Other than the hint of disapproval, which was more so because she was being lied to, rather than knowing what Elena was up too. "So, the real reason you're here?" Elena continued to stare, still in marvel at Sarah's detective abilities. She knew vampires had heightened senses and could pick up on things that ordinary humans couldn't, but that had just been insane, to get all that so quickly and after only a few seconds. Was Sarah really that good? Or was Elena just that open that you might as we be reading a book when you looked at her?

It was a few moments before Elena finally found herself, recovering from Sarah's lecture on how to spot liars. She glanced over at Rose, seeing her still stood by the window, gaze averting every time someone looked her way. Seeing as she wasn't getting any support there, she turned back to Sarah. _She could be straight with her, right? She wasn't like Stefan or Damon. And if she could convince Sarah then Rose would go along with it surely._ It was obvious she wasn't going to be able to lie her way out of this, or offer something up that would deter Sarah from questioning her, like she'd done with Rose. So after taking a deep breath, she answered her friend.

"All right, I didn't get Rose to bring me here so I could find out more about Klaus… I asked her to bring me, so I could give myself up to him."

"What?!" both Sarah and Rose exclaimed.

When a frowning Sarah then glanced over at Rose, the older vampire quickly shifting into defensive mode. "I swear, I didn't know anything about this," Rose declared as she held up her hands.

"She's right, she didn't," Elena testified as all eyes landed back on her. "I tricked her into bringing me here. But Sarah… I have to do this."

"You're an idiot, you know that right," Sarah pointed out as she leaned over to Elena. A none to pleased look in her eyes.

"So I'm an idiot for trying to save my family and friends?" Elena snapped back rhetorically.

"Yes, you are," Sarah agreed with a hiss.

"Come on, Sarah. If it was your friends, your family, can you honestly say you wouldn't do the same?"

"That's different," Sarah snapped.

"No, it's not!" Elena argued. "I love my family, Sarah. I love yours. I love my friends too, and I don't want to see any of you die for me. Not when I can stop it."

"Except you don't know if you can stop it," Sarah pointed out. "For all you know, he's going to take you and kill us all anyway just for kicks."

"But he won't know about any of you if I give myself up here, away from Mystic Falls, away from all of you," Elena explained, pleading in her soft brown eyes.

"Well that's just backfired hasn't it, because I'm here now, and this, is over," Sarah declared firmly, green eyes now blaze with anger.

"Sarah…please," Elena begged, voice lowering, softening as she continued to plea. "Just let me do this. Or even let me find out what I can. Let me learn about Klaus, the ritual, how we can find him." She could see Sarah backing down ever so slightly, maybe she could get through to her if she kept going. "We'll just look around here. Go on the computer, take the hard drives, see if there's anything that can help us, in any way." She then closed the gap between herself and Sarah, placing her hand on the vampire's shoulder, catching some of her raven hair as she did. "I'll take it slow," Elena said sincerely as she met Sarah's eyes. "I promise."

She knew she'd made some progress when she saw that Sarah had begun to chew on her lip. _Come on, please, just give me a chance. A chance to save you and everyone else._ Elena prayed silently to herself as she stared back into Sarah's eyes, willing her thoughts into her friend's mind, trying her own form of compulsion. Then with a sigh, Sarah finally said, "All right." Elena began to smile, but quickly hid it when Sarah continued with, "But we're taking it _slowly_. And this doesn't mean I agree with this whole self sacrifice idea of yours. We'll be talking about that at length later." It wasn't exactly what she wanted, but it was a start, and at least she was being giving a chance. Something that neither of the Salvatore brothers would have given her. For that reason alone she was grateful it was Sarah who had followed her and not her boyfriend or Damon.

"Thank you, Sarah," Elena said in pure sincereness as she smiled tenderly back at her friend.

"Just start your search, I'd like to leave as soon as possible," Sarah said halfheartedly as she waved towards the desk, wondering off as she found a chair to throw her helmet down on. While she was doing that, Elena turned back to the computer, beaming at her reflection on a job well done as she shook the mouse. One of the screens came to life, showing a wavy black background with a profile picture and a password box beneath.

"Any luck?" Rose asked as she walked over, standing behind Elena with Sarah who had also returned to the desk.

"It's password protected. I can't get in," Elena explained disappointedly.

"Then this is pointless, let's just go," Rose said, who's heart clearly wasn't in it now that she knew she'd been tricked and what Elena had been planning to do all along.

Elena had been about to put up an argument when they heard a noise from behind them. The two vampire turned at supernatural speed, so fast that their backs were already to Elena when she turned around. Peering past them to see if she could spot what caused the noise. There was nothing but an empty apartment ahead of them.

"I've got her, you go and search the place," Sarah instructed Rose who nodded before proceeding over to a set of double doors. As she did, Sarah made sure to keep herself between the doors and Elena, who stepped over to the side so she could see past Sarah as Rose reached for the door. Taking both door handles, she pushed them open, looking into another room when she started to frown. From where they were stood, Elena and Sarah couldn't see anything, other then Rose's reaction to what she saw.

"Alice?" Rose said aloud before a screech of sadness filled the room and a young woman came running out, crying Rose's name as she threw her arms around the vampire. Elena looked to Sarah who looked back with a frown, before both turned their attention back to the woman who was clinging to Rose like her life depended on it. Sobbing hysterically into Rose's jacket as the older vampire rather carelessly comforted her, patting her on the back as she rotated them both around, so that she could see her two friends. She indicated with her eyes to what looked like the kitchen and mouthed, "Give me a minute." Sarah nodded in turn before taking Elena's hand and leading her into the kitchen, where they waited while Rose attended to what was presumably Slater's girlfriend.

* * *

Scarlett had to fight the urge to move things along, to pick up the pace and take the lead. But technically she'd never been to the old Lockwood cellar before, and that was obviously where Tyler was leading both her and Caroline. The blonde vampire probably knew it too, only she was more engaged in general gossip with Tyler, trying to take his mind off things. Shamefully Scarlett started to actually pay attention once Caroline moved onto the topic of high school romances. When she was single, she hadn't cared about any couple around school and frankly laughed at some of the idiotic things she'd seen couples do around school. However, now she was one of those couples. Holding Jeremy's hand, sneaking kisses in class. The old Scarlett would hate her.

However, the light toned conversation took a more serious tone once the topic of Matt was brought up by Tyler, prompting Caroline to press on while Tyler and Scarlett did their best to keep up with her. "Matt's bumming pretty hard," Tyler explained as they caught up to her, finally slowing down enough so that it could appear that Tyler was leading the way. Even when gossiping like a pathetic high schooler, Caroline was still always thinking. She really was a lot more bright than Scarlett, or many other people, gave her credit for.

"I know. It's better this way," Caroline said, doing her best to sound firm and assertive. But you didn't need to be a werewolf to know she was hurting. Scarlett wasn't envious of Caroline's position, and while Jeremy knowing her supernatural secret came with its own problems, it meant she could still be with him rather than having to push him away.

"I get it," agreed Tyler solemnly as the trio continued on through the woods.

"You do?" Caroline asked, skepticism seeping into her voice. And rightfully so, it wasn't like he'd gone through what Caroline was going through, he'd only just recently turned into a supernatural.

"Yeah. You can't be honest with him," Tyler said sadly as he ducked beneath a low hanging tree branch while Scarlett made her way around the trunk before joining up with her two friends once more. "Plus it's not really fair to be with someone and not really let them know who you are," Tyler added as he shared sorry looks with Caroline, who seemed genuinely grateful for his sympathy. "I guess Scarlett's lucky in that sense," he then declared, both turning to glance at Scarlett who was on the far left of the line the trio had formed.

"Yeah, must be nice, having Jeremy already knowing everything," Caroline added. Whether it was intended or not, Scarlett caught Caroline's look and couldn't help but look away from her friends. It wasn't the time or place, so Scarlett couldn't imagine that Caroline was deliberately bringing up the fact that she'd slept with Mason. Even so, she couldn't help but think about it, the one moment she'd let Jeremy down, when she'd lost all control and done something so shameful. He knew all her secrets sure, just not the one she was too scared to tell him.

"It is," Scarlett then admitted, turning her head to look at both Tyler and Caroline. Forcing her thoughts of betrayal to the back of her mind. She smiled softly, showing them she was genuinely happy, but also hinting at the effort behind it all. "But ever since he found out, it's like he's always trying to prove himself to me. To show that he can keep up with me, help me no matter want. Even if it means risking his life."

"I can understand that too," Tyler admitted as they walked, the old Lockwood cellar appearing just head from in-between the trees.

"Yeah, well, I think it's ridiculous," Caroline said in agreement with Scarlett. "He shouldn't be doing all this just to protect his masculinity. He should be doing it because he loves you."

"I think it's a bit of both honestly," Scarlett admitted with shrug. "But even so, I'm starting to worry he might get hurt. I don't mind him helping, but only if he's not taking stupid risks and being careful. It's nice that he wants to stand by me through all of this, to protect and support me. But I'll love him whether he does those things or not."

"Sounds like you need to sit down and have a long hard talk with him," Caroline stated, this time with an intended look that was unmissable.

Missing the point, Tyler pressed on, pointing to the ruins that lay ahead. "Right over here. There's a cellar that goes to our old property," Tyler explained as they all stepped into the clearing where what was left of the old Lockwood house remained.

"We know," Caroline said casually as they walked around to the entrance. "We've been here a couple of times recently," Caroline explained as Tyler and Scarlett looked to her. Tyler with a questioning frown and Scarlett with a wide eyed warning. "You–You know. When looking for a safe place for Scarlett to turn and for me to drink blood in privet," Caroline quickly fired out, which seemed to be good enough for Tyler as he shrugged it off. He then pulled out a flashlight and made his way down the steps into the cellar below. Scarlett hung back a for a second though, sending Caroline warning look, telling her to keep her overactive mouth shut, before both then followed him down.

Once inside, Tyler turned on his flashlight, shining it ahead as they stepped into the darkness. "I'm guessing this was where Mason was heading the night he turned. It's this way," Tyler explained as he shone his flashlight down the stone walled hallway. He led the way, Scarlett and Caroline following, before they arrived in an open room with iron bars cutting off a section of the room. A iron gate acted as a door to the separated area, which hung lazily open, and around the room were old rusted chains that had been pinned to the walls. Left as a reminder of what this place once was.

Scarlett couldn't help but shudder at what might have happened down here. What people might have gone through.

"Did Mason tell you about this place?" Caroline asked quietly, stood alongside Scarlett as she nervously looked into the room. Though Scarlett was pretty sure that Caroline wasn't creeped out for the seem reasons she was. Sure, it wasn't the sort of place she'd willingly hang out at, being who she was in the high school social scene and all, but this place was were her mother found out what she was. She might not remember now, but from what Scarlett had been told, she wouldn't be surprised if this place brought up some hard memories for her to swallow once more.

Tyler didn't notice the nervous body language of either though, busy looking around with his flashlight before answering Caroline's question. "Mason bolted before I triggered the curse, but I found these." He shone the flashlight over to the wall of the cave, near the iron barred off area. When he walked over, Scarlett followed and so did Caroline, once she snapped from her haunted memories.

As they closed in on the wall and Tyler focused his flashlight and Scarlett saw what he was showing them. A series of claw marks along the wall. Deep claw marks, ones that easily could have come from a werewolf. She was doubly sure of that once she ran her hand over the marks, finding that her fingers easily followed the lines of one of the claw marks. But they couldn't have all come from Mason during the last full moon, as Caroline pointed out, "They look old." And they were, possibly centuries old too. After all the Lockwoods had lived here for generations. And if the werewolf curse was passed down through the family then it would hardly be surprising that they'd want to have a place to lock themselves up when they had to change every month.

Looking at the rest of the room, Scarlett saw all you would need to keep something like a werewolf tied down for the night. But like the claw marks it was all old. The rusted chains, bolts and the iron bars around the room, were more coated in brown and orange moss than solid iron. Caroline was bang on the mark, it was all old. Maybe the werewolf curse hadn't popped up all that much in the recent generations of Lockwoods. Thus there would be no need to keep the place in order, and they probably saw it as a waste of money to seal it up, which was fortunate for Tyler.

"I'll need to get new chains I reckon, but the bolts could still hold," Tyler explained as he kicked a rusted chain, the metal clanging and echoing around them before he then grabbed onto the bolt it was attached too. He gave a pull and the thing didn't budge. A good sign, considering he now had a little werewolf strength in him. "I think that's what this place was used for. Full moons."

Scarlett had already come to the same conclusion, but at the same time couldn't help but murmur out, "If not something worse." Tyler and Caroline both caught the meaning and everted their eyes. For a while none of them looked at each other, all trying to block out the frightful images in their heads that made them all shudder. But while they were all looking around the cave – just so they didn't have to look at each other – Caroline spotted something.

"What's this?" she said aloud, marching over as Tyler and Scarlett watched her go. She hunched over by one of the iron bars, pulling something out that was hidden behind a rock in the wall. The rock slid out, bouncing off the floor with a rattle like sound as it rolled over itself. They barely noticed it though, more focused on what Caroline had in her hands now. Something wrapped in a white cloth.

"I have no idea," Tyler answered, the three walking towards each other as Tyler shone the flash light on Caroline's hands. All watching as she began to unwrap the cloth. Inside, she found a black leather book, which she handed over to Tyler while keeping hold of the cloth.

Scarlett knew the answer to her next question before she even asked it. She could smell him on it. Even now, after his death, Scarlett could still recognise his scent. "Was it Mason's?" Caroline asked, watching Tyler as he began to flick through the pages. A fresh wave of guilt hit Scarlett then, remembering everything that had happened with Mason, from how they woke up together, to when Damon killed him. It hadn't been right, and lying to Tyler wasn't right either. Smelling Mason's scent made Scarlett realise this. But she kept her mouth shut, because that was the safe thing to do. As she'd pretty much already learnt, morality didn't come into many decision making processes when dealing with the supernatural. It's about survival. And right now, the best way for everyone to survive, was for Tyler to be kept in the dark about what really happened to his uncle. Even if it meant he felt like Mason had abandoned him.

"August 31st," Tyler began to read from a page he'd stopped at in the black book. "My body is changing. I'm edgy, angry, impatient. I get so mad, I black out and forget what I say or do. I'm not myself, not since Jimmy's death. What's happening to me?" With a frown, Tyler flicked further ahead, pausing only to look up at the two girls staring back at him, listening intently.

"He chronicled everything," Tyler said before looking back down as he turned another page, stopping as he stared on in worry. "The full moon is tonight," he read, and Scarlett knew why he was worried. This was about to give him an insight, better than one she could give him. Her first experience was so much of blur she barley remembered any of it. She remembered the pain, but since mastering her change and growing resistant to the pain it brought, that pain from the first one didn't seem as bad. But Tyler was like Mason. Unable to get used to the change as it only occurred once a month. Meaning what Mason wrote down would count for more than Scarlett could ever say about her own experience. In fact Mason's description would probably be more accurate than her own memory about how painful her own first shift was.

"Well, does he say what happened?" Caroline asked impatiently when Tyler didn't say anything.

Finally snapping from his frozen thoughts, he mumbled before then flicking though a few more pages, trying to find his answers. He reached the end of the book, and found an SD card tucked away on the last page by a piece of sting that held it in place. Pulling it out, Tyler looked it over before looking to both Caroline and Scarlett. Both equally confused and curious as he was.

* * *

After being in the kitchen for so long, Elena eventually felt the need to do something. She just wasn't comfortable standing around waiting for Alice to stop crying. She did eventually, but only after Elena had started making some tea. Sarah just stood against the counter, arms folded as she patiently waited for Rose to come back in. Eventually she did, right as Elena was pouring the tea.

She took the seat next to Elena and opposite Sarah, looking back to the doorway to make sure Alice was still where she left her before she began to whisper. "She found him a few minutes before we did," Rose explained, whispering so that only Elena could hear with her human hearing, while Sarah had to use her supernatural to do so.

"How is she?" Elena asked as she settled the pot of tea down, having poured four cups.

"Overreacting," Rose stated. "Big time."

Sarah and Elena frowned, confused to Rose's sudden lack of empathy. "Her boyfriend just died. There's no such thing as overreacting," Elena said defensively.

"Those tears are for her. She didn't care about Slater." Elena frowned, head tilting as she waited for Rose to explain. Sarah was pretty sure what she was talking about though, having had a few 'Alices' come after her in her own time. "She was only dating him long enough to see if he'd turn her," Rose elaborated for Elena as Sarah nodded slightly in understanding. As for Elena, she pondered what Rose had said for a moment before taking one of the cups of tea and heading towards Alice.

With a sympathetic smile, she offered the older girl the cup. She took it, sniffling as she did, while Elena took the seat next to her. "Thank you," Alice said. She didn't drink the tea though, just held it in her hands that trembled ever so slightly with grief. Grief over a missed opportunity as Elena now understood it. "You look really familiar," Alice said suddenly, staring at Elena as if trying to place her. "Did you know Slater?"

"Not personally, no," Elena answered. "I just knew that he kept detailed records of all of his vampire contacts and I was hoping that he could point me towards Klaus.

Alice snorted, subtle rolling her eyes. "Doubtful. Klaus doesn't want to be pointed at."

"Do you know Slater's computer password?" Elena asked, leaning towards Alice.

"Are you seriously asking me that right now?" growled Alice as she turned to Elena with a glare. "I just saw my boyfriend with a stake through his heart."

"I understand that. Do you know his password?" Elena repeated, not so sympathetically, now knowing that Alice was just playing hard to get and being stubborn. Sticking to a fake story so that she didn't look like the manipulative woman she was. As predicted, she went on the defensive, snapping at Elena before proceeding to ignore her. But Elena had picked up a lot since being introduced into the supernatural world, and while she was never the most manipulative of people, she could definitely sway people into doing what she wanted. Especially if it helped her save the ones she loved.

She glanced over to the kitchen, eyes connecting with Sarah's as she watched the interaction unfold from opposite Rose, who was still seated. It was a simple plan, but it was what Alice wanted more than anything, and she'd do exactly what they wanted until she got it. Turning back to Alice, Elena asked, "What if Sarah turned you? Would you show us the files then?"

Alice quickly agreed to the deal, and after some pleading with Sarah, the vampire agreed to give Alice her blood once, and only once, she'd done everything she could for them. She then made a miraculous recovery over her boyfriend's death, wiping off her tears before striding over to the computer with the others following her, stood behind as she logged into the computer. Then they hit another road block, as when Alice tried to access Slater's files, a message with a big red 'X' popped up, saying the files couldn't be found.

"Someone's been here. The hard drive's completely wiped out," Alice informed them, though continued typing regardlessly.

"Yeah, probably whoever killed him," Rose pointed out dryly while Elena ran a disappointed hand through her hair.

"Luckily for you, Slater was paranoid. Everything's back up on a remote server," Alice explained as she brought up another password screen.

While Alice was dealing with that, Sarah grabbed Elena's arm, bringing the girl's attention over to her. "Next time you want to offer up my blood to a complete stranger, ask me first alright," Sarah warned, a none to pleased look in her eye.

"Sorry," Elena apologised sincerely, before then whispering, "But it's not like you have to give her your blood. She only needs to think you will." Sarah stared back, a little shocked at Elena's words before the girl shrugged, walking over and leaning over Alice's shoulder as she worked away.

"She's learning fast," Rose said with a grin to Sarah before the two closed in around Alice and Elena to see what happened next.

"Kristen Stewart," Alice said after guessing Slater's password and gaining access to his backup files. "God, was he obvious."

"These are all leads to vampires?" Elena asked, watching as Alice scrolled down the page full of file folders, all labeled with a different name.

"Slater was obsessed. Almost as much as me," Alice said with a grin as she looked at all the names that could potentially give her what she wanted, if Sarah backed out on her.

"What about that one? Cody Webber," Rose asked as she leaned over next to Elena. Alice obliged, clicking on the folder to reveal dozens of messages that had been exchanged between Slater and the vampire. "They exchanged dozens of emails about Elijah," Rose pointed out after a quick scan with her eyes over the message titles.

"I could call him," Alice suggested. Elena then picked up the phone, handing it to her.

"Tell him that we're trying to send a message to Klaus," Elena began before pausing as Alice began to type in the number. "The doppelgänger is alive and she's ready to surrender."

"No!" Sarah snapped firmly.

"Oh, my God, I knew I recognised you," Alice exclaimed as her eyes lit up, staring at Elena like she was a living legend.

Before she could say or do anything more, Sarah snatched the phone out of Alice's hand, pointing it right in her face when she turned to protest. "Listen to me, send this guy so much as a winky face, and I'll kill you, without vampire blood in your body." She then threw the phone down onto the desk, where it almost skidded off and onto the floor. "Don't contact him," Sarah said, ramming her point home as she glared down at the suddenly fearful human.

Sarah then turned her sights onto Elena, the anger from before having returned. "You and I are going to have a little talk," Sarah declared, grabbing Elena's wrist before dragging her away from the computer. "Rose, watch her," Sarah threw back to her friend. The older vampire nodded while Elena struggled against Sarah's hold, but she had no chance of breaking free from her vampiric strength.

Dragging her into the kitchen, Sarah shoved Elena towards the counter top, before turning and closing the doors so they could talk in privet. She then swung around, finding Elena leaning back against the counter, having used it to stop herself from falling over. "My mind's made up, Sarah," Elena said as she folded her arms. "I'm doing this."

"Like hell you are," Sarah snapped, attitude clear in her voice as she gave Elena a look that said 'over her undead body'.

"It's my life," Elena stated simply.

Sarah clenched her fists, venting the frustration before she broke something or punched Elena for her recklessness. "What happened to taking it slow?" Sarah asked, voice raised as she reminded Elena of what she'd agreed too.

"I can't afford to take it slow. My family's lives are at stake," Elena explained, back to pleading once more. "I'm just doing what everyone else has done for me."

"Which would be?" Sarah asked.

"Saving them," Elena answered firmly, because she was. She was giving up everything to save them, because it was her only chance at doing so. Everyone of her friends had saved her at some point already, now it was her turn to do it for them.

"You're kidding, right?" Sarah scoffed. When Elena shook her head, Sarah rolled her eyes, groaning as she ran a hand through her raven hair. "You do realise none of them died trying to save you," Sarah then pointed out.

"It doesn't change anything."

"What am I supposed to tell Jenna then?" Sarah threw out along with her hand before it slapped her thigh.

"The truth," Elena answered, prompting Sarah to let out another frustrated sigh. "I'd rather she know the truth than die, Sarah."

"Are you even thinking about how this will affect everyone?" Sarah snapped angrily. Unfortunately, Elena got a lucky out of the that question, the doors behind Sarah opening up before she could have a chance to answer. Sarah wheeled, glaring as she came face to face with Rose and her worried face.

"We have a problem," Rose said in a tense voice, before Alice strode in past her and then Sarah, heading right for Elena with a big joyful smile.

"Cody is on his way, and he really wants to meet you," Alice declared, thinking she was now finally going to get what she wanted. Boy was she wrong.

Turning on Alice now, the naive girl continued to smile as Sarah grabbed her from behind and yanked her away from Elena. Shoving her against the wall, Sarah hissed at Alice, exposing her fangs and bloodied eyes as she shouted, "I told you not to send that message!"

But like the idiot she was, she just smiled like a maniac, thinking she was about to get Sarah's blood and all this was just part of the theatrics. "I can't believe it's finally happening," Alice squealed.

"I'm not giving you my blood, not after you did exactly what I told you not too," Sarah snapped, deliberately letting her vampire features fade, just like Alice's hopes for turning.

The girl's heart and face snake into disappointment, then depressed realisation for the second time that day. "What… But you…you said… I did everything you wanted!" Alice cried out as she burst into tears once more. Sarah was an inch from killer her then. Here she was trying to save her friend from her own stupidity and then there was this cry baby that wasn't getting her own way and kicking up a fuss about it. She was lucky all Sarah did was shove her towards Rose, telling her to take her away.

Rose obliged, dragging the frantic girl out before pulling the door shut behind her as Sarah turned back to Elena, hands on her hips as she exhaled deeply through her flared nostrils. "We're leaving. Now," Sarah declared, marching for the door and expecting Elena to follow.

"Just give me a chance to talk to this Cody guy," Elena begged, and Sarah did a one-eighty before striding back over to Elena and squaring up to her. Green eyes ablaze as they leaned in towards Elena.

"I already gave you a chance, remember. You said you'd take it slow and we'd get information on how to contact Klaus and then leave. Only you seemed to forget the leaving part and now we've got some of Klaus' goons heading here now," Sarah growled, annoyed at herself for letting Elena play her. It was so unlike her, to abuse her friendship and to manipulate both Rose and Alice. It was the kind of thing Katherine did. And for the first time since she'd gotten to know Elena, she saw the first sign of a potential Katherine within.

"Come on, Sarah, you know how it will go once we get back. The others won't let me contact him for anything and will then go out of their way to make sure I can't contact him at all. This might be my only chance to do it and save everyone else."

"Which means giving yourself up," Sarah pointed out, the obvious flaw in this otherwise great plan.

"And I've told you, I'm okay with that," Elena stressed.

"Yeah, well I'm not. And after all the little lies you've spun today, I'm done listening," Sarah declared, her glare saying all it needed to about how angry she was. It seemed to have been enough to shut Elena up, so Sarah turned, striding once more towards the door and again expecting Elena to follow.

"What would you do if it was your family?" Elena blurted out.

Sarah froze mid step, foot hanging above the ground before it gently settled down. Elena never expected an answer, but the goal had been to get Sarah to think. To put her in Elena's shoes. And because of her intense rage and snapping mind, Sarah had the answer in her head before she could think more logically. And the answer was she'd do the same. That was what her basic instinct told her. She would sacrifice herself to save her family and friends. True it'd mean missing out on being with her family, but she'd rather die than lose either of her brothers, and by extension her family. It'd never be truly whole if even just one of them died anyway.

With that answer in mind her anger quickly left her, realising she would have done the exact same as Elena if it meant saving her brothers. How could she drag Elena away from this, when like she said it might be her only chance to save her family and friends. It was stupid thing to do, but it was the kind of stupid thing Sarah could relate to. Giving yourself up for your family. It made perfect sense.

As she turned slowly back around, her muscle relaxed, gaze lowering before lifting to meet Elena's hopeful eyes. She knew she was going to regret this, knew Elena would just push again. But if it was her that stood there, instead of Elena, trying to save her brothers, and Elena stood in her place, she knew Elena would give her the same chance. She knew how much her family meant to her, just like Sarah knew how much Elena's meant to her. They'd both already lost so much in terms of family, and were just clinging onto what remained, for as long as they lived. Willing to die if it meant protecting that.

With a sigh, Sarah said, "We'll wait here for them." Elena's eyes lit up in a thank you as the corners of her lips turned ever so slightly into a grateful smile. "But you're not going anywhere with them. We arrange a meeting with Klaus, and that's it. Nothing more," Sarah made clear. Elena nodded, but didn't say anything, which in truth Sarah preferred. Frankly she didn't want to hear anything else Elena had to say right now. She'd already used that mouth of hers enough for one day.


	20. The Sacrifice

_Review responses:_

Only reviewer: _I think if they had Elena continuously manipulating people, she would have come across being more like Katherine. Not that necessarily would have been a bad thing, but your right, they didn't do a lot with it. And Alice was never going to get anyone's blood, I doubt many vampires respond well to being asked for their blood. It is there's after all._

And Lol! If you ever don't pull me up for Katie in biker gear, then I'll have to pull you up!

Charmedbycharmed: _Thank you very much, I'm glad you preferred it! And I figured Elena needed someone on her side in this argument, and Sarah's reasonable like that. And for the moment, I think it's safe to assume Amelia is on Elijah's side. I also don't think the show started going bad when Elena became a vampire, or rather, it wasn't the reason for it. I actually personally preferred the character once she turned, but I'll agree the first four seasons feel vastly different to the last four. But I love it all!_

xQueen-Of-Appelsx: _I'm glad you think so, I do my best. More cute moments between them will be popping up._

Sarcasm15key: _Thank you for the review and the kind words! And I think there will be a couple more relationships for Sarah, before she gets to Elena anyway. I am drawing it out after all, and I'll have to fill that void with something from time to time._

Leilia-fanfic: _Hope you had a good holiday! And for the time being, Scarlett has no desire to be with Tyler like that, she does not wish to repeat what happened with Mason. That said, the full moon is coming up soon, and who knows what will happen...? Nothing good probably. As for Amelia, she looks more like Rebekah than her brothers. If you want to put a face to the name, google Melody Perkins, as she's the one I thought of when coming up with the character. Don't know about her being friends with Sarah though, but they'll definitely have a good few interactions with each other._

 _And I really appreciate those kind words about not only this story, but the work and effort I put into, and it's reviews like yours that make it all worth the while, so thank you so much! And don't worry, I understood you! ;)_

 _A/N:_

 _First of, thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter guys! I love you all so much! And sorry for being late. Like I said last week, this was intended to be only one chapter, and by the end here I almost thought it was going to become three because of the amount of stuff in here. I also realised some blunders I made with my planning of future chapters so I'm having to rework that at the same time as now starting the next chapter. Just keeping you guys informed._

 _And since it's the twentieth chapter, I'm going to give a shout out to another story. This time it's a short story (unusual for me, but I read it and ended up loving it, so that's why it's here) entitled, **I'm Still Here**. It's written by **atkesst** who has done a few other short stories on this site. But this one was about Elena during her time in the comma after season 6 and it hit me quite hard. It's honestly a lovely little story and I highly recommend you give it a read if you have the time, it's only around 2,000 words._

 _Any way, that's all for now, so I'll let you all enjoy the chapter. Thanks again for all the reviews on the previous chapter – they always help keep me going if I'm having a bad day, so thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I'll see you guys next...hopefully._

* * *

 **Chapter 20: The Sacrifice**

* * *

By the time Amelia and Elijah had arrived in Mystic Falls, Jonas had already done as requested. Acquiring everything he needed for his location spell. It wasn't a typical locator spell though, this one was different, as it allowed the witch to project themselves, or another being, to the person they were locating and see them for themselves. It might have been a little over kill, but both Amelia and Elijah had agreed it was necessary. They didn't just need to know where the doppelgänger was, they needed to see her, to make sure the spell had been done right and that she wasn't in any danger or suddenly in Klaus' clutches. They needed her alive, and away from him, for now. And if they were ever to succeed, they'd need her.

But for this kind of spell, Jonas needed a bit more than materials than for a normal tracking spell. That's why across the table he had several of Elena's bracelets, a necklace of hers, a hand mirror, a photograph of her in a cheerleaders uniform and some hair that had come from a hairbrush.

"So how exactly does this spell work?" Elijah asked from behind Amelia. The older of the two subtly rolled her eyes, making sure Jonas couldn't pick up on it. Dissension in the ranks was never a good thing, even if it was from the higher ups.

"It's all right, Elijah. I trust Jonas," Amelia said with a glance over her shoulder, spotting Elijah in her peripheral as he leaned back against Jonas' living room wall.

"As do I, Sister. I'm merely inquiring into the proceedings that are about to take place," Elijah said casually, with a hand gesture and a mild-mannered smile as he pushed off the wall. He could hide behind his facade like a perfect fitting mask, but Amelia knew he was concerned. Magic had never been something he was completely comfortable with. He had no problem with the witch community. But he was a logical man and magic wasn't the most logical thing. He'd come to terms with it over the course of his life, but it still worried him deep down.

That was why Amelia had agreed to do the spell, to spare him from whatever concerns he may have. Apparently it hand't worked. All she'd done was shift his concerns onto her. His only sister. It would be fine though, Jonas was a competent man and Amelia did trust him. He reminded her of Elijah in many ways. A man of his word type. So she knew he'd help them till the end, even if he didn't agree with everything they did. The fact was he needed them both. They could always find another witch.

"I'll need your hand," Jonas stated, answering part of Elijah's question but also instructing Amelia on how to proceed. With a polite and obliging smile, Amelia offered up her hand to Jonas, letting him take hold as he picked up a knife in his other hand. He then moved the blade, holding it above Amelia's palm so that she knew what was to come. She didn't hesitate, staring straight ahead until Jonas cut the skin, deep enough so it'd take more than a few seconds to heal.

Amelia didn't even blink. Pain was something she'd grown used too, so much so that when she knew it was coming, she could practically block it out completely. "Now place it over the picture," Jonas instructed. Amelia turned her hand, placing it down on the photograph as the blood continued to steadily pulse out the tear in her skin.

"Now take my hand." Amelia handed over her other hand, letting Jonas hold it as requested. "Close your eyes. Relax your mind. And look for her," Jonas instructed. Amelia complied, closing her eyes as if she were just resting them, letting her mind open the way she always had for these kind of spells. Everything went black, and she felt herself enter a void as Jonas began to chant from opposite her. All too quickly his chanting began to fade, growing distant as if Amelia was leaving, when in fact she hadn't moved a muscle. Next, she lost all feeling in her body, right before a light began to grow before her, as if she were opening her eyes. And as it grew she saw a room, items fading in as the room took on its own personality, a window in the centre of Amelia's view. And against the window, something else fading into place.

The Doppelgänger.

* * *

Stood by the window, Elena watched as the rain trailed off the glass. In some spots it built up on the window's surface, before slithering down as if an invisible snail was leaving a trail behind. The sky had grown grey now, casting a gloomy aura across the city. It suited Elena's mood, gloom and doom, as it were. And yet she was content with it, just as she was content staring out the window watching the rain. It might be the last time she got to see it after all. Such a simple, everyday sight, but one she was only now appreciating as she listened to the pitter patter of the rain against glass.

Then suddenly something began to take shape in the glass. Elena frowned, leaning towards it to try and get a better look. Briefly she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, that the light had hit it in a certain way creating some strange pattern. But then the pattern grew into a figure and that figure took on features of her own. Elena gasped as she saw a still faced, light freckled woman staring back at her through the glass. Wondering if those cloudy blue eyes were natural or a reflection of the weather.

Elena turned, expecting find the woman behind her but instead was met with Slater's apartment, and Sarah who was frowning at her from her seat. "You all right?" Sarah asked with a confused look as she leaned forward in her seat, playing with her helmet.

Elena briefly ignored the question, turning back to the window to find the woman no longer there. Like a ghost. She turned back to Sarah, studying her frowning face before concluding she'd been the only one to see the woman in the glass. _But who was she, and why had she appeared like that?_

"Elena?" Sarah said, breaking the young girl from her thoughts.

"I'm fine," Elena blurted out, jumping at her own answer before she met Sarah's eyes. Once she saw that that had been enough to convince Sarah she was fine, she turned back to the window, waiting to see if the woman reappeared. She didn't, and Elena went back to waiting.

* * *

Amelia's eyes opened as if she'd done it herself, but in fact it had been the spell ending. She knew that because Jonas had stopped chanting, eyes looking back into her own as he said, "You saw her, didn't you?"

Amelia allowed herself a small, satisfied smile. "I know exactly where she is."

* * *

Scarlett ran down the stairs so fast that she almost toppled over herself and tumbled the rest of the way down. She probably had her supernatural whatever to thank for that, but right now her mind was on one thing. Jeremy.

When Stefan had phoned her, her mind had blanked out after hearing that Jeremy was in danger. Nothing else mattered but saving him. She'd thrown Tyler and Caroline some lame excuse that she couldn't even remember now and ran off before either could question her. She didn't even give a little time to signal Caroline with a look or anything. None of that had mattered, she just had to get to Jeremy and protect him. Her instinct had demanded it of her.

She'd contemplated changing but it seemed like a needless waste of time. Plus when she normally did it she was relaxed, calm. She'd never done it under extreme stress like this and wasn't even sure she'd be able to stay still long enough to do it. She was fast on her two feet anyway, moving in a blur through the woods as she stamped on anything that threatened to get in her way. Wild animals feed out of her path, and any unfortunate branch or rock that found itself in her way quickly got trodden on.

The whole way her one thought was, _get to Jeremy. Save him._ Over and over again, repeating in her head until she reached the entrance to the tomb. And when she finally reached the bottom of the stairs, she found Stefan and Bonnie, the latter sat in the middle of the room with four torches surrounding her and a book in hand. Scarlett presumed it was her witchy book of spells, but her mind quickly washed all that aside when both Stefan and Bonnie turned to acknowledge her arrival.

"Where is he?" Scarlett demanded, voicing giving it all away as she braced herself against the stone walls. Feeling as if she might collapse if she found out she was too late. Just thinking about that was enough to make her want to break down. He'd already died once, because of Damon. She'd gone through that grief. She honestly wasn't sure she could do it again.

"Scarlett," Stefan began, stepping towards her. From his tone Scarlett could tell he was going to try and calm her down. She didn't want to be calm. She wanted an extreme. Extreme anger, extreme sadness, extreme joy, extreme relief. From the second she'd heard about Jeremy, everything had turned up a notch, and it wouldn't be turning down anytime soon either.

"Well, look who's arrived," sang out the voice of Katherine. Scarlett turned to look at her, but it was only after a couple of seconds that she appeared at the entrance way to the tomb, unable to cross the threshold. Her own privet prison. Or at least it had been until Jeremy was dragged into view.

At the sight of him Scarlett's heart tightened, a terrified gasp escaping her. He looked so sick, like he'd just gone through a week with the worst cold imaginable. Skin pale, eyelids struggling to stay open. Blood oozing from the unhealed bite on his neck. "Sorry for borrowing your chew toy, Scarlett, but as I'm sure you know, I don't have a whole lot to play with down here."

At her words, Scarlett's emotions flicked like a light switch. All that sorrow, fear and hopelessness turned into anger. Pure hot red anger that fuelled her eyes as they began to burn in a supernatural gold. All she needed was one good bite. Her canines formed, her jaw shifting to compensate for her new teeth while her nails extended and thickened into claws.

She lunged but Stefan caught her in the air, holding her back while Scarlett was forced to stare on ahead at a smirking Katherine, holding the neck of a very near dead Jeremy. That single scene stretched out in Scarlett's mind for a good five seconds before she began thrashing against Stefan. He tightened his hold around her stomach desperately holding on while Scarlett tore at his back with her claws, frantically trying to get to Katherine. And more importantly, to Jeremy.

"She'll kill you!" Stefan shouted over Scarlett's outrage cries. Logic said he was right. Katherine was over five hundred years old. With more than enough experience in survival and fighting. She clearly knew about werewolves and how to handle them, judging by how she'd dealt with Mason and Scarlett herself. And during the few times Scarlett had tried to take Katherine on, she'd been easily bested.

But none of that mattered because this was Jeremy. The wolf didn't care about the odds, it was about killing the threat and protecting her mate. And with that in mind, Scarlett finally gained enough control of herself, to dig her claw into Stefan's lower back. He groaned in pain, jaw tightening to avoid screaming. Scarlett felt his hold loosen and she yanked her claws out.

And as that fresh wave of pain hit Stefan, Scarlett shoved him forward enough to give her space to move. He started to protest once more with words, but Scarlett was beyond listening to him. With a single back hand she sent him stumbling off to the side and out of her path. He was still standing, but disorientated, which gave Scarlett the time to charge on ahead.

Only she barely made two steps before Katherine moved. In a blink she had Jeremy against her, arm around his neck, other poised and ready to snap his neck. Scarlett dug her feet into the ground, skidding across the dirt floor as the wolf inside her did the same. The threat of Jeremy's life more than enough to shut them both down.

"Good girl," Katherine purred, devilishly satisfied smirk sliding onto her face. "Now, let's get rid of this." The hand that had been ready to snap Jeremy's neck shot down, gripping his right hand. He tried to struggle but was dazed and weakened from the loss of blood, making it easy for Katherine to yank off his ring. The ring that protected him from the death when caused by a supernatural. Scarlett then watched, heart sinking even more as Katherine casted the ring out of the tomb.

"Just so you don't get any ideas about sacrificing yourself to help kill me," Katherine snarled into Jeremy's ear as he pointlessly struggled. Scarlett took a step, thinking of pouncing at Katherine's momentary distraction. But the vampire quickly turned back on her, hand back on Jeremy's head, ready to snap once more.

"Uh–uh–uh," Katherine said smoothly, as if unfazed by Scarlett's advance. "Take another step and your boyfriend here gets put on the next train to the afterlife." Her sly smile then grew as she indicated to the ring on the floor. "And it seems he's lost his return ticket."

Scarlett didn't hesitate in backing down. Mouth shifting back to normal as her eyes faded into a tearful blue and her claws retracted. When that didn't seem to be enough for Katherine, she took a step back, desperate to do whatever she could to save Jeremy. Even if it meant behaving like an obedient dog.

Katherine's grip relaxed at that, but not nearly enough for Scarlett to make a move. She'd seen how fast this vampire was, and while she had been doing a good job of keeping up with Sarah during their occasional training sessions, she knew she wasn't ready to take on that kind of speed.

"Now throw over your necklace," Katherine ordered. Shock consumed Scarlett's features, but it was washed away when Katherine roughly shoved Jeremy's head to one side, making him groan in pain at the sudden movement. "I'm not a patient lady, Scarlett. Your necklace, now."

It hurt. Hurt deep down. But if it was to save Jeremy, Scarlett couldn't stop herself. It was all she really had left of her mother, and she never took it off, not for anything. Except for Jeremy apparently. Her hands moved behind her head, going under her long brunette stands to undo the clasp. It felt unnatural, taking it off. Especially when she hadn't done so since she put it on – excluding the times it was snatched from her of course. It took her a second to remember how to do it properly before she finally removed the necklace.

She held it in her hand, staring down at it, unable to let go. Until she heard Jeremy. Instinct forced her the rest of the way as she threw the crystal and chain across the room and into the tomb where Katherine caught it. Hand finally leaving Jeremy's head. The vampire purred in delight. "Thank you, Scarlett. How very generous of you."

"Please," Scarlett began to beg, tears dripping from her eyes now. "Don't hurt him."

Katherine chuckled. "Why would I hurt him, when I can do so much worse," Katherine declared, making Scarlett shudder. She didn't dare ask what she intended to do, but Katherine knew what she was thinking and answered it anyway. "See, I've been sampling little Gilbert's blood for sometime now. And I can feel all that vervain leaving his system. Pretty soon, there won't be any left." Scarlett didn't need Katherine to say it, she knew what that meant. And as the realisation of that settled on Scarlett, Katherine's devious smirk grew.

"I wonder what I'll do with him first," Katherine thought aloud, tilting her head. "Should I compel him to kill himself." Scarlett's breath caught in her throat. "No. Too quick and simple. I know! I'll compel him to hate you," Katherine said, those evil brown eyes looking into Scarlett's as she turned cold. Colder than she could ever be in the middle of a snow storm. She was numb, mind poised on the tipping point, petrified because she was just so damn scared of what might happen if Katherine went through with her plans.

"I could make him forget that he ever loved you. I could compel him to forget you entirely," Katherine continued to list off. Scarlett knew she was just doing it to get a reaction out of her. Playing with her like she had with everyone else. But even knowing that, she could do nothing to stop it. She was at her mercy, just like everyone else. Unable to leave or do anything to save Jeremy. All she could do was buy him some time by offering up herself as Katherine's alternative source of entertainment.

"No," Scarlett breathed out futilely, not wanting to live in a world were Jeremy couldn't remember her, never mind love her. He'd become such a big part of her life, to lose that… Her mind was getting pulled in so many different directions that she couldn't think straight. Unable to do anything other than stand still and listen as Katherine toyed with her in ways she never thought possible. No wonder Sarah hated this woman so much.

"Or better yet." Katherine's voice dropped to a whisper, so low that only the supernaturals with heightened hearing could hear what she said next. "I could tell him the truth."

If Scarlett wasn't as frozen as a rock before, she was now. So much so she was pretty sure even her internal organs had froze, heart stuck in mid beat. _She couldn't know. There was no way she could know._ Scarlett had only even told a handful of people and Mason would never have…

Katherine broke out into the most terrifyingly happy smile Scarlett had ever see then. She did know. Mason had told her, if not him then Caroline who'd been under duress. Never Sarah though. Not Sarah. Please not Sarah, one of the few people Scarlett probably trusted completely in this world, other than Jeremy. It didn't matter either way she supposed. Katherine knew, and with that information, she had all she would ever need to control Scarlett. Or in this case, make her suffer. Forever terrified of the day when she might just let it slip to Jeremy, about what happened in those woods during the full moon.

"Please…don't," was all Scarlett could say, silent tears now streaming down her face in the thousands. It had to be her to tell him. She would, she was going to. He just couldn't find out like this, not from her, not from anyone but Scarlett herself. If it came from anyone other than her, she'd lose all hope of fixing it.

"Oh, don't worry, Scarlett. I won't," promised the mockingly sympathetic Katherine, before she returned to her sinister demeanour. "Just so long as you get this tomb open." She then shoved the weakened Jeremy back into the recesses of the tomb. "Tick, tock," Katherine then said with a click of her tongue before vanishing into the tomb after Jeremy. Scarlett raced to the entrance, but by the time she got there they were both gone from sight.

She wheeled, turning towards Stefan who was back on his feet, stood alongside Bonnie. Both with very sorry looks. "Please. Please, help me get him out," Scarlett begged through her own sobs, now powerless to do anything. She could do nothing and it was killing her, never mind the extra baggage of what Katherine might do to Jeremy, or say should she grow bored enough. She felt like she was about to collapse and in fact would have had Stefan not stepped forward, catching her shoulders with both hands as he met her gaze.

"We'll save him, I promise," Stefan declared, filling Scarlett with the first spark of hope since she'd entered the tomb. He offered her a supportive smile. She couldn't return it, but nodded to show she appreciated it. He then guided her off to the side, setting her down before nodding to Bonnie who sat back down, taking up the same position as she had when Scarlett first arrived.

"Bonnie's working on lowering the spell," Stefan explained, knelt down next to Scarlett, hand still on her shoulder.

"How…How long will that take?" Scarlett whimpered, meeting Stefan's gaze so she knew he wasn't lying to her.

"Hopefully not too long," Stefan said as he tightened his grip on her shoulder, doing what he could to comfort her. But nothing could comfort her, not until Jeremy was out of the tomb and far away from Katherine. And even then, who knows what would follow. Especially if Katherine told him all about Mason.

* * *

"So…when am I getting your blood?"

Sarah turned from her seat, glaring at the girl that stood over her. Everything about her screamed desperation. The position of her feet, the way her leg twisted so her knee pointed towards her other leg, the way she played with her hands, that irritably annoying smile.

"You're not," Sarah stated bluntly. "And you're lucky you're not dead after what you did."

"But I did what–"

"You want my blood? Then leave me the hell alone until these guys arrive. Assuming it doesn't go horribly wrong, I'll considering giving you my blood." Sarah of course, had no intention of letting Alice anywhere near her blood, not after what she'd done. Alice didn't need to know that though, and it'd shut her up for the time being which was what Sarah really wanted.

"Okay. Thank you," Alice said, willing to take any chance at becoming a vampire. These desperate ones never got turned and if they didn't they didn't last long. The change from human to vampire was pretty hard to comprehend and even harder to describe accurately. You could only experience it and you rarely came out as the same person because of all the heightened emotions and bloodlust. This girl thought she knew what she wanted. Give her a year as a vampire and she'd either flick her switch or end up dead, from a vampire hunter or one of her own kind or through sheer stupidity. With this one, Sarah would bet stupidity.

Hearing a gasp, Sarah's head swung from the retreating Alice towards Elena. Who had turned towards the door to find Damon stood in front of her.

 _Crap._

"What are you two doing here?" demanded Damon without missing a beat. His question was obviously directed at both Elena and Sarah, but his steel blue eyes where locked with Elena who was still catching her breath.

"What are you doing here?" Elena through out. Damon didn't answer though, just continued to glare. Feeling the pressure of his gaze, Elena quickly looked back, eyeing Sarah who had stood up from her seat, taking a few steps over towards her. "Did you call him?" Sarah tilted her head, glaring in response, annoyed that Elena thought so little of her. She might be many things, but Sarah Salvatore was no snitch, even if she did have her doubts about Elena's end game.

"I did," Rose declared as she walked into the room.

"What? Why?" Elena asked, utterly confused.

 _Because she's sleeping with him._ Sarah wanted to say, but she didn't. She didn't want to turn into some catty girl just because Rose had tattled on them. She was doing what she thought was right, just like all of them. And whatever was going on between her and her brother had obviously influenced that decision. Before she might not have minded, and if she thought it was dangerous she would have talked to Sarah. Instead she'd gone behind her back and told Damon, who she'd only just met. And that spoke volumes to Sarah. Especially how the two might really feel about one another. Whether Rose and Damon knew, or acknowledged this, was a whole other question, for a whole other time.

"Doesn't matter," Damon said, dismissively as Elena swung back around to face him.

"Damon Salvatore!" Alice cried out as she began marching towards him like a crazed fan girl, which she absolutely was.

"Rose," Sarah said with a sharp look. The older vampire didn't need another word. She got it all from that one and Sarah's look alone. Before she could pass her, Rose grabbed hold of Alice's arm and dragged her off towards the kitchen. Alice didn't even bother to fight, too starstruck by yet another Salvatore.

"Come on. We're leaving," Damon said as he gestured to the door behind him with his head, turning to leave until Elena spoke up.

"No," the young brunette declared firmly.

"I said we're leaving," Damon snarled, turning back as he squared up to Elena, making sure she understood who it was she was facing. Not her boyfriend's brother, Damon Salvatore, who had feelings for her and was possibly even her friend. No, this was the vampire, Damon Salvatore, the vampire who never took no for an answer and who was feared by all his victims. The one you didn't cross or challenge. Ever.

"I'm not going with you," Elena snapped back.

"You do not get to make decisions anymore," Damon replied, wishing he could just compel her to do as he said. Sarah could see it in his eyes.

"When have I ever made a decision? You and Stefan do that for me. Now this, this is my decision," Elena said, planting herself firmly and refusing to move as Damon continued to glare back at her.

He was speechless for a moment – which genially shocked Sarah – before he then found his voice again. "Who's gonna save your life while you're out making decisions?"

"You're not listening to me, Damon. I don't want to be saved." That made Damon shut up, even if it was just for a moment as his gaze dropped to a frown. Elena then continued with, "Not if it means that Klaus is gonna kill every single person that I love."

It didn't do anything for Damon thought. His mind was made up, and not even Elena was going to change that. "Get your ass out the door before I throw you over my shoulder and carry you out myself," Damon declared, leaning in right against Elena's face. Whether Elena knew it or not, Sarah did, and she knew Damon wasn't joking. He really would drag her out kicking and screaming if it came to it.

Elena stood her ground though, meeting Damon's glare and refusing to cave. She was determined, Sarah would give her that. But this was more than just a battle of wills. If it was just that, Sarah could actually see Elena giving Damon a run for his money. But there was a physical element to it as well, and Damon had the strength to make Elena do what he wanted.

His hand shot out, grabbing Elena's arm as she squirmed feebly in his grasp. She threw her fist at his chest, but it bounced off like nothing and Damon didn't waver. She continued to pull against him, trying to get away, but he had too good a hold and turned to drag her out.

Only a sudden twist to his arm broke his hold on Elena as he yelped in surprise pain. He went to turn around only to find himself stumbling back before he found his feet. Coming face to face with his sister next. "Leave her alone, Damon. Let her make her on God damn decisions," Sarah said, fixing her brother with as equally a stubborn stare as his own. Now stood between him and Elena, who was just as surprised as Damon by Sarah's intervention.

Now it was Sarah who Damon squared up too, closing the gap while Elena remained behind her. Blue steel eyes meeting green steel eyes. Both just as old, and both just as stubborn. "It's a stupid decision," Damon sneered. "And you're an idiot for letting her go along with it."

"No she's not," Elena snapped defensively, poking out for behind Sarah while the two siblings remained locked in a battle of wills between their eyes. Damon pausing every few seconds to give Elena a swift glare before returning his blue eyes to his sister. "She's the only one that's actually listening to me, while you and Stefan ignore everything I say and make every little decision for me."

"That's only because you're clearly not capable of making them yourself," Damon snapped gaze swinging to Elena.

"It's her life, Damon," Sarah cut in, echoing Elena's words from earlier.

"You think I give a damn about that," Damon replied, eyes back on Sarah. "Now I'm going to go and deal with the wannabe vamp in there and then we're leaving." Before either Sarah or Elena could object, he strode past them both and into the kitchen to join Rose and Alice, slamming the sliders shut behind him. It was so hard that they actually slid back open enough for Sarah and Elena to peer in if they wanted to.

Neither did though. Both just glared at the doors Damon had vanished behind. Elena glaring in outrage while Sarah just glared, face still before her gaze lowered. "I'm sorry," Sarah murmured to Elena, turning just enough so she knew she was talking to her.

"It's okay. I'm used to it," Elena grumbled in response before stomping off towards the seats and throwing herself down in a huff as she folded her arms. Sarah joined her, sat next to her as they both waited in silence for Damon to deal with Alice.

* * *

"Bonnie's about to start." Scarlett jumped, snapping from her thoughts before then realising Stefan was right in front of her. Not only that, but he had his hand on her shoulder. She hadn't noticed any of it. She'd just been waiting for Bonnie to finish setting up and in so doing got lost in her own mind.

It had started out as just listening, focusing on her weakened supernatural abilities. It was still heightened levels of hearing, but without her necklace, it felt like Scarlett had lost part of her hearing, like suddenly becoming partially deaf despite the fact her hearing was beyond average. She adjusted though, slowly, picking up snippets from within the tomb. Unfortunately none of it was good. She heard Katherine continue to tease and feed off Jeremy, pointing out how much longer it would be until she'd be able to compel him. What made it worse though, was that he kept fighting back. Trying to get Scarlett's necklace from her. She mocked him consistently for that, asking him if it was really worth it. He maintained it was. And Scarlett knew every time he said that she was considering spilling her secret.

It was like a car crash, watching because you needed to know the outcome, unable to look away, or in this case, stop listening. Her heart was racing inside her chest, breath laboured at points. Scenarios began to ran through her head, all horrible nightmarish visions she'd had before. All of how Jeremy might react if he found out what she'd done. In some he just left, never to be seen again. Those were the better ones. Others he exposed her. Sometimes he slept with other girls to get back at her and she had to watch. In others he tortured her for weeks before finally killing her. One he even sold her off as a dog, somehow trapping her in her wolf form forever. They were all just nightmares, she knew that. But now that she was at the mercy of Katherine, she couldn't help but think they were all about to become reality.

That was when Stefan had snapped her out of it.

"Everything alright?" Stefan asked with a concerned frown at Scarlett's startled jump.

"Yeah… I just want to get Jeremy out of there," Scarlett said sheepishly, only meeting Stefan's gaze after she'd finished speaking.

He offered her a reassuring smile. "Hopefully we're about to do that," Stefan said as he stood up, offering a hand which Scarlett took. He hauled her up to her feet and by the time he had Bonnie had began to chant. Stefan turned and Scarlett peered past him to see Bonnie now stood up in the centre of the four torches, book held open in both hands with dog tags dangling from one hand alone.

As she continued on with this, Stefan moved towards the entrance to the tomb, ready to move once the spell was done. Scarlett followed but hung behind him, knowing she was now of little use without her necklace. If she couldn't fight Katherine with it, she'd get slaughtered without it. But she still had to follow him in, she had to go in and get Jeremy out.

Now both in position, Bonnie's chanting grew in strength and volume, the torches around her flaring up as passion filled her voice. Scarlett subconsciously took a step towards Stefan who also stared in mild shock at the flames and Bonnie. Then came the voice that made Scarlett and Stefan swing back around to the tomb entrance. "Oooh, something's happening," Katherine cooed as she made her way along the tunnel, Jeremy still in her clutches. Even more blood coming out of his wound now. So much in fact that it masked the scent of blood coming from behind her. Had she had her necklace, she might have been able to pick it up, but Stefan did regardless and as he turned, so did Scarlett, both finding a trail of blood sliding out of Bonnie's nose.

"Bonnie," Stefan said, trying to get her attention but she continued on chanting regardless. Stefan began to move towards her, but Scarlett remind where she was, her instinct to protect Jeremy prioritising him over whatever danger Bonnie was now in. "Bonnie?" Stefan repeated, louder but the result was the same. She either couldn't hear him or was ignoring him as she focused on the spell. Voice echoing around them as the blood continued to flow from her nose. It was by no means gushing out, but it looked painful, and now that Scarlett was aware, she could sense the deadliness of the sign.

"Stop her," Jeremy called out from the tomb. "I'll be fine. She doesn't have to kill herself for–" At the abrupt end of his sentence, Scarlett swung back towards the tomb, finding Jeremy on the floor and Katherine with her elbow raised.

Quickly realising what had happened, Scarlett began to run towards her downed boyfriend, making a messily two steps before Katherine lifted her other hand. In it, Scarlett's necklace, dangling by its chain, and a playfully warning expression on Katherine's face that Scarlett knew better than to test. She backed down, and Katherine smirked, lowering her hand as Jeremy lifted himself up onto his elbows, hand covering his more than likely broken nose. Seeing he was still conscious, and more importantly alive, Scarlett let out a breath of relief before looking back to find Stefan still trying to get through to Bonnie.

"Bonnie. You need to stop. Bonnie!" Stefan said, grabbing her arms when she still don't acknowledge him. She shook him off, chanting harder and louder, as if subconsciously telling Stefan to back off. She wasn't going to give up, even if it was killing her. Scarlett was admittedly shocked. True she didn't know that much about Bonnie, and barely spent anytime with her outside of being trapped in a motel room, but it still shocked her to see this woman putting her life on the line for her boyfriend.

Then suddenly she was on the floor, Stefan beside her as he called out her name, begging her to wake up. "Bonnie, wake up, please. Bonnie, wake up. Bonnie," Stefan called out as Scarlett watched on from the entrance to the tomb, waiting for her to wake up with bated breath.

"Yes, please because I'm still in here," groaned out an impatient Katherine from behind.

"Will you shut up!" snapped Scarlett as she whirled back around.

"Maybe I should go and have a little chat with Jeremy instead?" Katherine suggested, shutting Scarlett up instantly as her head shrunk in towards her shoulders, gaze dropping. She knew her place and wouldn't be making the mistake of lashing out at Katherine again. Even if it was to defend the witch who was willing to give up her life to save her boyfriend.

"Are you okay? You all right?" Stefan asked from behind, holding Bonnie as she awoken. Looking back, Scarlett watched as Bonnie staggered back up to her feet, supported by Stefan as she stared on with teary brown eyes. Both full with failure.

"It didn't work…" Bonnie breathed out in defeat, leaning on Stefan as he took her weight. Her gaze then moved over to Scarlett before quickly dropping in shame. "I'm sorry." She broke out into a sob. "Even with help, I'm not strong enough. I can't do it."

"Well, that's too bad," Katherine declared as Scarlett yet again turned around, eyes widening when she saw the vampire lifting Jeremy up to his feet with one hand. She shoved him against the wall, the boy probably one drink of blood away from total unconsciousness and then death. Katherine looked her way, smile forming as she said, "And here I am, still hungry." In a split second her features changed to that of the vampiric monster within. Fangs extending as they dove down towards Jeremy's defenceless neck. Scarlett screamed in horror, ready to throw herself in and at the mercy of Katherine – anything to save Jeremy – when something else shot past her.

It was Stefan.

He raced in, shoving Katherine off Jeremy. Scarlett caught it all like a flip book of pictures. Katherine staggering back, but regaining her footing as Stefan shoved Jeremy at full forced towards the exit. Scarlett found herself moving, catching him before he toppled onto the ground. She crumpled beneath his weight though, relief at his escape causing her muscles to loosen up and give way under the sudden pressure. They collapsed onto the ground together, Scarlett tightly clutching him in her arms as Katherine ran towards them. Stefan cut her off though, shoving her into the wall, hand yanking Scarlett's necklace away before throwing it to her. It landed next to her and Jeremy, as she dragged him back, out of the tomb and the reach of Katherine.

And just like that, Jeremy was safe. In Scarlett's arms as she clung to him, like she had when Damon first killed him all those weeks ago. She reached out grabbing her necklace before her arm rewrapped itself around Jeremy's shoulders, refusing to give him up for anything. It all seemed like a happy ending. Until Scarlett realised Stefan was now trapped in the tomb with Katherine. And even as he held her against the wall, preventing her from trying to get at her or Jeremy. Scarlett could see the satisfied vampire smirking up at Stefan as he stared on with a solemn frown.

She might not have gotten out, but she had a new toy. A better one even in Stefan. One she would be more than happy to use until they got her out, because she knew they'd get her out now. Because they couldn't free Stefan, without freeing her. And there was so much more she could do with Stefan than Jeremy, so many more ways to hurt not just Scarlett and Jeremy, but all the Salvatores and Elena. Even when she was trapped, she was still winning. A fact Katherine obviously knew, as she curled up against Stefan's chest, the younger vampire too distracted by his new situation to notice.

And as Scarlett clung to Jeremy, grateful he was back in her arms, she couldn't help but think that it was all their fault. His for going into the tomb, and hers for not handling this herself. Because of her weakness Bonnie was now hurt, and Stefan was trapped in the tomb with Katherine. She could already picture Sarah's face, her heart breaking at the thought. She'd let so many people down. Her and Jeremy both.

* * *

As the double doors to the kitchen opened, Sarah looked up from her seat to find Damon striding back in as he pulled the doors shut behind him. Next to her, Elena straightened up, scowl reforming as she glared at Damon. He hardly cared though, saying, "Time to go," as he made his way over to the women. Rose stood alongside the seated Elena and Sarah, more neutral than the irritated two next to her.

"Alice is soundly sleeping and won't remember a moment of this horribly stupid day," he explained before suddenly the front doors burst open. Sarah stood, along with Elena as the four turned to find three vampires marching into the room.

"We're here to meet the doppelgänger," the leader of the trio declared, the one Sarah assumed was Cody.

"Thank you for coming," Elena said as she tried to step forward, only for Damon to grab her arm and shove her back behind himself and Sarah who were stood in a united front against the vampires, but for different reasons. Damon because he was dead set against this, while Sarah wanted to have at least a discussion before they tried to take Elena.

"I will break your arm," Damon snarled at Elena. Sarah shot her brother a look but he merely smiled back before both turned their attention back to the three new vampires. Cody and one of his friends had advanced forward to meet them, while the third stood guard by the doorway.

"Let's get one thing straight here," Sarah began. "We're just looking to talk, with Klaus himself ideally."

"Ignore her," Damon then cut in, slapping on his irritably charming smile, while Sarah and Elena glared at him. "We were just leaving."

"You're not leaving with the doppelgänger," Cody growled, his side man stepping up to block Damon's path after he took a single step.

Damon did his best to hid the irritation, holding back the threat as he stared at Cody. "There's nothing here for you," he said, threat seeping into his voice as he and Cody narrowed their eyes at one another.

"I beg to disagree," Cody replied.

"You'll be doing a lot more than begging if you don't get out of my way," Damon snapped back, blue eyes igniting.

"We didn't invite you here to fight," Elena cut in, trying to step forward once more only to get shoved back by Damon.

"We just want to talk with Klaus," Sarah repeated.

"I'm willing to give myself up," Elena added.

"No she's not. And the only thing I have to say to Klaus is drop dead…oh, wait…" Damon said before turning smug as Cody cocked his head to one side, obviously not amused. _What a great way to start negotiations_ , Sarah thought with an internal sigh. She was just about to begin apologising for her idiot brother when suddenly the vampire by the door stiffened and dropped straight down onto the floor, dead. And if that wasn't strange enough, the vampire that was stood behind the corpse was the one Sarah and Damon killed not a few days ago. The Original vampire, Elijah.

As the two other vampires turned, everyone stared on in shock as Elijah suddenly sped forwards, stood in front of Cody while a blonde freckled woman had appeared before the other vampire. She had pale blue eyes, a polite smile about her and a raincoat that covered up most of her body. Hearing another gasp from behind, Sarah looked back to see Elena staring at the woman.

"What is it?" Sarah mumbled to her.

"I…I saw her earlier," Elena explained, before jumping a little when the woman's gaze moved to her along with Elijah's.

"Yes, you did," the woman agreed, obviously having heard what Elena and Sarah were saying. Then suddenly a whoosh of air blew by and Sarah saw a blurred figure race out of the room. When she looked back, she saw Rose was gone. She wasn't shocked. The only reason she'd probably stayed that long was out of shock. There was a history between her and the Originals, a history Sarah understood, though she'd be lying if she said it didn't hurt to have her friend abandon her like that.

"We killed you. You were dead," Damon declared pointedly at Elijah as the two met each others eye.

"For centuries now," Elijah replied with a ghost of a smirk. "Now excuse us," he added before he and the woman looked back to the two vampires before each of them. "Who are you?"

"Who are you two?" Cody snapped in response.

"I'm Elijah, and this is my sister Amelia," Elijah explained while gesturing to the woman next to him. Her smile had faded however at the harsh and impolite tone Cody was using.

The stunned Cody stared on in shock while Damon leaned over to his sister, muttering, "Great, now there's two of them."

"We were gonna bring her to you both. For Klaus," Cody quickly began to explain before pointing over to Elena who was still stood behind Damon and Sarah. "She's the doppelgänger. I don't know how she exists, but she does." He turned back to the two Originals. "Klaus will want to see her."

"Does anyone else know that you're here?" Elijah inquired.

"No," Cody answered.

Elijah and Amelia both smiled. "Well, then, we must thank you both for your service," Amelia said gratefully, before her hand suddenly thrusted forward into the vampire's chest. Elijah did the same with Cody, both taking hold of the vampires' hearts before pulling them out as both vampires dropped dead. Elena gasped in shock, while Damon and Sarah both frowned, all staring as Elijah and Amelia each held a heart in their hand. Then just as carelessly as they'd removed said hearts, they discarded them to the floor.

Damon then stepped forward, ready to fight. Sarah however remaining beside Elena as she spoke up. "We don't want to fight. We just want to talk."

"We will," agreed Amelia, polite smile returning. "But not right now," she said, pulling out a handkerchief and using it to wipe her hands clean off the blood. Then when she was done, she let the handkerchief drop, only to vanish along with her brother out the front door without another word. Damon and Sarah both frowned yet again, looking at each other before looking back at Elena who was equally as confused as the two vampires before her.

* * *

After dealing with the immediate problem, Amelia and Elijah lingered around, watching until finally the doppelgänger and her friends left the apartment. It took them a while though, confused by what had happened. Of course they would be, they had no idea what was really going on. Elijah would have preferred to keep it that way, but Amelia was certain that by not telling them, the doppelgänger in particular, they were just making things harder for themselves. It was a discussion they'd had at length on the way back to Mystic Falls, but eventually Elijah came around to Amelia's way of thinking. It was in their best interests after all. It'd be a lot easier to control the doppelgänger if she knew they wanted the same thing…in a way.

They returned to Jonas' apartment, not that they were staying there. They had their own place already arranged, but they wanted to give him an update. However when they arrived they found him tending to his son. Amelia offered her assistance in attending to him, but Jonas said he was fine now, just having made a stupid mistake. Amelia couldn't help but ask what and when he didn't answer Elijah repeated the question, demanding an answer. With a sigh Jonas had complied, explaining that his son, Luka, had allowed the local witch Bonnie – who was friends with the doppelgänger – to channel him to the point that he'd almost died. The witch had probably almost killed them both, but Jonas had cut the connection before that could happen.

Another thing for the two Originals to keep an eye on.

They'd headed into the living room of the apartment then, waiting for Jonas while he freshened up. When he entered the room, still wiping his hands dry with a towel, Elijah and Amelia had already made themselves comfy. Elijah was stood by the window, leaning against the frame with his arms folded as he stared out in thought. As for Amelia, she was sat at the small dinning table, facing the door Jonas had entered from, hands resting on her lap. The second the door opened, Amelia's eyes were on Jonas, watching him like a hawk as he walked in, while Elijah continued to stare out the window.

"How's Luka?" Amelia asked as Jonas made his way over to the dining table, resting his hands on the back of the chair opposite Amelia.

"Asleep," Jonas answered with a sigh, tired from the days events.

Amelia nodded, glancing down as she played with the daylight ring on her index finger of her left hand. After a moment she looked back up, meeting Jonas' steady eyes. "Your shadow spell was successful," she informed him, placing her joint hands on the table before her. "We were able to track the doppelgänger."

"Good," Jonas said, glad he'd been able to help.

"However," Elijah spoke up from the window without turning away. "We did have a run in with the brother and sister that killed me."

Jonas chuckled quietly at that. "I assume they didn't live to talk about it," he said as he folded the towel he'd been using to dry his hands, before placing it down on the table.

"Actually, we spared them," Elijah informed him, prompting Jonas to look over to him sharply, confusion flashing through his eyes. He didn't question it though, he was smart enough not to do that. "They'd both die before letting anything happen to the doppelgänger. The other one too. She'll be kept safe with them around."

"The sister might be a problem, however," Amelia spoke up from the dinning table, prompting Elijah to finally turn around and face her along with Jonas. "She seems more determined to help the doppelgänger than protect her."

"Yes," agreed Elijah slowly. "But I'm sure a little chat with her and the doppelgänger would fix that," Elijah said, a smirk beginning to form.

"I agree entirely, Brother," Amelia stated, a smirk of her own forming.

* * *

Time had lost meaning for Scarlett. She had no idea how much time had passed since she entered the tomb. All she could say with absolute certainty was that the sun was up when she went into the tomb, and it was down when she came out. She wasn't sure how long she, Jeremy and Bonnie had remained down in the tomb after Stefan got trapped. It felt short, but also long, though that might have just been because of Katherine's gloating and Stefan's solemn looks. At some point though, Scarlett had lifted Jeremy and Bonnie up, taking them home. Bonnie cleared away most of her stuff as they left, before they took her car home. She dropped Jeremy out at his home, and Scarlett followed him out before thanking Bonnie and saying she'd speak to her later. Or rather she'd get someone like Elena to speak with her later. She already had her hands full.

Jeremy made his way around the back, heading in through the back door. More than likely so he didn't wake Jenna who was asleep. Whether he knew that or not, Scarlett wasn't sure, but she didn't question it as she followed him in through the rear door. As he walked in, Jeremy discarded the cloth Bonnie had given him to cover up the bite on his neck. The bleeding had subsided, but it still look nasty, possibly even infected. Blood occasionally oozing out when Jeremy moved a certain way, such as when he angrily threw the cloth across the kitchen.

"That make you feel better?" Scarlett asked, the attitude obvious from her tone.

Jeremy snorted but didn't say anything else, as he opened up one of the cabinets and pulled out a first aid box. Opening the thing up, he grabbed himself a large white badge and placed it over the bite before then searching through the box for something to help with the pain. When he grew agitated, unable to find what he was looking for, he shoved the box towards the wall the contents spilling out as it tipped over.

"Need a hand?" asked Scarlett, a tad more sympathetic and less sarcastic as she took a step towards Jeremy.

"No," he snapped with a glance over his shoulder. Letting it sink in before he turned to face Scarlett. "I'm home, okay. You don't need to escort to my room."

"You sure about that?" Scarlett snipped back, glaring at Jeremy as she folded her arms. "Because there's still a good ten feet or so to your bedroom – plenty of room for you to try something even stupider than running into a tomb with Katherine frickin' Pierce!" Scarlett shouted angrily as she squared up to Jeremy, who did a good job of not flinching.

"I already feel bad. I don't need you to berate me." Jeremy snarled as he leaned in towards Scarlett, refusing to let her treat him like her inferior.

"No, you see, I think I do need to berate you. Clearly I don't do it enough, otherwise you wouldn't be so stupid as to try and take on Katherine yourself," shouted Scarlett in anger as she shoved her finger into his chest, forcing him back a single step with her final jab.

"What else was I supposed to do?" Jeremy snapped.

"You could have called me," Scarlett answered, pointing to herself. "I could have helped you. We could have talked it through, we could have come up with a better plan. But heck, anything is better than you doing it alone Jer," Scarlett emphasised loudly.

"I can look after myself, Scarlett!" Jeremy shouted.

"No, Jeremy…you can't," Scarlett said seriously, voice quieting as she realised just how fragile and delicate Jeremy's human life was in comparison to her own and the vampires she lived with. "You're human. I'm supernatural. You know what that means?" She didn't give him the chance to answer. "It means you're pretty much always going to be in danger. You're not equipped to handle the supernatural world like I am."

His gaze lowered down to his feet at that, her worlds hitting harder than she'd meant them too. Her shoulders slumped, and the young werewolf deflated a little. Maybe she had gone too far with what she was saying, but how else was she supposed to make this clear to him. Jeremy wasn't suited for the supernatural world, not like her or the other vampires that lived in Mystic Falls. She could at least put up a fight. Jeremy didn't stand a chance, and his only life line was a ring that could easily be ripped off.

Even so, she still felt an overwhelming need to comfort him, and so she stepped into his personal space, reaching forward as she placed her hands on the side of his face. She didn't lift his head though, instead she lowered hers to try and peered up into his eyes, not wanting to force him into meeting hers. "You have nothing to prove to me, Jer," Scarlett promised, offering him a tender smile.

"I know," admitted Jeremy as he slowly met Scarlett's blue eyes. She smiled, until he opened his mouth to continue. "But I have to do something to help. I have to at least try and protect the ones I love. I have to protect you," he stressed, placing his hands over Scarlett's. That is, until she pulled her hands from his face, placing them on the side of her head as she groaned in frustration.

She turned around, pacing before she found herself facing Jeremy once more when her groaning finally ended. "God damn it, Jeremy! I don't want you to be a hero for me!" Scarlett yelled as she threw her arms out at her side.

"And I don't want to leave you to handle things alone!" Jeremy replied as he advanced on his girlfriend, closing the gap between them. And somehow, at the same time, it defused the tension and anger between the two. It was like their two fires of anger had met, melting an ice wall that was dividing them, before the ice turned to water and wiped everything away.

Once more Scarlett's hands found their way up to Jeremy's face, only this time they slid over it, meeting behind his neck before she pulled him in for a kiss. At the same time however, Jeremy placed his hands behind Scarlett's head, also pulling her in. And yet their lips touched gently, as if a bird had landed on a branch in the middle of summer. A smooth and gentle kiss that came to a natural end as they parted, both staring into each others eyes as they watched the last of fire inside them fade away.

"I haven't been alone since you found out about me, Jer. No matter where you are, I know you're always with me. I know that you have my back no matter what. I just don't need you right by my side, or throwing yourself into danger so that I don't have too. That's not helping me Jer. That terrifies me.

"Like today. I was just so…I thought Katherine was going to…" Tears quickly began to flow from Scarlett's eyes as her words began to break down. It wasn't just about Katherine exposing her secret with Mason. She could have done so much to Jeremy before killing him. She could have inflicted so much pain on both of them. Every nightmare she'd ever had had almost come true today. And it had truly scared her.

"I'm sorry," Jeremy said quietly, placing his forehead against Scarlett's as he too began to softly cry.

"I know," Scarlett whispered in between quiet sobs. "I know."

* * *

Once she reached the house, Sarah pulled up to the curb, kicking out the stand so that when she relaxed the motorcycle remained upright. She unclipped her helmet and went to remove it, feeling the bike push up as the rear lost the weight holding it down. The arms around her waste left her and as Sarah pulled off her helmet, shaking her hair out, she glanced over to see Elena doing the same with her own helmet, now stood on the sidewalk. Luckily they'd managed to get another helmet before leaving Richmond. Elena had not liked the idea of having to ask Damon for a lift home. They'd managed to give him the slip though, and sped away before he could do anything about it. Rose had already left too, taking the tinted car as she fleed the scene. Thus way Elena had hitched a ride with Sarah on the back of her bike.

"Thank you for bringing me home," Elena said, soft smile to back up her words as she handed the spare helmet over to Sarah. She took it with a small smile of her own, placing it on the handlebars along with her own helmet.

"No problem," Sarah said, still sat on her bike.

"Do you think Rose will be okay?" Elena asked, folding her arms, looking a little guilty for dragging the vampire into her messed up scheme.

"I imagine so. Hopefully she'll show up in a day or two," Sarah answered, glancing around in case Rose suddenly appeared at the sound of her name. It was night now after all, so she could be out and about without the aid of the car. Still, Sarah couldn't see many reasons for her to come back to Mystic Falls now. She'd turned on Sarah and Elena in telling Damon what they were up too, and had embarrassed herself in front of Damon by running away when Elijah and Amelia showed up.

Even so, she still hoped Rose would come back. She liked having her around.

"Hard to believe Elijah's alive," Elena continued, nervously brushing a loose strand of her hair, back behind her ear.

"Or that he has a sister," agreed Sarah, a small confused look spreading across her face. There was no reason why he shouldn't have siblings. It just seemed, odd, that he did.

"Why do you think they killed those vampires and just let us go?" Elena questioned, looking up at Sarah curiously.

"Who knows," shrugged Sarah. "My advise, get some sleep." Elena smiled at that.

"Night, Sarah," Elena said as she turned making her way onto the porch of her home, right before a car came skidding round the bend at the end fo the road only to then screech to a halt right behind Sarah's bike. Literally an inch from crashing into it.

Looking back, the headlights of the vehicle blinded Sarah, forcing her to shield her eyes until they were shut off. The sound of the driver's side door opening and closing sounded, but Sarah was still temporarily blinded and couldn't tell who had gotten out. After a few blinks, her vision cleared and she saw the car now parked behind her. Damon's car.

"Oh, brother," groaned Sarah as she lowered her arm, turning to find Damon glaring over his shoulder at her, stood on the steps that lead up onto the porch Elena was stood on.

"Yeah, me," snarled Damon before turning his attention back to Elena. "The three of us are gonna have a talk."

"No thanks," Elena muttered, turning to head into her home. She didn't take a single step before Damon's hand shot out and grabbed her arm, stopping her from proceeding. With a roll of the eyes, Sarah climbed off her bike, making her way onto the porch at normal speed to join her brother and friend. "Let go of me, Damon," Elena snapped, struggling against Damon's hold on her until Sarah yanked her brother's arm away, meeting his glare when he turned to face her.

"Enough with the macho act, we get it, you're pissed off," Sarah drawled out as she released her hold on her brother's arm.

"Damn right I am," Damon spat back, yanking his arm back down to his side before swinging back onto Elena, finger in her face. "What you did today was incredibly stupid." Then his finger was on Sarah. "And you're just a stupid for helping her do it."

"You said that already," Sarah snapped back, and from the heated glare her brother threw at her, she knew she was one more comment away from throwing down with him right here on the porch. "I don't care if you think it was stupid, Damon. It was the right thing to do and I stand by it." She could see the vein on his forehead throbbing now which was never a good sign. His fingers were flexing as well, rolling into a tightly clenched fist. Sarah could see the fight coming now.

"Actually the only stupid thing we did was getting caught," Elena corrected, Damon's glare once again on her as his fist loosened just a little. Enough of his anger leaving so that he wasn't pushed into starting some pointless physical fight with his sister. Now that she had his gaze, along with Sarah's, Elena continued with, "I don't question why you and Stefan and everyone else tries so hard to save me. You shouldn't question why I would try to save all of you."

Just then the door opened and Elena said, "Goodnight," once more before turning to find Jeremy and Scarlett stood in the open doorway. Staring sadly at all three of them.

"What's with the puppy eyes, Scrappy?" Damon snapped, coming off more hostile than he probably meant too. Sarah rolled her eyes, awaiting Scarlett's comeback. But nothing followed. Frown quickly forming she looked back to the doorway, finding Scarlett's sad little blue eyes staring back at her – making her look a whole lot younger than she was. Jeremy was the same, only his eyes looked older as he stared into his sister's, but there was shame in them too, as with Scarlett's.

"Sarah…" Scarlett got out before she began to sob, confusing Sarah even more.

"What is, what happened?" Sarah asked.

Scarlett couldn't do it, and suddenly her face was buried in Jeremy's shoulder as he held her hand. His mature eyes moved between the three people on the porch, meeting them all before he said, "It's Stefan."

After that Sarah found herself running down into the tomb, finding the four torches from before still lit. She raced past them, heading right towards the open tomb when suddenly two strong arms were wrapped around her waist, lifting her off her feet as they continued to move as if she was still running.

"Let me go! Let me go, Damon!" Sarah cried out, kicking and screaming as Damon dragged her away from the entrance to the tomb.

"Listen to me. Listen to me!" Damon shouted over Sarah's shouts until finally she quietened down enough to so that he could hear himself think. She might not have been shouting anymore, but she did continue to struggle against her brother's hold around her waist. "If you go in there you'll just be trapped with her too."

"I don't care, Damon! I can't just leave Stefan in there with her!" Sarah shouted as she started to kick her heels against Damon, but his hold didn't waver. He'd already let one sibling screw up today, he wasn't about to let another. But then another problem came running in. Elena ran straight past them, barely noticing Damon and Sarah as she ran for the tomb entrance. Thinking fast, Damon hurled Sarah back towards the cave wall, before rushing forward and grabbing Elena with one arm around her waist, lifting her up with ease like he did with Sarah. Then, as he predicted, Sarah came running at him, trying to get past and into the tomb. He was quicker though, arm shooting out and catching her around the waist before he carried both women across the room, shoving them against the cave wall where he held them with a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Shut up, both of you, Now!" Damon shouted at them, finally ending their screams and shouts of protest. Somehow it even managed to stop them struggling too, though his eyes remained vigilant as he watched them both. Waiting for either to make another stupid attempt to get into the tomb.

"Stefan's in there, Damon!" Elena shouted out in hurt. Not at what Damon was doing or had done, but at the fact her boyfriend was trapped with the most horrible woman she'd ever know. "How could you let this happen?"

"What are you talking about? I was too busy saving you from your crazy kamikaze mission," Damon snapped back.

"You didn't even have to go after the moonstone in the first place!" Elena shouted.

"It was the right call, Elena."

"The right call? How was any of this the right call?!"

"Because I say it is," Damon growled, looming over Elena. His eyes didn't leave his sister though. She might be quiet for the time being but she might just be biding her time. Or maybe she was as terrified as her face suggested, at the thought of Stefan being trapped with Katherine for God knows how long.

Suddenly Elena made a move to try and get past him, but Damon shoved her back against the wall, his hand placed over her chest. "Damon, let go of me! Damon, let go of me! Let go of me! Let go! Let go!" Elena shouted out over and over as she tried to push Damon's supernaturally strong hand off her chest, but it was as if it was held in place by steel. He wouldn't budge, and just let her struggle until finally she tired herself out.

"Please," she then said quietly, looking up into Damon eyes as he glared back at her.

"Are you done?" was all he asked. He didn't need an answer though, he could see she was. She was still horribly upset, but she'd tired herself out and couldn't fight anymore, at least not against a vampire.

Damon let his arm drop, releasing Elena so that now he only had his hand on Sarah's shoulder. Still she remained still, staring into the tomb like a child terrified of the dark shadowy closet in their room. Once again Elena tried to move towards the tomb, but Damon's finger cut her off. "Don't," he said simply, finger waving back and forth before then pointing towards the stairs that lead out of the tomb.

With one last pathetically quiet growl, Elena snarled angrily at Damon, running her hand through her hair before stomping out of the tomb, leaving him and his sister alone. It was only after she was gone, that Stefan appeared, walking down the tunnel that lead into the tomb until he could go no further. The invisible wall preventing him from reuniting with his siblings.

"Of all the idiot plans, Stefan," Damon sighed out as he turned to face his brother along with Sarah who was stood back against the wall. "We'll find a way to get you out."

"Ah, it's all right. I'll handle myself," Stefan said as he placed his hands against the fame of the tunnel he was in. "Bonnie has the moonstone. Work with her. Try to figure out how to de-spell it," Stefan instructed. Obviously he didn't know about how Elena had gone off to sacrifice herself. He should know, and they'd tell him eventually, but like Damon, Sarah knew this wasn't the time for that.

"You martyr yourself in a tomb and me and our sister get partnered with a semi-competent witch. Wonderful," Damon said sarcastically, but there was no humour in those blue eyes.

"Keep Elena away from here," Stefan said.

"Yeah. 'Cause that'll be easy," Damon muttered sarcastically with a roll of the eyes.

"I want you to stay away too, Sarah," Stefan added meeting his sister's eye.

"No way," Sarah said, her voice firm, but overpowered by sadness.

"I mean it. It's not going to do you any good coming down here. We both know how it'll end, especially with Katherine here too." He was right, Sarah knew it. But it didn't change anything. She couldn't just leave him alone down here, never visiting just because of Katherine. She could control herself, even if it was just five minutes a day. She could come and see him and–

Katherine then appeared at the end of the tunnel, smiling away as she waved her fingers in a flirtatious greeting. From that moment Sarah knew she couldn't even last five minutes. Stefan was right, sooner or later, she would get provoked and would run in there and end up trapped too. Then she'd forever be at the mercy of Katherine along with her brother.

Stefan then stepped into Sarah's line of sight, blocking her view to Katherine. She met his gaze, and knew he'd done it to prove his point. He didn't want her in there with him. Or rather, he didn't want her in there with Katherine. Because out of the three of them, it was Sarah who would suffer the most in that environment. Stefan was actually probably the best one to be in there, emotional control wise anyway.

"Promise me. Both of you. No matter what happens. You'll protect Elena," Stefan said, bringing Sarah back to the conversation.

"Promise," Damon agreed.

When Sarah took longer to answer, Stefan and Damon looked to her. "Sarah?" Stefan prompted.

Sarah still hesitated in answering. "I promise to get you out of there. That way you can look after her yourself," Sarah said, which was enough for Stefan who nodded. But he couldn't see Damon's eyes, and he knew exactly why Sarah had said what she said. He didn't address it though, merely walked out to go and deal with Elena, leaving Sarah alone with her brother…and the Devil who was creeping up behind him.

"That right there, was the biggest mistake you've ever made," Katherine purred out from behind Stefan. He ignored her, glancing back before he strode past his sire and further into the tomb, encouraging Sarah to go when he looked back. And then he was gone, hoping his lack of presence would make Sarah leave, as she was now alone with Katherine. A one way wall between them. But even that wouldn't stop Katherine from playing her games. "Do you want to join us?" Katherine asked, putting on a seductive purr to her voice as she draped herself against the stone wall of the tomb.

Sarah glared, remaining against the back wall. Fingers curling against the stones, as if gripping them to stop herself form lunging at the woman who now held her brother captive. "You're going to miss out on all the fun," Katherine sang out teasingly, her playful grin coming out. "Just think of what we could get up to if you came in here too."

"I'm not coming in, Katherine," Sarah growled.

Katherine put on a pout in turn. "Shame," she said, pulling away from the wall with a dramatic sigh. "I guess now I'll just have to make up my own fun with Stefan." Her devilish smirk returned, her eyes lighting up as they met Sarah's. Then she turned, heading back into the tomb, humming away cheerful as she did.

"If you even think of hurt him in any way," Sarah began, pushing off the wall and making it halfway across the room before willing herself to stop. "I'll come in there and kill you myself. Spell or not." Katherine twirled back around, teasing grin in place as she leaned forwards. Deliberately letting her cleavage show as she thrusted her chest towards Sarah.

"Please, do," Katherine drawled out seductively, a longing in her voice that made Sarah want to peel her skin right off. Seeing she'd gotten to her once again, Katherine relaxed, lifting her chest as her smug smile broke out. "See you tomorrow, Sarah," Katherine said with a flirtatious wave, before vanishing out of sight, leaving Sarah to fight the urge to follow.

"Try not to think about all the fun you'll be missing out on."


	21. The Looming Moon

_Review responses:_

Only reviewer: _I know, but it had to be done!, lol! And I think we'll get Elena a permanent helmet before we get her a jacket, safety first after all._

* * *

 **Chapter 21: The Looming Moon**

* * *

"You trapped her in the house?" exclaimed Stefan. From her position next to Damon, Sarah slowly nodded her head, confirming that what Stefan had repeated was in fact true. Damon and Bonnie had indeed trapped Elena inside her house, as part of their _ingenious_ plan to stop her from handing herself over to Klaus, as Damon had explained to Stefan down in the tomb.

"I told you he wasn't going to like it," Sarah said to Damon, loudly enough for Stefan to hear.

"You also said it was a bad idea, and yet, I can see no down side," Damon said with a smug victorious smile.

"I would say Elena's pissed off mood is a down side," Sarah pointed out with a raised eye brow to her blue eyed brother.

"Yeah, surprisingly though, that's not on my list of concerns," Damon pointed out as Sarah rolled her eyes. "And before you begin any further objections, might I remind you, it was a two to one vote." The two being him and Bonnie over Sarah who didn't agree with it. She'd argued Elena and Stefan both deserved votes but Damon dismissed Stefan, as he was trapped in the tomb. And both he and Bonnie said no to Elena, as then she'd run off again before they could lock her in.

"That's only because Bonnie's as idiotic as you," Sarah muttered as she looked away from eldest brother.

"Maybe, but at least this, idiot, is making an attempt to work with the witch," Damon said, smugness growing as he pointed to himself. God, it was getting hard for Sarah not to punch him. Sometimes he just really had it coming, like now.

"Come on guys, you promised you weren't going to fight," Stefan said, leaning against the wall from within the tomb.

Both his siblings swiftly turned to him with frowns along their brows as they declared in unison, "No we didn't."

"Finally, you two agree about something." Once more, Sarah and Damon united, leaning over to glare past Stefan at the Elena lookalike down the stone walled passageway that lead further into the tomb.

"I see she's still not dead," Sarah stated, looking back to her matching eyed brother, a displeased look on her face. Stefan just made a face of 'what can you do' before lowering his gaze.

"Feel free to come in here and kill me yourself, Sarah," Katherine purred out, leaning against the wall as she smirked over to Sarah. The youngest Salvatore took a single step, only for Damon's arm to shoot out and grab her. Her gaze turned to his, his blue eyes shaking until she took a step back away from the tomb entrance.

"Here, care package," Damon spoke up, picking up the duffle bag at his feet before throwing it into the tomb beside Stefan. "Candles, lanterns and…" He paused, reaching behind him before pulling out a large thermos filled with blood. "Lunch," Damon said with a grin as he shook the thermos back and forth before offering for Stefan to take.

"Give that to me and I'm just gonna have to share it with her," Stefan pointed out, nodding back towards Katherine, who was enjoying the day's entertainment with an ever present smirk.

It was driving Sarah crazy, catching her in her peripheral vision every now and then. Seeing that God damn face.

"You're all surprisingly calm," Katherine said as Damon took back the blood, seeing as Stefan didn't want it. "Considering Klaus will hunt you all down and kill you all if you mess with his little plan."

"Been dead before. I got over it," Damon snapped back before he looked back to his trapped brother once more. Face switching from triumphant grin at the sight of a trapped Katherine, to solemn stare at the sight of his trapped brother. "Once we deal with this moonstone, we'll figure a way to get you out," Damon promised.

"I'm still prioritising getting you out over the moonstone," Sarah stated, arms remaining folded as bother her bothers looked to her.

"As you can see, our baby sister here can't survive long with out her _second_ favourite brother around," Damon said, keeping up the smug attitude as Sarah shot him a glare out the corner of her eye.

"Don't tell lies, Damon," Katherine spoke up from further into the tomb. "We all know what Sarah's really missing," said Katherine as she struck a deliberately exposing and flirtatious pose, aimed directly for Sarah.

"That does it," growled Sarah before she lunged towards the tomb, watching as Katherine's smile grew. Then suddenly she was snatched out the air, face and body impacting with the cold stone wall before the tomb entrance.

"Calm, down," Damon ordered, holding Sarah against the wall with her arms pinned behind her back until finally she stopped struggling. When she did, he let her go and she swiftly shoved him of her. "Last thing I need is you trapped in there with him," Damon said, pointing too Stefan. "Go wait outside. I'll be done in a minute." Sarah didn't move. She stood her ground, turning to glare into the tomb at the smug Katherine, who was wiggling her finger inwards, once again baiting Sarah. "Now!" Damon said, snapping Sarah from Katherine's trance.

He was right. It was still far too easy for Katherine to manipulate her. Truth was she probably shouldn't even have come down, but she just wanted to see Stefan, to know he was okay and that Katherine hadn't gotten to him yet. She hadn't thankfully, and he seemed fine, but Sarah wasn't. And the longer she was down there, the more chance there was of her ending up in there with him. So she bid her goodbyes and then left, doing her best to ignore Katherine's calls after her.

* * *

Sat in the Grill, Scarlett did her best to ignore Caroline's disapproving glare as she shoved yet another hamburger into her mouth, making it her fourth in under fifteen minutes. Obviously her hands on eating style wasn't something that the reigning Miss Mystic Falls appreciated seeing. At least she was keeping her mouth shut, but then again, considering how hard Scarlett had hit her when she first objected, trying to take her food away like she was some kind of child, it was hardly surprising. She had apologised for hitting her, in between bites, but did point out she was an idiot for getting between her and her food. A fact she doubted Caroline would soon forget.

They were currently both waiting for Tyler, who was meant to meet them at the Grill nice and early so they'd have as much time as possible to set up before the full moon. He apparently had everything he needed to chain himself up, and since both Scarlett and Caroline had insisted on helping, he was meeting them before so they could help in whatever way they could. Unfortunately, he was now officially running late. Scarlett didn't have too much of a problem with this, but she could tell that control freak Caroline did, considering the constant tapping of her foot, her folded arms and the pout on her face. She didn't say anything though, and besides, it gave Scarlett more time to stock up on food, something she had a feeling she was going to be needing for tonight.

Across at another table, she spotted Alaric and Jenna having a miniature date. Or at least that was what she assumed, judging by the cups of coffee and the shared plate of sandwiches and chips, most of which was already eaten. Her hearing honed in automatically as she continued munching on her hamburger, catching what seemed to be the end of their miniature date.

"So now I'm playing historical society hostess to a couple of writers who are doing this book on small towns in Virginia," Jenna explained.

"Well that sounds…" Alaric began slowly, unsure of where to go next.

"Lame," Jenna offered up, to which he quickly agreed. "Yeah, but Carol Lockwood played the 'dead husband' card, said she was too busy to deal." With a smile that was tired before it had even begun, Jenna stood up, clearing wishing she could stay instead. She placed some dollar bills down on the table and continued with, "Plus, my sister kept most of the archives, so there you have it." She then leaned in, giving Alaric a kiss before they parted, Jenna grabbing her bag as she turned to leave.

She caught both Scarlett and Caroline's eye as she did, waving to them as they waved back. Her eyes did linger on Scarlett for a moment, probably because of the smeared food on her face, to which the blue eyed teenager only smiled wider, now showing the bits of food between her teeth. Jenna just shook her head, smile still present as she made her way out the door.

"You're disgusting," Caroline groaned out.

"And you're too high class," Scarlett shot back with a grin before finishing off her hamburger. She had just been about to order another when Tyler walked in, heading straight for their table.

"Hey…" he said in greeting, word stretching out once he got a better look at Scarlett. He frowned a little but managed to keep the rest of his body going as he placed the duffle bag he had with him on the table. The sound of metal clicking duly noted, by both Scarlett and Caroline. "You need to clean yourself up before we…?" Tyler began to ask, to which Scarlett quickly wiped the remains of her food on her t-shirt's long sleeve. Her face was now more or less clean, but the left arm of her t-shirt had a smeared stain on it that made Caroline groan as she shook her head.

She then threw down some bills, having made the mistake of offering to pay when they first sat down, and was about to get up when she noticed Tyler's face. "What's wrong?" she asked, concern thick which then made Scarlett realise the look of worry on her fellow werewolf's face.

"This girl Mason knows stopped by the house. She said he never made it back to Florida," Tyler explained. Instantly Scarlett had to fight her eyes, forcing them not to widen in shock. They did, but to a suitable degree. Rather than what could have happened, which would have possibly resulted in her eyes jumping out of her skull.

She'd thought they'd dealt with everything Mason related, that the only thing linger was the skeleton in her closet about him. One she was still intending to tell Jeremy about, once everything calmed down. She wouldn't deny she'd considered just never telling him, but since Katherine apparently knew, she couldn't risk keeping him in the dark forever. She was just waiting for the right moment. An excuse that made her hate herself a little more every time she thought of it.

Her gaze shot towards Alaric, while Tyler's was on Caroline. She caught his eye and he subtly nodded to show he was listening in. Good, he could deal with mystery woman. She and Caroline had their hands full tonight, as did Tyler.

"My mom is freaking out and she was on the phone with your mom when I left," Tyler continued to explain before nodding towards the door. He was eager to get going, and considering the news, Scarlett wasn't surprised. This wasn't what he needed before his first full moon, but it was too late now and telling him the truth wasn't going to help him one bit. He was tense enough and this had just made him doubly so, thus why he wanted to get a move on. Keep his mind active so he didn't have to think about what Scarlett was, Mason's rotting corpse and the memory of her betrayal linger over her head.

"We should get going," he said.

"Yeah," agreed Caroline as she stood, subtly kicking Scarlett when she didn't move. It brought the girl back to reality, where she quickly stood up, grabbing the duffle bag she and Caroline had packed, having everything Tyler had asked for them to bring as well as some extra things Scarlett felt were good to have. Like food.

Tyler grabbed his own duffle then lead the way out, Caroline following with Scarlett at the rear. She briefly paused however, looking to Alaric as she subtly made a phone sign with her hand, mouthing, "Sarah," along with it. He nodded, getting the message as he pulled out his phone. With that dealt with, Scarlett continued on after her friends, a mixture of emotions in her stomach, at the thought of the looming full moon.

* * *

After Damon finished dealing with Stefan and Katherine, he came out the tomb to find Sarah scowling. She did not appreciated being sent out like a child, especially in front of Katherine. Damon argued he was right to do so, until Sarah twisted his arm to breaking point, reminding him that she was just as old as he was. He apologised then but argued that Sarah shouldn't care what Katherine thinks. She claimed she didn't, but it was obvious to both of them that she did. She hated giving Katherine more ammunition to use against her, failing to show her the badass vampire she now was, as opposed to the weak little girl she'd pushed around.

Then headed over to the Gilbert's, deciding it was probably a good idea to check in on Elena. Sarah was going to talk to her, to try and communicate with her. She'd thought Damon was doing the same until he walked through the front door. Then she'd realised he was just going to be the same old Damon.

 _Great._

"You should really lock your door," Damon announced as he strode from the front hallway and into the living room where Elena was sat with an angry pout on the couch. Not like a child, more like an infuriated person who could do little more than pout at her problem, now manifesting in human form thanks to Damon's presence. "Oh, come on, pouty. At least give me two points for ingenuity," Damon said before getting whacked in the shoulder by his younger sister.

"Ow," Damon groaned dramatically, gaze swinging to the sister at his side, with a glare that only a little sister could ever have.

"Quit it you idiot," Sarah warned. "That's not helping."

"And locking me in my house is?" Elena snapped, her pity glare switching over to Sarah now.

"Hey, don't go throwing that attitude my way," Sarah snapped back, finger pointing back to Elena as she advanced. "Not only did I vote against this jailhouse idea, but I was there with you in Richmond, trying to help you open up a dialogue with Klaus. So how about you think twice before snapping at the one person who's been helping you get your own way."

Elena backed down at that, even going as far as to slide a little further along the couch, needing to get some distance between her and Sarah's furious eyes. It went quiet for a moment after that, Elena now truly acting like a child as she folded her arms, looking away from her cross mom and dad. Or in this case Sarah and Damon. "What does Stefan say about this?" Elena grumbled out.

"We had a good laugh," Damon chimed in smugly.

"Shut it," Sarah snapped once more, glaring at her brother over her shoulder. He was still stood happily in the archway between the living room and the sitting room, grinning away as he got his jabs in where he could. He was determined to piss as many people off as he could in life, Elena specifically today, for whatever reason.

"Did you tell him about Elijah, or his sister for that matter?" Elena then asked, the two vampires' attention going back to her. They shared a look before Sarah sat down next to Elena, Damon more than happy to stay where he was.

"No, we didn't tell him about either of them," Sarah explained gently to Elena as she sat down next to her, hands coming together on her lap.

"Why not?" Elena asked, a little more calmly now.

"Because he's having a bad enough…" Sarah stopped herself, seeing the look of panic over Elena's face that formed at the first sign of trouble. "What I mean is, he's got Katherine to deal with at the moment. He's trapped and can't get out. So there's no point in telling him about Elijah, or his sister, when he can't do anything about it. Right now his world is confined to that tomb. What's in it, is his problem, everything outside can wait until he gets out," Sarah explained, meeting Elena's eye to make sure she understood where she and Damon were coming from about this.

She did understand. She didn't like it, and would rather tell Stefan everything, but it wasn't like she could do that either. Limiting Stefan's knowledge for the time being was the right decision. If anything it'd help him get through this. Plus anything they told him, Katherine knew too, and Sarah was glad that for once she knew something Katherine didn't. Call it petty, but she wanted to keep that tiny bit of leverage for as long as she could.

"So how much longer till we can get him out then?" Elena asked, a worry line appearing along her forehead at the thought of the answer.

"As soon as Bonnie's done with the moon stone…or until I convince her to reprioritise?" Sarah said allusively as her eyes left Elena's.

"No, Sarah. Don't mess with Bonnie, please," Elena begged, not wanting to deepen the rift that already existed between her two friends. Sarah however, made a non-committal noise, not really caring what Bonnie felt about her. All she wanted to do was get her brother away from Katherine, and if that involved strong arming Bonnie, then so be it. Not even Elena could sway her from that goal.

"Speaking of which, where is the wicked witch of Mystic Falls?" Damon asked aloud, making a show of looking around as Jeremy walked into the room from the kitchen.

"I thought she was meeting you two," Jeremy said as he approached the couch, Elena and Sarah were sat on, resting his hands on the back of it as he came to a stop.

"No, she's on moonstone duty, which puts me and my sister on Elena patrol," Damon explained with a click and a nod towards Elena who rolled eyes at the gesture.

"So Scarlett's dealing with Tyler and the full moon alone?" Jeremy asked, not sounding too fond of the idea. In fact if anything he sounded worried, but he should know better by now. Sarah did after all. Scarlett was a girl who was more than capable of handling Tyler. And in any case, she had back up.

"No, Caroline's with her," Sarah spoke up, prompting a frown from Elena, who apparently didn't know about this.

"And if she happens to get bit, then that's one less headache for me," Damon said with a happy shrug, to which Sarah shot him a glare. Not finding his joke funny in the slightest.

"Hold on a second. Tonight's the full moon?" Elena exclaimed.

"Yep, but you were to absorbed with all your suicidal tendencies to notice," Damon said snidely as he pulled out his ringing phone, answering it as he walked off into the sitting room. "What?" he said into the phone, having glanced at the caller id before answering.

"What's going–?" Elena began to ask Sarah before the vampire shushed her, focusing her hearing on Damon's phone.

"Sheriff Forbes has officially declared Mason Lockwood a missing person," Alaric said from the other end of the phone.

"What? Why?" asked Damon, saying what Sarah was also thinking.

"Some girl from Florida showed up on the Lockwood's door step looking for Mason," Alaric explained, causing both Damon and Sarah to frown. Seeing this, Elena asked once more what was going on but Sarah waved her off, trying to maintain her focus so that Damon couldn't cut her out the loop like they had with Stefan. She couldn't well have him holding all the cards and acting like the all knowing big brother she knew he wasn't.

"What girl?"

"I don't know but she sure got everyone in a tizzy," Alaric answered.

"That's not good. Where are you?"

"I'm at the Grill."

"I'm on my way," Damon said, before hanging up and looking over to his sister. When their eyes met, he knew she'd heard everything. It didn't bother him, it just spoiled his fun for a bit. But he could stay here and have more 'fun' with Elena while she went to talk to the mystery girl.

Standing up, Sarah walked over to meet her brother as he walked back into the living room. "Change of plans. You and Scrappy's chew toy are babysitting the drama queen," Damon shot out, pointing to both Sarah and Jeremy before then pointing to Elena. Jeremy was fine with this, happily flopping down on his sister's lap as she glared up at Damon. Annoyed at being treated even more like an infant child than she already was.

Sarah however, started to frown in a mixture of protest, and confusion. "Hold on a second, don't you think I'd be better of talking to the new possible wolf in town?"

"There's another werewolf in town?" Jeremy spoke up, he and Elena staring at the two vampires who were now completely ignoring them, focused on each other and their own conversation.

"Why's that?" Damon asked, playing dumb.

"Well, let's see," Sarah began sarcastically. "I'm the one who helped Scarlett through her initial phase as a werewolf. I'm the one who gave her guidance, a home, and support which continues to this day. And you're the one who kicked her out the house and continues to piss her off, to this day."

"Except I'm the one who let her back into the house," Damon argued with a matter-of-fact face.

"Yeah, which was a few days after you kicked her out. You get pissed off and then it takes you days to calm down. Face it, I'm better equipped to handle this," Sarah explained pointedly as she lifted her knowing brow at Damon.

"Those are all excellent points, my little sister. Except you missed one very important point," Damon said, smug smile forming.

"What?"

"I'm not planning on talking to her," Damon said, smug smile solidifying before he turned to walk out the house, leaving a stunned Sarah in the archway. "Stay with her," Damon said over his shoulder, motioning between Sarah and Elena, before then honeying in on Elena. "And you, maybe get out, enjoy the sun… Oh wait, you can't," Damon finished smugly as he reached for the door.

With a scowl, Elena threw a couch cushion towards Damon, but it fell short by quite a bit. Both Damon and Jeremy laughed before Elena then shoved Jeremy off her and onto the floor. He groaned in mild pain before then sitting up. Only to get pushed back down as Elena placed her feet on Jeremy's chest, keeping him down. "Brothers are so annoying," Elena muttered towards Sarah.

"Preaching, sister," Sarah said with an agreeing look as she turned back around to Elena.

"So what do you guys want to do?" Jeremy spoke up from the floor.

"Well," Elena said, pushing down on Jeremy's chest with her feet, causing him to cough a little. "Me and Sarah are going up to my room." Elena then stood up, leaving one foot on her brother. Once she was up, she pushed down one last time, hard, before then storming off into the sitting room.

"Great I'll come with you," Jeremy said, deliberately playing dumb as he jumped up to his feet.

Sarah wasn't a fool, she could see the prearranged plan at play here. There was obviously a reason Damon had decided to come here and bring her along. And he'd been so sly about it, making her think she wanted this too. _Craft bastard_. As Sarah could now see, the plan wasn't just to keep Elena trapped and watch her, it was to watch her too. To make sure she wasn't helping Elena while she was trapped inside. But Damon was gone now, and that left Jeremy against her and Elena. Which made him very outmatched for a number of reasons.

"No," Sarah said, hand pushing him back when he tried to follow. "We're going to have some 'girl' time. So you go to your room, or head outside, basically do whatever you want."

"I want to hang out with you guys," Jeremy said, voice betraying him as insistence seeped in.

"I really don't know what Scarlett sees in you," Sarah murmured before meeting Jeremy's eye once more, plastering on a smile as she let her inner devil crawl out for some fun. "Let me make this clear. Me and Elena, are going up stairs to chat. You, aren't coming. You are going to leave us alone. Otherwise you won't be seeing Scarlett for…let's say a week, since she'll be grounded."

"You can't–" Jeremy began, finding amusement in her threats.

"I'm the closest thing that girl has to a parent right now. I am the authority she answers too. So, yeah, I can ground her. I can ban her form seeing you. And believe me, I can make it a whole lot worse than that if you really piss me off, Jeremy. So what's it going to be?" Sarah asked with a pleasant smile.

For a moment all Jeremy could do was stare back, mouth opening slowly before he finally got out, "I think I'll just hang out down here for a while."

"Good choice," Sarah said with a mocking smile before turning to follow Elena up to her room. "Remind me to pass that one onto Jenna, in case she ever needs to use it on those two," Sarah whispered to Elena who chuckled as they climbed the stairs together.

* * *

As Caroline drove along, the road switched from small town buildings, to open roads and then onto forests as she took them all towards the tomb. Scarlett was in the backseat, sat happily with her arm propped against the window, holding up her head as her eyes watched her small little world go by. And yet she had so many problems. She was still trying to figure out how to tell Jeremy about Mason, she was lying to Tyler about half her life – the vampire part – and she was still feeling immensely guilty over Stefan being trapped in the tomb.

Somehow though, she managed to sit peacefully and enjoy the ride. One little piece of quiet in the storm that was her life. And with the full moon set to rise in a few hours, it was about to get a whole lot crazier.

When the car jolted to a stop, Scarlett lifted her head, seeing that Caroline had stopped the car. Nobody said anything though, another reason the journey had been peaceful. With Tyler worrying about his uncle, and Caroline and Scarlett feeling guilty for knowing, no one had been in much of a talking mood, which made Scarlett even more amazed at the fact she'd been able to zone out and just be.

Tyler climbed out first, Scarlett following before they both made their way around to the back were Caroline popped open the trunk. "You know, maybe he just stopped to go surf somewhere. Isn't that Mason's whole thing?" Caroline asked, looking back through the car as Tyler leaned into the trunk with Scarlett stood beside him.

"Maybe," Tyler mumbled, grabbing his duffle before handing Scarlett hers as Caroline climbed out the car. "This girl just seemed to think he would have called," Tyler explained, uncertainty in his voice as he closed the trunk and Caroline locked the car.

"I'm sure he's okay," Caroline offered.

"Besides, we should be focusing on you right now. Wherever Mason is, he's probably already ready for this," Scarlett said as she placed her hand on Tyler's shoulder, offering him a smile that made her stomach turn. Some friend she was.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Tyler sighed before taking a heavy breath. "All right…let's do this," Tyler said before leading the way towards his family cellar. Scarlett and Caroline sharing another awkward look before following, both hoisting their respective bags over their shoulders.

Once inside, Scarlett and Tyler quickly got to work setting up. Tyler had already shown the video of Mason's first full moon and the diary he kept to Scarlett, containing notes on the ideal set up to restrain a werewolf on the night they turn. Scarlett had objected to many of the ideas in the book, but when she failed to come up with anything better, Tyler decided he was going to follow his Uncle's method. In Scarlett's opinion though, it looked like it would just make things a whole lot worse.

"Give it a pull will you?" Tyler asked, handing Scarlett a long chain that he'd just finished hooking up to the wall. With a nod, Scarlett took a tight grip and pulled. It remained tethered to the wall. She tapped into a bit of her supernatural strength and still nothing. Then she yanked with all her force only to find her body sudden jerk to a halt, unable to pull any further.

"That should do it," Scarlett groaned out, letting the tension leave her body as she let the chain fall loose in her grip. She then looked around at all the other chains that were hanging from the walls and trailing across the floors like silver snakes. It seemed a little overkill, the amount of chains being used to hold Tyler in place, or rather the wolf he'd become.

"You brought the wolfsbane, right?" Tyler asked, looking over to Caroline who was stood in the entrance, watching while the other two finished setting up the series of chains.

"Yes," Caroline answered. Snapping from her thoughts now that she'd been asked a question. "Not an easy herb to find," she added as she made her way over to her bag. Tyler and Scarlett crowding around her, watching as she pulled out a small ziplock bag. Inside was the werewolf equivalent of vervain. Wolfsbane. It had no effect on Caroline however, so she easily pulled it out, lifting it up by the stem to show them. "This is it."

Tyler then reached forward to grab it only for Scarlett to slap his hand away. "Ow!" Tyler snapped, shaking his hand to fight of the sting of pain, glaring at Scarlett as she glared back at him like he was an idiot. Because he was one.

"Trust me, the wolfsbane would have hurt worse," Scarlett grumbled.

"So this is definitely it?" Caroline asked, needing to be sured.

"Yes, that's wolfsbane," Scarlett confirmed.

"My water bottle's in my bag, we can mix it in there," Tyler said with a nod to his bag.

"Hold on, you're not seriously going to drink that?" Scarlett exclaimed, eyes following Tyler as he walked back over to check the chains once more.

"It's the only way to keep my strength down," Tyler said with a shrug as if that was it. "I don't want to risk breaking free of these chains," Tyler explained, holding up one of the chains as he said so. "Guy at the hardware store said they should hold up to five thousand pounds."

"Is that more than a werewolf can pull?" Caroline asked, shaking Tyler's water bottle as she placed the wolfsbane inside. She was looking at Scarlett when she asked the question, as was Tyler now that he wanted to hear the answer.

"I don't know," Scarlett answered after a moment, meeting Tyler's eye. "But from what I can tell normal werewolves are stronger and faster as wolves. It's different for me though so I guess we'll find out tonight."

"Yeah, well… I'm not taking any chances," Tyler said as he gave the chains a few more tugs, before heading over to tightened the bolts that held the chains in place. After that there was a silence. Scarlett could have argued some more with Tyler about how stupid he was for taking wolfsbane and basically poisoning himself but things were already hard enough for him as it was. She had to let him do what he felt was best, and truthfully, she didn't know all that much about turning on a full moon herself. She'd only done it once and it had been sudden. She'd had no idea it was coming. Tyler did, and he done what he could to prepare. Scarlett never needed to do that. From now on, it was a case of trail and error. Finding the method that was right for him so that he could get through each full moon for the rest of his life.

"Hey, Tyler, how are you doing?" Caroline asked quietly.

"Still human," Tyler said flippantly before making his way past Scarlett and Caroline to the other side of the cellar. From there he started to strip and Scarlett respectfully looked away, like anyone would for her. Caroline though, had been unaware of what Tyler was doing and turned around, only to gasp when she saw Tyler pulling his shirt off.

"Oh my god, you're not gonna get naked, are you?" Caroline exclaimed in a very girlish manor.

"It's elastic," Tyler spoke up. Both girls turned, looking down at Tyler's lower half to see him wearing sports styled shorts. He pulled at the waist band and then let it bounce back against his waist, the shorts remaining in place. It was smart, Scarlett had to admit, especially when he couldn't change on command like her. Definitely preferable to standing around, chained up and naked all night.

"I don't think it's like the Hulk, where I get to keep my pants," Tyler joked, even managing to grin a little as he continued to remove his unnecessary cloths, folding them as he placed them off to the side.

"What about you?" Caroline asked looking to Scarlett. "What are you going to do? I mean are you going to turn or…?"

"No," Scarlett said with a firm shake of the head. "I'm in complete control. I won't feel a need to change like Tyler." She left out the explanation about how she was able to stay in control, thanks to her necklace. She still didn't want to give that secret away, not unless she absolutely had too. But looking at Tyler now, and how tense he was, she couldn't help but wish she could help him. To show him it wasn't as bad as he thought, that being a wolf could be a magical experience. That's what she thought of when she thought of the transformation. It was just a small part of another wise life changing experiencing. For Tyler though, it was just a torture process he was going to have to endure every month. Scarlett could only hope that after tonight he'd at least feel better about it all.

* * *

During Sarah's time in Elena's bedroom, they got up to very little. They talked about ideas of escape, starting of serious before going into full on insanity. One idea had even included digging through the foundations of the house to see if they could tunnel under Bonnie's barrier spell. Another had been for Sarah to develop flight and just fly them up into the sky, allowing them to both escape and get Klaus' attention.

When they caught Jeremy listening in, they both proceeded to tease him, thinking aloud of ways to make his and Scarlett's lives even more miserable. Eventually he caught on and after some shouting, Jenna arrived on the scene. She'd ordered them all to knock it off as she had people coming over and then the door bell had rang. Sarah almost laughed when Jenna then sent both Elena and Jeremy to their rooms, declaring she didn't want to hear another peep out of them. What was surprising was they actually went along with her orders. Both shooting each other a glare before heading into their respective bedrooms. Jenna asked Sarah to keep and eye on them and she promised she would before heading back into Elena's room.

They locked the bathroom door to Jeremy's room, making it so he could go in there to listen in on them while they were in Elena's room. Not that they spoke about anything he'd be interested in. It was mostly just catching up on school work and killing time, with the occasional moan about Damon, whether it was about him locking Elena up, or how he was about to confirm every teen drama book that said vampires and werewolves were mortal enemies.

Eventually though, Elena got hungry, and said they needed to go down and get something to eat. In truth, Sarah was a little hungry herself, but for blood more than food. But food would subside her bloodlust for now, at least until later tonight, when she could grab herself a human sized blood bag.

Following Elena down stairs, the two found Jenna knelt down in front of the cupboard beneath the stairs, sorting through several boxes that had been cramped inside. "Hey, what are you doing?" Elena asked as she and Sarah came to a stop, looking down at the older woman.

"Hiding away evidence of your various murders?" Sarah suggested with a smirk.

"Ha, ha," Jenna said sarcastically as she glanced up at the two grinning teenagers. "Since you're both here though," Jenna said before grabbing a box and shoving into Sarah's hands. "You can help," Jenna said, grinning now that the tables had turned before she handed another box full of paper to Elena.

"Seriously though, what is this stuff, Jenna?" Elena asked, frowning down at the box in her hands along with Sarah.

"Your mom's files from the Historical Society. I got roped into helping Mrs. Lockwood," Jenna explained as she bent down to pick up one last box. However, she then continued, voice raising as she said, "And by roped, I mean very excited to participate." As Jenna finished her proclamation, she kicked the cupboard door closed and the door swung aside to reveal Elijah and Amelia stood in the kitchen.

Sarah's box slid from her hands, landing with a 'thud' against the floor, jaw dropping as Elena jumped in shock from next to her, almost dropping her own box in the process but somehow managing to hold onto it despite what she was seeing. Both the Original vampires smiled back in greeting, Elijah stood along side his sister who was stood by the island in the kitchen, cup of coffee in hand.

"Hello, I'm Amelia, and this is my brother," Amelia said, gesturing to her brother as if the two had never met Sarah or Elena before.

"Elijah, it's a pleasure to meet you both," Elijah added. Sarah and Elena just continued to stare, waiting for either to make their move. They were so focused on the Originals – and what had to be an act they were putting on – that they didn't notice Jenna coming right towards them.

"Jeeze, Sarah. This stuff is delicate you know," Jenna grumbled, annoyed at Sarah for dropping the box so carelessly. Still all Sarah could do was stare at the Originals, until she caught movement and her eyes moved down to find Jenna picking up the box.

"I'm…sorry," Sarah said, still recovering from the sight of the Originals. Her gaze moved back to them as Jenna stood back up, and yet the two were still smiling as if this were their first encounter.

"What…What are they doing here?" Elena asked, voice shaking as Jenna walked into the kitchen, placing the box she'd taken from Sarah down before walking back out into the hallway to collect the other box from her niece.

"Elijah and Amelia are in town doing research on Mystic Falls," Jenna explained, sounding genuinely interested as she took the box from Elena. Sarah would have given her prompts on her acting, had it not been for the fact she was referring to two of the oldest vampires in history.

"Jenna's told us a lot about you, Elena," Amelia said, stepping in to the hallway, her brother behind her. "It's nice to finally meet you," she said, holding out her hand for Elena to shake. Elena stared at it, and Amelia stared at her, waiting. All while Sarah and Elijah had a staring match of their own, Sarah's foot sliding forward an inch, ready to defend herself and her friends should he or his sister try to hurt them. He seemed unthreatened, though clearly noticed the movement. Simply smiling and waiting like his sister.

Eventually Elena did take Amelia's hand, shaking it lightly as she met the blue eyed vampire's gaze. They quickly broke apart though, when Jenna walked back in, standing along side Elena as she turned to face the two Original vampires. "So you're both more then welcome to stay here and rummage through this stuff, or Elena, Sarah and I could help you load it into your car?" Jenna suggested.

"That's very kind," Amelia began in that polite voice of hers, meeting Jenna's eye. "But it's late and we've already bothered you all enough as it is. Would it be all right if we sent someone to collect it tomorrow?" It was hard to believe the same woman saying all this had literally ripped out another man's heart not that long ago.

"Yeah, sure, whatever works best for you," Jenna said with a nod as she smiled back.

"Excellent," Amelia said said happily as she followed Jenna towards the door with Elijah right behind her.

"And thank you so much for inviting us into your home, Jenna," Elijah added. Sarah eyes closed at that remark, cringing as she realised what had been right in front of her the whole time. She should have realised it when she first saw them inside the house, but she'd been so thrown of by them even being there, she hadn't realised what it truly meant. Now that they'd been invited in. They could come and go as they pleased and Elena's home was no longer safe for her.

"And Elena," Elijah then added, turning around with his sister to face Elena and Sarah one last time. "We hope to see you again sometime soon."

"And you too of course, Sarah," Amelia then added when her brother didn't.

"Yes, of course," Elijah agreed, a pointed look Sarah's way before they both then turned and bid goodnight to Jenna, heading out before she shut the door behind them.

"Get Jeremy, now," Sarah hissed to Elena who quickly nodded before they both set of in determined, and truthfully frightened, strides. Sarah headed for the door where Jenna was still stood, while Elena turned and raced up the stairs at an appropriate speed for Jenna. "I'm just gonna head, so I'll catch you later, all right," Sarah said as she forced on a friendly face for the confused Jenna who was a little surprised by Sarah's sudden departure.

"Oh, all right. See ya then," Jenna said as Sarah opened the door, flashing her one last smile before pulling the door shut behind her. She then turned, scanning the street for the Originals only to find them gone. She went to march off the porch, ready to try and follow them, when suddenly she was hoisted up off her feet, a steel like hand around her throat.

Then she saw who was holding her, the man in the sharp suit, with a dark eyed glare that looked up into her shocked green eyes. Elijah. Before she could make a noise, he placed his firm finger to his lips, indicating for her to be quiet. With a croak of pain, Sarah nodded her head, showing she understood. Elijah smiled slightly, corners turning up just enough for Sarah to see. Then the world passed by in a blur and Sarah found herself back in Elena's bedroom, still held up by Elijah's powerful hand around her throat.

A gasp from across the room caught her attention and Sarah looked through the corner of her eye, spotting Elena by the door, Amelia stood beside her. "Please, don't hurt her," Elena begged loudly, but not so loud as to catch the attention of her brother or aunt.

"Elijah," was all Amelia said, with a not so persuading look to her brother. He smiled back before not so forcefully throwing Sarah towards Elena's bed were she landed, sinking into the mattress before it pushed her back out.

Whipping her hair form her face, Sarah growled at the smug looking Elijah before she vamp speeded back up to her feet, ready to lung at him until suddenly Amelia was between them both. "Think very carefully before you cross us, Miss Salvatore," Amelia warned. The polite and friendly look in her eyes now glossed over by a hard steel like glare. "I should rip out your heart right now for what you did to my brother back in that grungy, rundown, excuse of a building." The darkness to her words made Sarah back up as Amelia advanced on her. "But, I'm no stranger to misunderstandings, and so me and my brother are here to have a little chat with Elena. And we've both decided it would be best to include you in that discussion."

"However," Elijah cut in as he stepped up to Amelia's side. "Should you try anything along the lines off, say…idiotic violence, then we shall be forced to remove you. Permanently."

"She won't," Elena answered as she stepped over to join Sarah by her bed. Looking over to her as she asked, "Right?"

Sarah stared at her for a moment, before then looking over to Amelia, and then Elijah. She nodded. "But we're just talking. She's not going anywhere with you two, and no one's making any decisions right now," Sarah said firmly as she met the two Original's eyes.

"As I'm sure it will become quite clear, that's all we want too," Elijah explained in a very diplomatic manor, hand gestures and all.

"All right then," Elena said after a pause. "Let's talk."

"Excellent," Amelia said, smiling alongside her brother as they faced of against confused and curious, Sarah and Elena.

* * *

After Scarlett helped Tyler chain himself up, they could do nothing more than wait. Tyler said they could go if they wanted to, but he already knew what Scarlett and Caroline would choose. They'd made it perfectly clear by now. So they sat together by the exit to the cellar, while Tyler sat, stood, and paced around the cellar for the next few hours. Or at least he did those things in the restricted area that his chains kept him confided too. When he'd first been hooked up, he gave a few experimental tugs. Even tried running out with all his strength which ended up with him choking himself until he stepped back.

The chains were solid. But even so Tyler was obviously still concerned about breaking them. Scarlett was confident they'd hold. She'd tested them herself and they'd been fine. It might be different once he changes, but odds are he'd still be trapped in the cellar. If not, she'd hold him down herself. She wasn't afraid of another werewolf, and his bite wouldn't be fatal to her. Just people like Caroline.

It was a long wait. Little conversation occurring other than small talk, as it felt like tension was being pumped into the cellar like toxic gas. It really was just a waiting game, doing what they could to distract themselves from what could happen at any moment. Caroline was playing with her fingers, Scarlett with her necklace, and Tyler was pacing around the cellar, every now and then glancing up at the roof as if to see how high the moon was.

"What time is it?" he abruptly asked.

Scarlett had no idea, but Caroline quickly retrieved her phone, glancing at the screen before answering. "Almost eight." A pause as she put her phone away. "What time does the moon…crest, or what ever?" Caroline asked, shaking her head as she lowered it, feeling silly for how she worded her question.

"Not for a while," Tyler answered, and yet again Scarlett was hit with a wave of guilt. He'd obviously been looking all this up. Everything to do with a full moon, all while she'd been skating through this werewolf thing because she didn't have to deal with any full moon drama. She should know all this stuff about the moon. Heck Jeremy probably did. It's just that it never effected her. Until now that is, watching Tyler go through it all. It was almost like she was going through it for the first time herself, properly.

"Mason's journal said the first transformation can happen before the moon hits its apex," Tyler then added, still pacing around the room with the loose chains dragging across the stone floor behind him. Rattling all the while. A nerves swallow told Scarlett he was still terrified. Nothing had changed on that front. He was doing well though, keeping himself together. Even so, Scarlett could still see the tears in the corner of his eyes, and the lower lip that trembled every now and then. _God this was hard to watch_.

"Does it say how long you'll actually be a wolf?" Caroline asked.

"Probably for a few hours," Scarlett answered before Tyler could. Her eyes glazed over as she stared off into a corner of the cellar. She still couldn't remember much of her first transformation, but from what Sarah had told her it had been a good few hours she was a wolf. At least that was her theory after spending most of the night running from her, until she found her in the woods the next morning. She could hardly say all that out loud at the moment but she figured it was helpful to both Tyler and Caroline if she just left her answer at that. To go into more detail, might just scare them both.

They went back to silence then, until Tyler began to make his way over, going to sit down beside them. Scarlett slid over to give him space before he suddenly collapsed to all fours. He hadn't collapsed though, it was his chains, stopping him from going any further. Gritting his teeth, Tyler gave a pull, before remembering how strong the chains were and quickly giving up.

"Do you want me to undo those?" Scarlett suggested. Tyler shook his head though, before his eyes moved over to the wolfsbane water bottle. He grabbed it before Scarlett could object, and then let the chains pull him back before walking back across the cellar's stone floor.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Caroline spoke up, a nervous whine to her voice.

"Yeah," Tyler said in a certain, but shaky voice. "Like I said, it'll diminish my strength. Make it harder for me to break free." He glanced over at them both. Neither looked confident or in fact comfortable with this idea. Truth was he wasn't confident either, Scarlett could tell by his racing heart. Despite that though, he still unscrewed the top and held the bottle to his lips. It was another few seconds though before he finally took a drink.

It was only when he lifted the bottle up, and the poisons liquid began to slid down his throat that Scarlett realised how utterly insane this all was. She stood up, along with Caroline, both watching in horror as he tried to force down the contents of the bottle, only for him to then throw it all back up as he dropped down onto his knees.

The sizzling of his scorched mouth began to fill the air as the two women quickly rushed to his side. Caroline trying to sooth him, rubbing his back, while Scarlett went to snatch the water bottle from his clutches. "No," he groaned out, tears of pain flying from his eyes as he tightened his grasp on the bottle.

"Give me the damn bottle, Tyler," Scarlett ordered, still trying to pry it from his grasp.

"No!" Tyler shouted, lifting his head as he pushed back Caroline, meeting Scarlett's gaze. She felt sorry for him, she truly did. And she wanted to help however she could, but she wasn't going to let him do this, it was too hard to watch.

"I'm not going to let you poison yourself! I'd don't care if it's what Mason says is best, because he's not here. I am. And I'm telling you, this isn't helping!" Scarlett roared in emotion as she yanked the bottle from his grasp. He stared up at her, still in pain from the wolfsbane, but seemed to back down at her orders. Accepting them.

"I'm going to get rid of this," Scarlett said, holding up the bottle before looking over to Caroline. "Keep him comfortable and calm until I get back." Caroline nodded, before Scarlett marched out, leaving the vampire to comfort the werewolf, who was still crying in pain. There's an image Scarlett hadn't expected to see again in her life, her mind flashing back to when she first turned, and how Sarah was there for her. _Guess lightning really can strike twice_ , Scarlett thought as she left the cellar, disposing of the poisonous wolfsbane.


	22. By the Light of the Moon

_Review responses:_

Only reviewer: _Yeah, they really should have told Jenna everything sooner. Sure she would have been freaked, but it would have been way easier to protect her. And Jules will be just as bad here as she is in the show, so you've been warned. And I think Elena and Elijah did some sensible things...sort of. Maybe more civilised than sensible._

 _So here's the second part of By the Light of the Moon. Hard hitting chapter for both Sarah and Scarlett here, for different reason though, as you'll soon see._

 _I also wanted to let you all know that I'm going to have to go back to two week gaps again, since university is coming up and I'm kinda bricking it. Hopefully around Christmas I'll get back to a weekly upload, but in order to balance my education and still produce decent writing, I need the extra time. Sorry if this disappoints any of you, hopefully I'll be able to make it up to you all down the road. Until then, please enjoy the story!_

 _And a quick thank you to all the new favourites and follows on both this story and others!_

* * *

 **Chapter 22: By the Light of the Moon**

* * *

"Forgive the intrusion. Me and my sister mean your family no harm," Elijah said to Elena, as he made himself comfy on the seat by Elena's window, leaning back against an arrangement of cushions while Amelia stood in front of Elena's mirror. Her blue eyes calm and tense free, much like her brother's darker ones, the opposite to the suspicious Sarah and Elena.

"Why did you kill those vampires back in Richmond when they tried to take me?" Elena asked, taking a step so that she was stood alongside Sarah at the end of her bed, facing the two Originals with an equal distance to them as Sarah. A united front against theirs, as opposed to Stefan and Damon who were forever shoving her behind them.

"Because we didn't want you to be taken," Elijah answered smoothly with a cool gaze to match the ever confusing look of Elena and Sarah.

"As I'm sure you're already aware," Amelia interjected, hands going into her jacket pockets as she spoke. "Klaus is the most feared and hated of the Originals. But those that fear him are also often desperate for his approval," Amelia explained.

"And if word were to get out that the doppelgänger exists, there'd be a line of vampires eager to take you to him and we can't have that," Elijah concluded, both smiling in unsettling unison as Sarah and Elena stared back.

"Hold on…you don't want to take her to Klaus?" Sarah asked, brow as low as it could possibly go.

"No," Amelia answered with a light shake of the head.

"Why not?" Elena responded, frowning along with Sarah as she watched the two Originals.

"Let's just say that our goal is not to break the curse," Elijah said elusively.

"So what the hell is your goal then?" Sarah asked, eyes moving between the two older vampires.

"Klaus's obsession has made him paranoid. He's a reclusive. He trusts only those in his immediate circle," Elijah continued to elaborate.

"Like you two?" Elena asked.

The two Originals shared a look, a brief but noticeable one before they looked back to their hosts. "Not anymore," Amelia answered, something like sadness linger in her voice, but the flash of fire in those blue eyes said otherwise.

"You're still yet to explain what this has to do with your goal," Sarah stated bluntly, still waiting for her answer. The two Originals stared back, somewhere between amused, and dismissive of her rudeness. However, Elena stepped forward from beside her, a knowing look forming as she pieced it all together.

"You don't know where he is, do you?" The look from the two Originals gave away their goal, something they obviously weren't happy about doing. Elena backed up to stand in line with Sarah, folding her arms as she decided looked away. She could see trying to out think the Originals wasn't going to do her any favours. Better to take a step back and try again.

"So you're trying to use me to draw him out," Elena said, looking back to the Originals.

"Well to do that we need you to stay put and stop trying to get yourself killed," Elijah said flippantly as he leaned back against the window frame, forcing a smile to his lips.

"And why should we trust you?" Sarah asked, attitude unable to stay out of her voice.

"Because if we wanted to take Elena then all her family would be dead – yourself included – and we'd be taking her to Klaus as we speak," Elijah said not so passive aggressively as he smirked back towards Sarah who sneered in response, not amused by his tone.

"What my brother means to say," Amelia stepped in, literally taking a step forward. "Is that we're not here to harm any of Elena's family or friends, or so that we can take her to Klaus for his praise and approval. We're here for our own reasons, but our goals are similar to yours, Elena," Amelia explained as her gaze and speech focused on her. "That's why we're here and we're prepared to offer you a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Elena asked, intrigued by this idea.

"Do nothing," Elijah said simply as he stood up. The movement alone enough to make Elena and Sarah step back, reevaluating the situation as he stepped over to stand at his sister's side. Once they both realised it wasn't an attempt to threaten or intimidate them, they relaxed a little and Elijah then continued. "Do nothing, live your life, stop fighting and then, when the time is right, you, I and Amelia shall draw out Klaus together and we shall make sure your friends and family remain unharmed."

"And then what?" Sarah asked, brow once again lowered as she studied the Originals, waiting for the loop hole that benefited them greatly in this deal.

"Then we kill him," Elijah stated simply.

"Just like that?" Sarah replied unconvinced.

"Just like that," Elijah repeated confidently. "Me and my sister take great pride in our words. When we make a deal, we keep the deal," Elijah explained, more softer and friendly than before. Sarah was on to him though. She noticed the specific way he and his sister used words, the way they were careful to choose each and every one. She glanced over to Elena, wondering if she too had noticed, not that she seemed to display any concern.

"How are you gonna be able to keep everybody safe?" Elena asked curiously, making sure the two Originals could deliver what they were promising.

"We know about your friend Bonnie, the local witch as we understand it," Amelia began to explain, momentarily alarming Elena at the mention of her best friend. "We have friends nearby with similar gifts to her. Stronger than her, in fact."

"You know witches," Elena said, almost grudgingly as she nodded along, arms folded, thinking _, of course_. Just as Sarah was.

"Together, we can protect everybody that matters to you," Elijah stated.

Amelia then stepped forward to stand in front of Elena, blue eyed gaze locked onto the doppelgänger's. Next to her, Sarah tensed but Amelia barely even gave her a second glance, her focus entirely on the prize at hand. "So, do we have a deal?" Amelia asked, soft yet political smile at her lips.

Elena stared for a moment, eyes slowly lowering in thought while Amelia's remained firmly on her. Sarah's eyes continued to flick between her and Elijah, waiting to act in case Elena turned down this offer. She could see only one reason why she would, but she wasn't convinced Elena would have worked it out. Then again, she'd been smart enough to almost get to Klaus the other day.

Feeling the human's gaze on her, Sarah turned to meet Elena's soft brown eyes. She tried to communicate the missing piece of information to her through that look alone, but it was futile. She wasn't as close to her as Stefan and even he would struggle to get all that across in one look. Instead she just urged Elena to be cautious, but she seemed to find something else in Sarah's green eyes, as she turned back to the Originals.

"I need you to do one more thing for me," Elena declared.

"We're negotiating now?" Elijah asked, almost amused, but more so irritated, by the way Elena was acting. However, a swiftly raised hand from Amelia silenced him, her eyes remaining on Elena as her smile twitched ever so slightly.

"What is it?" Amelia asked calmly.

Elena looked to Sarah. "Her brother's trapped in a tomb, Stefan. A magical barrier prevents vampires from leaving. Would you be able to lift it so that he can leave?"

"Is that all?" Amelia questioned, giving nothing away.

"Yes," Elena answered.

"Then if that's all, I'd be happy to add it to the outline of our deal. What about you Elijah?"

"A tad tedious, but I suppose we can accommodate," Elijah said dismissively, more focused with making adjustments to his suit than anything else. Another twitch at Amelia's lips before she turned her attention back to Elena and Sarah. She held out her hand, and Elena hesitated for a moment before taking Amelia's hand, shaking it as she did her best to look happy. Still not fully able to trust what the Originals' were offering.

"One more thing you should probably know about," Sarah spoke up. Amelia turned to her, awaiting what she had to say with wide eyed curiosity. Her brother however, merely rolled his eyes as they found their way over to the younger vampire. "There's another vampire trapped in there with Stefan. Ideally we'd prefer it if she remained in the tomb. She's called Katherine Pierce."

Both Elijah and Amelia's eyes widened ever so slightly at the name. "Katerina," Elijah murmured before his sister swung around, steel blue eyes meeting his. Elijah merely smiled back at her mildly angry face, before then looking to Sarah. "Thank you very much for informing us. We shall see to it that your brother is released by the end of the night."

"And we will deal with Ms. Petrova," Amelia cut in harshly, very unlike the polite manor she'd been projecting the entire time.

And with that, Elijah began to make his way towards the door, Amelia in toll right behind him. Elena and Sarah watched them both go in silence, watching as they left the room before shutting the door behind them. They waited a few moments, then Elena let out a breath as she turned towards her friend. "I guess that went about as well as it could have."

Sarah stared back at Elena, thinking over everything to make sure she was right. Her gaze then lowered, shame drifting through her mind as she contemplated not speaking up. She could, she could say nothing and let it all play out. She and her family and everyone she cared about would be safe. Elijah and Amelia had promised, which was apparently a big deal to them. Everything would be fine. Except…

"You're going to die," Sarah said quietly, because she couldn't not say it. Elena had been a good friend to her, and had done so much for her brother. She might not owe her this much, but Sarah knew if she didn't say anything and Stefan ever found out, he'd never forgive her. So she spoke up and Elena frowned back at her.

"Excuse me?"

"The deal you just made," Sarah said as she lifted her gaze to meet Elena's. "Did you notice the wording? They said they'd protect your family and friends." Sarah paused, staring into Elena's brown eyes, making sure she fully absorbed everything and understood what she then said next. "They didn't say anything about you."

"I know," Elena admitted, and now Sarah was the one frowning at Elena.

"What'd you mean, 'you know'?"

"I know that whatever they have planned, there's a chance I'll die. That's why they didn't mention protecting me. They can't guarantee my safety. But they can guarantee the safety of everyone I care about, and honestly, that's all that matters to me," Elena explained firmly, eyes never wavering from Sarah's, who was admittedly a little shocked by all this. She'd know how determined Elena was before, but even then she'd stumbled. This was different to what happened at Slater's.

"You really are going to do it," Sarah said, as if realising what she'd already known.

"Yes. I am," Elena declared. "But this way there's a chance I might survive too. If Elijah and Amelia succeed in killing Klaus before he uses me in his ritual, then I'll be able to go back to my life."

"And if not you'll be dead," Sarah said, not in protest however, just as a fact she wanted to be sure Elena understood.

Elena nodded in agreement, smiling bravely. "Yeah… But everyone else, including you, gets to live. Both our families, and all our friends, will be safe. Because at the end of the day. Klaus will either get what he wants from me, or Elijah and Amelia will kill him. Either way, you're all out of the crossfire."

Sarah was speechless for a moment, unsure as what to say. On one hand she was unbelievably grateful for the sacrifice Elena was willing to make, to ensure that her family would survive and remain together. But at the same time…she wasn't sure she wanted to see Elena die. If she'd been okay with it, she would have staked Katherine back during the masquerade ball, killing both of them. But she hadn't. Because she did care. And that left her conflicted.

"Elena…"

"You don't need to say anything, Sarah," Elena said as she closed the gap between them, her fierce and passionate eyes coming even closer to Sarah's susceptible green ones. "I know what family means to you. Family means a lot to me too. And I care about your family too. Not just Stefan. But you too, and even Damon." Another brave smile. "I'm willing to take this risk for our families. And I know you'd do the same if you could. But it's me they all want. I'm the doppelgänger."

Then her bravery turned to a look of plea. "And I know this isn't fair of me, but I need you to keep quiet about all of this." Sarah tried to object but nothing came out of her mouth when it opened. "Promise me, Sarah," Elena said desperately as she took Sarah's hands in her own. Sarah glanced down, surprised by Elena's actions before looking back up into those eyes. Those begging, big brown eyes. "Promise you won't tell anyone. This has to be our secret. It's our only chance at protecting everyone we care about."

"I promise," Sarah said, lips moving on auto pilot.

Elena smiled back in pure gratitude, tears brimming around her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered.

"I should be thanking you," Sarah laughed out hollowly, sniffing as she realised she too was fighting off tears. It was strange. Looking at Elena and knowing she'd practically just agreed to her death, which could be months away, and yet still felt like it was a goodbye. One Sarah probably wasn't ready for if she was being honest with herself. She liked having Elena around, and if everything worked out, she'd probably love having her as a sister in law. She was practically like one already.

"You can do that after this is all over," Elena said before pulling Sarah into a much needed hug. Sarah complied, and knowing how much Elena needed it right now, she held on for as long as the young girl wanted. She had started down the path towards her own death, and sure she'd rather be with Stefan right now, holding onto her love. But somehow, it just felt right being in this moment with Sarah instead.

* * *

An hour had passed and still Tyler hadn't changed. There had been screams. Screams of immense pain. Bones cracking, limbs moving into unnatural places, fur sprouting over his skin. It was like the wolf was inside was still settling in. Figuring out how best to come out, how to change Tyler into his alternative form without killing him. Because that's what it looked like it had been doing at several points. He was in so much pain, and Scarlett could see in his eyes that he wanted to die. He'd even asked, shocking Caroline. But both firmly said no.

Now Tyler was on the floor, sprawled out in between the tidal waves of pain. There was a few short moments in which he could catch his breath. Moments like this.

Scarlett couldn't understand it though. On her first full moon she'd changed so quickly in comparison. Why was Tyler's taking so long. It couldn't be because of her necklace, she hadn't even had it at the time. What made her different, what made this horrible ordeal so much harder for him? No matter what the answer was, she wasn't getting it tonight, and even if she did know, she doubted it would help Tyler. Though she did have the power to do that. Right around her neck.

She looked down at the necklace, once again rolling the thin black crystal in between her thumb and finger. She could survive the change. She'd gone through it more than enough times now. She could spare Tyler from this pain. But that would mean trusting him with so much, her very weakness and power. Something he might very much want to keep for himself. Was sharing it really an option?

"I want to help but I don't know what to do," Caroline suddenly spoke up softly. Scarlett glanced over, finding the blonde cautiously approaching Tyler, playing with her fingers as she looked down at him sadly. Scarlett was the same, only she knew how to help, and was debating whether she should or not.

"There's nothing you can do," came Tyler's hoarse voice from the floor. He didn't even have the strength to roll his head over and look at them. This long night was slowly killing him. With a sorry and sad look Scarlett made her way over, kneeling down next to his head and in the process giving Caroline the courage to kneel down next to him too.

"Tyler. I know it hurts, but you have to push through it. If you don't, I don't know what will happen," Scarlett explained seriously. That's how she'd done it, powering through the change, even on her first night when it had hurt the most. She had to go through it, to fight it made her feel as if her body would be torn in two.

"I can't…I can't…" Tyler mumbled out through sobs, head brushing the floor as he shook it.

"Yes you can," Scarlett insisted as she leaned over. "I know you Tyler, and I know you're strong enough to do this. Just push, let the pain guide you through the change. I know it'll be incredibly painful, but once you get through it, I promise it'll get better. But you have to do this, Tyler. Please," Scarlett pleaded with him, not wanting to see any more of this. He just had to fight, to stand up and get through it. Then they could put this all behind them and move on.

Her words seemed to give him strength, as he placed his hands on the ground and began to push, push until his knees slid under and took the bulk of his weight. He was doing it, he was fighting. Scarlett motioned Caroline back and the two slid back to give Tyler more space. It was a struggle, you could hear it in his voice, the grunts and groan of a man trying. He closed his eyes, squeezed them shut, and then pushed on through.

The muscles along his back began to twist, moving before Scarlett and Caroline's very eyes. It was as if something was living inside him, trying to get out. In some ways, it was. Then the sound of his spin breaking echoed around them, making Caroline jump. Tyler cried out in pain, each section of his spine breaking up as it reshaped itself. His back arched inwards, a cry unlike any before rushing out from his stretched lips. His arms gave way and he collapsed to the ground, crying out as his limbs twisted this way and that, like he was possessed by a demon in some Hollywood movie.

"Get out!" Tyler shouted in between his cries. Not out of hate, but out of warning. "Get out! I don't want to hurt you."

"No!" Caroline snapped to Scarlett's surprise, as the vampire remained firmly stood.

"Get out!" Tyler shouted again.

"No!" Caroline shouted back, striding over and kneeling down next to his collapsed and breaking body. "I'm not leaving you," she declared, taking him in her arms and holding him, while still allowing him room to move should his body need it.

"Neither of us are," Scarlett added as she came back in, kneeling down beside Caroline.

The snapping bones and spasming muscles stopped for another moment. Either because the wolf inside was rethinking how best to come out or because Tyler had stopped trying to force the change. Scarlett wasn't sure which she preferred. "How are you feeling?" she asked softly, watching as Caroline carefully ran her hand through Tyler's hair, doing her best to comfort him.

"I'm burning," Tyler said quietly before his face contorted in more pain. "It burns!" Suddenly his arm swung out and both women skidded back to avoid it, only to find his arm was twist in an unnatural angel, fur sporting even more so than before. So much so his skin was almost missable beneath the hair. His hand was shifting to, bones inside breaking down as Tyler screamed, the hand shrinking in on itself. It didn't make it the whole way though, and then suddenly started to reform as the hair receded.

"Tyler, breathe. Just breathe through it, okay?" Caroline said above Tyler's cries.

"It's not working! Nothing's working!"

He was right, nothing that they were doing was working. Scarlett wasn't even convinced it was helping, but she had nothing to compare it to other than her own experience. And that had been under different circumstances as it was. She'd gotten through it though, had done so many times since. But Tyler was struggling to even get through his first full moon. Scarlett could see his body, withering away. It was taking so much out of him. His ribcage was showing through his skin, although she wasn't sure what that meant about the change. What she did know was that she could do this. Tyler was proving he wasn't ready. And seeing him like this, when she had the power to help. She couldn't take it. She had to do something. She would be fine no matter what, Tyler she wasn't as confident about.

Another cry of pain erupted from Tyler and Scarlett's mind was made up. "Tyler, listen to me," Scarlett said, crawling back over to his side. "I'm going to make this all better, okay. I'm going to show you how I control my change." He looked at her, a mix of betrayal and horror in his eyes. She had expected that, considering he was now thinking she'd been keeping it from him just for kicks. "But there's a catch. It means I'll have to change instead of you."

"No," Tyler blurted out without thinking, head shaking from more likely the pain and spasms than of his own will. "No, I can't put you through this."

"Except I've done it before, Tyler. I can handle it. You can't, not yet. But I'll help you, I'll make sure you're ready for the next full moon," Scarlett explained, looking him in the eye to let him know she could handle it. She was more than willing to take his place in this situation, at least until he was ready. He broke down quick enough, nodding frantically as he closed his eyes in shame.

"All right," he said so quietly it almost didn't register.

Scarlett nodded, before she tilted her head forward and began to undo the clasp to her necklace. "Scarlett," Caroline called out in alarm.

"It's all right, Caroline" Scarlett said with a look over to the nervous vampire. "I can do this." She finished removing the necklace, holding it out for Tyler to see. "This was my mother's necklace. It's the only thing left of her that I own. But it means more to me than that. It allows me to control my supernatural side, to change when I want without the full moons dictation. I'm going to put this on you and it should stop you from changing."

"But you'll start to change," Caroline pointed out, coming in to join them once more, kneeling beside them.

"Yes," Scarlett said as she put the necklace around Tyler's neck. "But I've got more experience than him. I know what I'm doing, and know I can handle it," Scarlett said firmly as she pulled away from Tyler, the necklace now hanging around his neck.

They waited a moment, all three staring at each other as they waited for a sign it had worked. For Tyler to say it had, for Scarlett to start changing, for some glow in the eyes between them. But there was nothing, a whole minute passed and nothing. "Is it working?" Caroline asked Tyler who had pushed himself up onto his arms.

"I don't–" was all Tyler got out before his back once again arch inwards and he cried out in pain, another snap of bone following.

"He's still changing!" Caroline shrieked as she grabbed hold of Tyler – holding onto him as he cried out – but still looking to Scarlett who stared on in shock. That wasn't right. He shouldn't still be changing. He should be in control, like she was. Able to chose if he changed or not. "Does it take time to work or something?" Caroline shouted over Tyler's screams.

"No," Scarlett said. "It should start working instantly. He shouldn't…" Scarlett's sentence fell short when Tyler's head shot up and then fell back down, amber eyes surrounded in darkness now meeting hers. Saliva dripping from the mouth as his jaw jerked this way and that, accommodating for the new teeth forming in his mouth.

"Run!" Tyler roared before he dropped onto the floor, limbs flying all over the place as his muscles twisted and reshaped, bones reforming inside him to take on his new shape. This was it, Scarlett could see it, she could feel it. This was the big one, the final one.

"Caroline, we need to get out of here, now!" Scarlett shouted as she backed away from the frantic Tyler.

"We can't just–" Caroline shouted back before Tyler snapped at her, teeth coming close to bitting her arm until she pushed herself back at the last second, screaming as she did.

"Caroline, run!" Scarlett shouted, grabbing her arm and yanking her up before both raced out in a blur, slamming the iron barred door shut behind them. Tyler had flipped over now, crawling around on all fours like a rabid animal with his nose to the ground as he sniffed out his prey. He then landed his bright amber eyes on Caroline and Scarlett. He let out a loud growl, teeth snapping as he charged across the room. Caroline was still fumbling about with the chain lock for the door but luckily Tyler's own chains stopped him before he could get close enough to bite Caroline.

However, one snapped in the process. He then quickly realised what was stopping him from getting at his prey and was back across the room in a blur, pulling at the chains that held him in place. And to Scarlett's horror, he actually managed to break two or three of them.

Finally Caroline finished the lock, backing up just in time as Tyler threw himself at the barred door, claw like hand reaching through as he tried to grab Caroline. He was truly more animal than man now, and with none of the self control that Scarlett normally had. Her necklace really was doing nothing for him. She felt horrible for giving him false hope, but quickly shoved it to the back of her mind as Tyler shook the bars that were separating him from his prey. Considering how easily he'd broken through those chains, Scarlett doubted the door would hold him for long.

"Caroline, come on," Scarlett said, but her words were barely heard over Tyler's incessant growling. So she grabbed Caroline's arm and pulled her out.

"I'm sorry," Caroline shouted back, but Scarlett doubted Tyler would remember anything after this point. She sure as hell didn't during her first change.

They got beyond the next door, this one made of solid wood, and pushed it shut, leaving Tyler alone to finish his change. It wasn't ideal, but he was too dangerous for either of them to be around now. Caroline began to cry, balancing her head against the heavy wooden door. Scarlett felt for her, she did, her empathy hitting a spike for some reason, but they had to secure Tyler. So the teenage werewolf quickly grabbed the wooden beam and lowered it into place, making sure the door wouldn't open until either herself or Caroline decided it was over.

But this only solved one of their problems.

"Caroline, you need to get out of here, right now," Scarlett said, staring at Caroline as she sniffed, slowly turning around. She was confused at first, until she gasped, seeing Scarlett's bright amber eyes glowing against a black background.

Already she could feel it, the full moon taking effect. The tingles had started, the ones that normally lead to change. but something was different than normal. The change was…slower. She'd felt the tingles since she first removed her necklace, her body preparing for the transformation. And yet by now, she would have finished, had she started to change from when she took her necklace off.

She tried to force it along, to encourage the process, but her body refused to let her go at her normal pace. Her mouth had already shifted per usual, accommodating for her canines, her hands turning to claws. But then they shifted back, as if it was all wrong. Too easy.

"What's happening?" Caroline asked, watching as Scarlett went through the motions of changing back and forth.

"My necklace… Tyler still…has it," Scarlett said, suddenly feeling sick as she hunched over, arms wrapping around her chest. _What the hell was this?_ She thought. The change had never been like this, not even her first, without the necklace. Surely it couldn't have been like this. She would have remembered if it was this–

The unnatural sound of snapping bone and muscle forced an aching scream from Scarlett as she collapsed onto her knees. Never, in all her changes since she became a werewolf, had turning felt like that. Sure bones had snapped before, and her body had been reshaped through a painful series of movements. But it had never been like this. The pain amplified, body breaking one piece at a time. The next bone breaking only after the second when you thought it might be alright.

Her back snapped inwards and her shoulders dropped, as if they'd been ripped from the sockets of her shoulder. She cried out, tears filling her eyes and blurring her changing vision. This wasn't changing. Not like she'd experienced it. This was unnecessary torture. Everything breaking over and over, in the most painful and dragged out way possible. Her gums ached, her limbs were twisted and pulled. Her bones poked her organs unnaturally, causing waves of pain at the slightest move, which was forced upon her in random spasms.

Her shifts had always been easy compared to this. Painful yes, but like any medical procedure she'd been able to brave it and power through, and after a few minutes she'd have changed. But now she couldn't power through. She was trying too, but her body wouldn't move the way it normally would when changing. She was being held back, forced to endure the cursed full moon. To suffer in her change rather than relish in it.

"I…can't…control it," Scarlett breathed out through clenched teeth, which she was certain were starting to bleed. For a second she even thought she'd bitten off her tongue, before realising that too was reshaping, twisting all the way down through her throat and making her want to throw up. She'd never noticed that part before, it had been one of the seamless parts of the transformation. But thanks to this slow torment, she was realising there were a lot of little details in her change from human to wolf that she'd never noticed before. Like her nails peeling off, as he fingers inverted inside her hands which turned to paws, bones inside crushing in on themselves. The same for her feet. Her skull shattered inside her own head, muscles stabbing out and twisting into new shapes as they took on the natural form of the wolf. Her spin elongated, breaking through the base as it stretched into a tail. Skin being stretched over her new tailbone as to provide a surface for hair to grow on. Even her mind was changing. Logical thoughts gone, her only focus her stomach. Her hungry stomach.

She began to growl, glow eyes locking onto Caroline, who would be as good as any deer. Scarlett lunged, still more human than wolf, but her paws were useless for grabbing Caroline who darted out the way. Her claws weren't even ready yet, and when she tried to bring them out, she felt only stings of pain, as they pressed against fragile skin.

The pain was just enough to make her grab onto what little sanity she had left. She was fighting the urges inside, but she could feel herself losing for the first time. Massively outnumbered all of a sudden. It wouldn't be long before she lost it all together, and if Caroline was still nearby when that happened, she wouldn't be able to stop herself.

"You… have to…run," Scarlett groaned out, fighting everything inside her. Her thoughts, her instincts, her change, the wolf.

"Scarlett, I can't just–"

"Go!" Scarlett roared, her eye flashing as Caroline raced out of the cellar and up to the top of the stairs, stopping to look back at Scarlett who was now hidden in the shadows of the underground.

"Do you want me to call Sarah?" Caroline offered.

"NO!" Scarlett roared once more. "Don't let her…come near me. I…can't…" She couldn't finish. Another growl erupting before it vanished into animalistic squeal of pain and Scarlett once again collapsed to the ground. The change kicked in again, and her limbs began to fail in unnatural directions, bones pricing internal organs as said organs tried to move, only to be stuck in place by the moving bones. It had never been like this. This…this was hell. Hell for one whole night and with no control over yourself.

Before Scarlett couldn't understand why anyone would view lycanthropy as a curse. The power, the strength, the speed, the ability to change into a wolf and become one with nature. It was an unbelievable experience to describe and it give her something nothing else in the world could. But this wasn't like that. This made Scarlett realise why it was called a curse. She'd been lucky with her necklace. It gave her the chance to see it all in a better light. While everyone else saw it like this. As one torturous night every month, were your own body broke you down until all that remained was something that was neither man, nor animal, but a monster. A monster who's only goal was to kill and feed, no matter what.

And this terrified Scarlett to her core. Because this was her first, _real_ , full moon. She'd been living in a perfect ideal werewolf's world. Now she got to see what it was really like. For Mason, for Tyler, for anyone else like her. And it honestly killed a part of her.

* * *

As they made their way through the woods around Mystic Fall, Amelia's gaze drifted up to the full moon overhead. "What shall we do about the werewolves?" Amelia asked aloud, walking along side Elijah towards the tomb where they'd been told they could find Katherina. Her eyes still fixated by the beauty of the moon above. It had been a while since she'd stopped to appreciate it, _maybe tomorrow_ , she thought.

"Well, the girl, Scarlett, will fall under the protection of our deal with Elena. As will that other Lockwood boy. Meaning we'll shall have to find another to substitute for the ritual," Elijah explained, before Amelia's gaze dropped to her brother, raising an eyebrow at him as they continued to walk through he woods.

"I meant about the fact that they might be loose tonight," Amelia pointed out, the corner of her lips turning up ever so slightly in amusement.

"Ah..." Elijah said slowly, realising as his own lips turned into a ghostly smile. "Yes, well, I suppose if we run into them we'll just have to restrain them," Elijah said simply, the tomb entrance coming into view up ahead. "And besides, it's not like we can do anything about it now. But if anything should happen as a result of that dreadful werewolf curse, then we shall go to Elena for another talk."

"Your empathy warms my heart, Elijah," Amelia said sarcastically as they descended the stairs into the tomb.

"I aim to please," Elijah replied before they entered a small stone room. As described to them, the brother and sister found a large stone against the wall, blocking the entrance in. They'd already had Jonas and his son Luka lift the spell on the tomb, so the only thing keeping the two vampires inside was the large stone.

Being the brother that he was, Elijah offered to move it, and Amelia, being the sister that she was, allowed him. She stood back, hands in her rain coat pockets while Elijah moved the stone aside. It took some effort but he still made it look easy. Like the large rock was nothing more than a heavy cardboard box. He sat it aside, before then moving to his sister's side, his own hands going into his jacket pockets as they waited for the vampires inside to come to them.

They did after a moment. The one they presumed to be Stefan appeared first, holding a lantern in his hand, frowning at the sight of Amelia, but even more so at Elijah. Someone obviously hadn't been kept in the loop, but that was neither of the Originals' concern. They had their deal, and getting Stefan out was part of it. Once they fulfilled that part all they had to do was keep Stefan and the others alive until their business was concluded. It didn't really matter if none of them got along or were honest with each other. Elena's word was all that they concerned themselves with.

At least that was the case until Katerina stepped into the corridor. Amelia's face twitched at that, but she managed to hide it – and her emotions – quickly behind a still mask of nothing. Much like her brother had, though his reasoning was different to hers, just like their history was with Katerina. The doppelgänger vampire, however, wasn't able to control herself at the sight of the two Originals. She took in a quick breath, air catching in shock as she staggered back into the stone wall. Shaking from head to toe.

It pleased Amelia to see Katerina this way, the way she hoped the runaway had spent her whole life. Scared and alone, jumping at shadows because one of them might have been lurking in anyone of them. After what she'd done to Elijah, and to the rest of Amelia's family, it was the least she deserved in the Original's opinion.

"Amelia," Katerina said shakily, staring in horror at the freckled vampire that stood in the entrance to the tomb. "Elijah," she added, still shocked but a little less scared. It wouldn't help her. Even if she could somehow whoo Elijah to her side, she wouldn't survive Amelia if she tired. But she was too busy to deal with this troublesome nuisance, she would save her for later. Once they'd dealt with Klaus.

"Good evening, Katerina," Elijah said calmly, apparently ignoring the fact that Katherine had been more scared of his sister than him. Not that that kind of thing ever bothered him. He knew how fearsome Amelia could be, but his lack of concern over her fear did concern Amelia, as if there were some part of him that still cared. "Thank you for having the good sense to be frightened."

"Stefan Salvatore?" Amelia asked, succeeding in keeping the contempt for Katerina out of her voice as she spoke. The other vampire nodded, looking between Katerina and the two Originals, as if trying to work out the history between them. But then he nodded again, meeting Amelia's gaze while Katerina took another step back, keeping close to the tomb wall. "Your release has been requested."

"What? By who?" Stefan asked with a frown of confusion.

"The lovely Elena drives a hard bargain. However, we've reached a peaceful agreement. And as part of that agreement, she and your sister asked if we could release you. And so we have." Elijah then gestured for Stefan to step on out of the tomb with a sweep of his arm, while Amelia stood still alongside him. Keeping one eye on Katerina and ready to move if she took another step. "So if you'd please step out of the tomb."

"I can't," Stefan answered.

"We've had the spell lifted. You are now free to come and go from this place as you please," Amelia explained politely, still keeping Katerina in the corner of her eye as she looked to Stefan. Slowly the youngest vampire of them all stepped forward. He looked back to Katerina, who stared at him in confusion, frowning as she watched. But even now Amelia could see her planing her escape. But there would be no escape. Not this time.

A few more steps and then Stefan was out of the tomb, looking back to confirm he'd cross the threshold. He looked to the Originals, and they stared back at him and then Katerina ran, thinking she'd found her window. She hadn't, and Amelia was in front of her in a blink of an eye, blocking her path. Startled, Katerina gasped, stumbling back as Stefan jumped aside at the sudden movement. He continued back, stood in line with Elijah, looking between him and Amelia as the blonde Original glare at the terrified Katerina.

"As for you," Amelia began, quickly using her compulsion to make sure that Katerina didn't look away, pulling her into that hypnotic gaze. She might have disapproved of compulsion, but for someone like Katerina, she was willing to make an exception. "You are not free to come and go as you please. You will stay here until otherwise instructed by myself, or Elijah."

"Amelia," Katerina begged, and Amelia savoured it, finally getting want she'd wanted from Katerina after all this time. But it was too little, too late as for as she was concerned.

"Be silent," Amelia ordered. "I don't want to hear another word out of that treacherous mouth of yours," she spit before turning to face Stefan who was staring in utter confusion, still stood alongside Elijah who was happily watching his sister. "You are free to go, Stefan. Elena and your sister can explain the deal we've made. And as long as Elena keeps her word, we'll keep ours," Amelia explained, staring at Stefan until he finally began to move, heading towards the stairs.

Behind Amelia, Katerina moved about, as if trying to get Stefan's attention, pleading with her eyes. But without her tongue, the young Salvatore just continued on up the stairs, leaving her behind in the tomb. Amelia smiled at that, happy to see that Katerina's power over men was fading with the ages. Or perhaps it was something as simple as karma, catching up to her. If that was the case, then Klaus would have a lot coming his way soon.

"Time for us to leave too, Brother," Amelia declared, hitting him with a pointed look.

"Agreed," Elijah said, briefly lowering his head before he looked back up, past Amelia and to Katerina. "Goodbye, Katerina," he said simply, offering her a dark smile before he too left the tomb.

And as Amelia's smile grew, she too started to walk out, not even gifting Katerina with a glance over her shoulder, because she had no need to look back. Katerina had gotten what she deserved, and Amelia had been the one to enforce the justice that had been served. She would be trapped down there, alone, until Amelia returned to execute her for all she'd done to her family. And she'd make it painful. Oh, how painful it would be for the manipulative whore.

* * *

Hugging herself, Caroline slowly, and cautiously approached the Lockwood cellar. It was still a couple of hours until sunrise, but the temptation to check and her general fear of Tyler and Scarlett roaming around the woods forced her back. She had to be sure they were still in the cellar, even if they were still wolves. If not, she'd have left the forest and them. And she didn't want to abandon her friends.

"Scarlett," Caroline said quietly, peering down the steps and into the dark cellar below. She stood at the top, waiting for her eyes to adjust, until she saw a shape in the darkness. She backed up, ready to run for her life, but then heard a dreamy inhale, and exhale, of breath. Not something she'd expect from a werewolf on a full moon.

She dared to look back down into the darkness and smiled when she saw Scarlett at the bottom of the stairs. The poor girl was asleep, curled up on the stone floor, naked, and completely out of it. The door next to her, had been beaten down a bit, but it was still standing. Minus a chunk of wood which had been broken down into splinters that lay around Scarlett. Despite the obvious health hazard though, Caroline saw no sign of blood.

She stepped down the stairs, stopping next to Scarlett as she bent down. She pushed back the girl's dark hair, finding her young face relaxed, lips partially open as she breathed in and out. Compared to how she'd looked when she first started to change, she looked a lot more peaceful now, almost making her look younger than she seemed. Caroline's smile grew, softening like the girl before her. Sure Scarlett put on a tough act, and was pretty strong and powerful, but she was still just fifteen, a whole year younger than Caroline. And seeing her like this reminded Caroline of when she was younger and wanted a sister. She never got one. But even so, that memory triggered something inside of her then.

Taking off her scarf, she folded it into a small pillow, placing it beneath Scarlett's head. Next she took of her jacket, placing it over the teenager as to stop her from catching a chill. Werewolf or not, Caroline wasn't taking any chances. "…What…?" came Scarlett's distant voice, stirring as Caroline made sure that her jacket covered as much of Scarlett as possible.

Panicking, Caroline backed up quickly before stopping, worried that her sharp movements might frighten Scarlett and awaken her. "It's okay, Scarlett. It's just me," Caroline said with a soft voice, offering Scarlett a sympathetic smile as the girl's eyelashes fluttered ever so slightly.

"Caroline…what…?" Scarlett said, still half asleep, and only speaking in between deep breaths.

"It's okay, it's over," Caroline reassured her, rubbing the girl's shoulder lightly as to comfort her. "I'm just going to go and see how Tyler is doing and then I'll take you home."

"Jer…Jere…Jeremy…" Scarlett mumbled.

"Okay, I'll take you to see Jeremy," Caroline promised. "Just let me check on Tyler first." Scarlett's head moved in a nod, before she then went still, breathing as she snuggled into the scarf her head was resting on. Caroline smiled sorrily once again, before slowly getting up, moving carefully as not to wake the tired girl. From there she then went into the cellar and found Tyler, back to human as well.

They'd done it, they'd survived the night without killing anyone, or themselves.

* * *

Sat by Elena's window, each of them took up half the seat – Elena with her legs curled up against her and Sarah with one leg curled in while the other stretched out towards the ground. Since agreeing to keep her secret about the deal, they hadn't talked much. They'd just been waiting. Waiting for Stefan to be released and come home to them. Sarah still wasn't convinced she could trust the Originals, or that their supposed 'Word' actually meant anything at all. People who really care about the deals they make don't need to say it, they prove it in their actions. And so far, neither Elijah or Amelia had done anything to prove their word meant a thing.

That was until Sarah caught sight of something in the window. She knew it hadn't come from outside, it had been a reflection off the window and its dark background. Elena had seen it too and both turned to see Stefan walking into Elena's bedroom. "Hey," he said simply, but the emotion in that word was enough to tell anyone how grateful he was to be back.

"Stefan," Sarah gasped in glee before racing from the window seat and throwing her arms around her brother, holding him after what had been far too long. "You're okay."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay," Stefan said as they parted, smiling back at his near teary eyed sister. He then looked past her, Sarah turning with him to see Elena now stood, doing all she could to hold herself back out of respect for family. Sarah was grateful, but she'd had her moment and now it was time to let Elena have hers.

"I'll give you two a minute," Sarah said with a smile to the couple, planting a kiss on her brother's cheek before adding, "It's good to have you back." Stefan smiled again, watching her head out before turning to Elena. Sarah's smile turned to grin then, hearing Elena pounce on him before she'd even left the room, wrapping him up in a long awaited kiss. And considering what followed, it had been a good thing Sarah remembered to close the door behind her.

* * *

Climbing through the open window, Scarlett found Jeremy in his room, lying on top of his bed, seemingly a sleep with his headphones still playing music. Despite his position, Scarlett knew he would have been worrying about her ever since the moon went up. But they'd agreed he'd look after his sister tonight while she dealt with Tyler and the full moon. However, after what she'd been through, she'd found herself wishing Jeremy had been with her.

She had her necklace back on, which had helped settle her body, but her mind was still trembling from what it'd gone through. The worst change of her life. She was now starting to realise why she didn't remember much about her first night as a wolf, because it was probably so painful she'd blocked most of it out. Being forced to change was one thing, but having it dragged out, breaking you down piece by piece without a smooth motion to it. It had been the most physically painful thing Scarlett had ever endured.

And now all she wanted was her boyfriend. His warm embrace.

Fortunately, the always prepared Caroline had brought a spare change of cloths for Scarlett too, which she was now dressed in. She and Tyler had gotten changed before Caroline dropped her off at the Gilberts'. She was spending the rest of the night with Tyler, just to be safe but said she'd call if anything came up. Scarlett hoped nothing did, because all she wanted from now until the end of time was Jeremy's presence, his touch.

She crossed the space from the window to his bed, and as she got onto the bed, he sat up, feeling the movement of it beneath him. The second he saw her, he threw his headphones back and quickly blinked away whatever sense of sleep he'd had before she joined him. It made her smile, seeing how he dropped everything for her. It made her feel special, and right now, she'd needed that.

"Scarlett, hey, how'd it go?" he asked, sat up with his legs stretched out before him, while Scarlett was sat on her folded knees, hands resting on the fabric of her torn jeans. At the question her gaze dropped, the memory of the horrid change coming back to her in flashes that made her muscles twitch at the thought. But how could she explain such an ordeal to him. Only Tyler could really understand, having been through it himself, but it wasn't exactly something you'd want to bond over.

"Not good, Jer," she answered quietly.

"Did something happen with Tyler?" Jeremy quickly asked.

"No. Nothing happened with Tyler. At least nothing that wasn't supposed to happen. But…"

When she didn't continue, Jeremy moved onto his knees, adopting the same position as Scarlett while carefully taking her face in his hands, tilting her head until she was looking into his soft brown eyes. Eyes that said he was there for her and God how she needed those eyes, and him, right now. "But what?" he asked softly, not wanting to force it out of her, but needing an answer. Needing to know nothing serious had happened that he could have been there to help with. Maybe he could have helped had he been there. Maybe he would have stopped her from giving up her necklace, and then she never would have had to go through that pain.

"I…I gave my necklace to Tyler," Scarlett answered with a sniffle, tears of remembrance pricking her eyes as she spoke.

It didn't take Jeremy long to put two and two together. "But then…what happened to–"

"I changed, Jeremy," Scarlett abruptly sobbed out, fear slipping into her voice as the tears started to bubble up in her eyes. "And I know I've done it before, hundreds of times in fact. But this was… Jeremy it was just…" She was struggling to find the right way to describe it until she realised that she never could. So she went with a word that would make sense, but could never capture the range of what she'd gone through. "…painful."

Jeremy wasn't sure how to respond, staring into Scarlett's tearful blue eyes as he tried to wrap his head around it. He already knew that she went through pain every time she changed, which was true. But this time she hadn't had her necklace, and she'd been unable to push through, changing at a snail's pace, allowing her to feel every body breaking second off it as she'd screamed.

"I couldn't force it like normal, couldn't just get it over with. I had to go through it…for hours?" She wasn't sure, the whole experience already fogged in painful memories, that made it feel like it had been for hours. "My body breaking and remaking and breaking and it hurt. It hurt so much," she explained as the tears flowed out and hysteria began to come out. "I couldn't control it. I couldn't stop it or finish it, I was just stuck in this place of pain and I…I…"

From there Scarlett broke down into full on crying, and Jeremy pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly as she pressed her face against his shirt. Fingers clawing around the fabric as she inhaled is scent, needing it to fill her and make her feel sane once again. After tonight she just need him. "It's okay," Jeremy reassured her. "It's over now."

"I can't go through that again, Jeremy. I can't," Scarlett cried out into his chest, unable to even stand the thought of having to do that again in a month's time.

"And you won't have to, ever. I promise," Jeremy said as he looked down into her eyes, before pulling her back in. "I'll make sure no one takes your necklace away, especially on full moons." It was a sweet promise, and one Scarlett needed to sooth her mind for now. She forced herself to believe it, despite the problems such a promise could bring. She just needed to believe for tonight. Until the memories faded, however long that may be.

"Scarlett?" When the voice came it made her jump, as she pulled away from Jeremy and they both looked to the door. Finding Sarah stood there with a frown. "What's the matter? What's going on?" she asked, taking in the situation, and most importantly, Scarlett's tears.

The teenager couldn't answer, sobbing like a blubbering fool and hating herself for it. She'd thought herself so grown up, but after tonight, all she wanted was to curl up in her bed with whomever she loved and stay there for the rest of her life. Free from the full moon and the pain and everything. Thinking of how unobtainable that was made her start crying all over again, her head dropping against Jeremy's shoulder.

She felt Jeremy roll his head towards her, motioning Sarah into his room. He then began to move Scarlett off him, and she had been about to cry out and grab on for dear life until she felt Sarah take her. Possibly the only other person in the world she'd let hold right now. She cuddled into the vampire, crying like a little girl as Sarah simply held her comfortingly. No judgement in sight. Not even a question. She was just there, like she always was when she needed her. Through her sobs she sniffed and knew Jeremy was still with her. Sat on the bed beside her and Sarah. Giving them just enough space without straying too far from Scarlett's comfort bubble. Just where she needed him.

Wrapping her arms around Sarah, the young werewolf settled herself in for a long night, as her protector and boyfriend comforted her, never even thinking of leaving until Scarlett said so.


	23. The Descent

_Review responses:_

Guest: _I'm so glad you feel that way and thank you for the review!_

Only reviewer: _Yeah, they really were too controlling with her at this point in the season. I mean I get they're trying to do what they think is best, but they were just completely ignoring her view which did make it look_ _patriarchal as you put it. It was also just plain rude. But here, she at least has Sarah in her corner. ;) And we'll have to wait and see with Scarlett. After all, being enslaved to Klaus doesn't sound much better..._

Charmedbycharmed: _What's confusing you about Amelia, maybe I can clear it up? And we've got more Sarah/Elena here for you, though more action than that last chapter. And as you pointed out, Elena is now a more key part in the story now, so she and Sarah will be having a lot more scenes together, like they have been over the past few chapters._

I think you guys will like this one and the next one and I'm also pretty sure you'll figure out why by the end of the chapter. We're now on the Descent episode, and the next two chapters feel a lot more confined than previous chapters, so hopefully that will allow you all to catch your breath...before the drama starts kicking in anyway.

In other news I've started Uni, done my irritating bootcamp stuff and now onto my proper course, though this is my first week so I've only had one lecture and class by the time I upload this. It's going okay, I guess. Still getting used to it all, but that shouldn't effect the next upload – at least in theory. I have a plan.

Thanks for all the reviews, favourites and follows since last time you guys, I appreciated every single one and you're all fantastic, remember that!

* * *

 **Chapter 23: The Descent**

* * *

"Can I go back to bed, please," Rose groaned in a sickening voice, huddled on the coach in the study with a blanket wrapped around her. Looking at her, Sarah did her best not to grimace. She'd never seen a vampire look so bad before. She was pale, and for a vampire that should probably be saying something. And the layer of sweat covering her skin didn't help, nor did the bags under her eyes.

All vampires had stepped through death's door, but looking at Rose now, she looked like she was about to step back through at the drop of a dim.

"Once you stop faking being sick, sure," Sarah said, forcing herself to smirk as Rose snorted, only to end up coughing. "Damon should be back in a second," Sarah said reassuringly, sitting down next to Rose as she continued to cough violently into her hand. "The blood should help with…" she wasn't entirely sure how to finish her sentence. Frankly she was struggling to see anything that wasn't wrong with Rose currently.

When she arrived home last night, she'd thought hearing about Scarlett's traumatic experience would've been the worse thing about that day. Little did she know, it had been about to get a whole lot worse. She'd found Rose and Damon in the study. Damon had been unnaturally startled, struggling to keep himself still as he paced. Rose had been sat on the couch, fighting off tears. When Sarah had asked what was going on, Rose showed her the werewolf bite. And since then, it'd only gotten worse.

Sarah and Damon had stayed up all night, even when Rose slept. But while Sarah had been by Rose's side doing her best to keep her comfy and grounded, Damon had been keeping himself busy. If he wasn't getting her blood, he was getting her anything medical related in hopes that it might help. Nothing so far had worked, but the blood had helped her with the pain.

Finally, Rose stopped coughing, settling down as she hunched over, catching her breath again. Sarah remained at her side, and then suddenly Rose began talking about the past. Some of it had to do with Sarah, the odd few times they'd met up. Most of it had to do with Lexi, their common friend, and Sarah was never opposed to hearing stories about Lexi, especially new ones. It kept her own memories alive. But somethings Rose said where all over the place and had no relevance to what she'd been saying previously.

"I was born in fourteen-fifty, that makes me five-hundred-and-sixty years old," Rose said, after she'd been talking about the first few days she and Sarah had met, all the way back in the early twentieth century, in New York. Sarah did her best not to frown, to show in anyway that she was concerned or worried. Because she knew if she showed it, Rose would feel it even more.

"Well, if you were a bottle of wine," Damon teased as he walked in, blood bag in hand. Sarah smiled at his jest, but she was very much aware of how much he was deflecting.

"So I can die. I've lived long enough," Rose said soberly as she stared into the flickering flames of the dim fire.

"I thought we agreed you were going to stop this, 'end of my life' nonsense," Sarah pointed out while Damon grabbed a glass, pouring the blood into it. Rose snorted at Sarah's comment, head lowering a little as she coughed once more.

"Sarah's right," Damon added, still pouring the blood as he topped of the glass. "And if you're going to keep up this horribly dramatic performance, I'm just gonna kill you myself, just to put me out of your misery."

"My brother, you might find his picture next to the word, 'Sympathy', in the dictionary," Sarah said mockingly, to which Rose laughed. Damon shot his sister the stink eye, before then handing the glass of blood over to Rose. She took a sip, before stopping herself, grimacing at the glass.

"Oh, come on. It's just a little werewolf bite," Damon said in dramatic sarcasm.

"Just a little, fatal, vampire killing, werewolf bite," Rose added with a sad smile, staring into the glass of blood in her hands.

"Well, that's according to a legend which is notoriously unreliable source," Damon pointed out with a confident smirk. But he was conveniently leaving out the incident with Logan, were Scarlett bit him and no more than a few hours later did Alaric find him dead. In fact, Sarah was pretty sure he wasn't just leaving it out of the conversation, he was doing his best to ignore the idea. Not that Sarah was keen for Rose to die herself, but judging by the evidence, the odds weren't in her favour.

"Come on, drink up. Blood heals," Damon said encouraging, motioning to the blood once more. With a sigh, Rose took another gulp of blood, letting as much of the crimson liquid slid down her throat as she could before she stopped, worried she might throw it all up. She swallowed what was left, then sat, letting the energy of the blood flow through her aching veins.

Despite her grimace of disgust, Rose did say, "Yeah, it does feel like it's working."

"Let's have a look, come on. Let me see," Damon said as he moved behind the couch to get a look at the bite. Rose leaned forward, and Sarah leaned back so she could look along with Damon. First he pulled back the blanket around her, then pulled the shoulder of her top off, exposing the monstrous looking rash like infection that ran all the way down her right side, from shoulder to lower back.

It truly was disgusting, like some kind of roadkill that had been ran over so many times it was unrecognisable. And then some one had slapped it onto Rose's back. The throbbing red infected area, had everything that screamed help, from blisters, to peeling skin, blood oozing out like it was puss and blackened veins that seemed to stretch out like scouts, looking to expand their settlement.

Sarah did her best not to grimace at the sight, just in case Rose could still see her. Damon however, who was directly behind Rose frowned. It looked as if he were confused, but Sarah knew he was forcing that emotion out over the one he'd been pushing down ever since Rose got bitten. Fear.

"How is it?" Rose asked, head turning towards Sarah who quickly plastered on a smile for her friend. But when she realised she hadn't said anything, and that Rose was still looking at her, waiting for an answer, she turned to Damon, eyes asking him for an answer as she did her best to hide her worry.

But when Damon's eyes connected with hers, she realised just how right she had been about Damon's fear. He hid it well, she'd give him that, but for a split second when their eyes first met, she saw how truly scared he was. However, the only thing he could use to mask it was his confusion and disgust at the infection that was spreading down Rose's back. So he ended up frowning, lips open but not saying anything. Until finally he came out with, "Definitely…better."

Sarah could have slapped him for such a stupid response. Of course Rose would see right through that. She pressed her eyes further open, irritation fuelling them as Damon simply shrugged back, still unable to come up with anything better. But Sarah wasn't willing to let it go so easily, which was why Damon was lucky that Elena happened to walk in then.

Quickly taking advantage of the situation, Damon glanced over to the entrance and said, "What do you think, Elena?" putting the spotlight on her.

Unable to stop herself, Sarah's gaze followed Damon's to Elena who was stood by the stairs that separated the raised level of the study from the lowered level. She had stopped upon seeing Rose, mouth open in horror, much like anyone would be if they saw the state the vampire was in. And still there was no sign of improvement, even with all the blood they'd been getting her to drink. Rose might have been feeling better because of it, but the infection wasn't showing any sign of slowing down.

Thankfully when Rose started to turn around, Elena pulled herself together with a positive smile. "I think…it's not bad," Elena said, somehow managing to sound more honest that Damon. Though after his emotional stumble it was hard to do any worse.

"Where's Stefan?" Damon not so silently whispered. Sarah shot him a look for his not so subtle change in topic but he just continued to ignore her.

"He left," Elena answered before looking to Sarah. "Can you talk to him. He's convinced that he has to find Isobel, but I think that's gonna upset Elijah and Amelia."

"Sure," agreed Sarah with a nod form the couch, where she was still sat next to Rose.

"Well, you might want to get a similar sister brother speech ready for me, Sis, cause I'm with Stefan on this one," Damon said as he poured the last of the blood from the bag and into Rose's glass before handing it back to her. Motioning to drink as he walked around the couch and towards Elena. "But you'll have plenty of time to run it over with Elena while you two play nurse for a while."

"Where you going?" Sarah asked, suspicious frown lining her forehead as Damon stopped just past Elena, looking back as his blue eyes met Sarah's green.

"To see a lady about a…bite," Damons answered, frowning at his own words.

"Not your best," Sarah said with a sympathetic, yet amused smile. She knew why he'd mucked it up. It was his feeling for Rose, but he still wouldn't admit it, and Sarah knew exactly who he was going to find. The woman who'd bitten Rose, the one who if Sarah had gone to see instead, then none of this might have happened. Jules. The werewolf that had brought with her a storm of supernatural problems when she came into town. And there was only two reasons Damon would be going after her; to find a way to help Rose, or to skin himself a wolf. To be honest, Sarah would be happy with either. But she'd be even happier if Damon would just open up about his feelings, rather than repress them until it was too late.

"Yeah, well…" frustrated Damon threw his hands up before turning and continuing on out. "Just keep her comfortable until I get back."

"It's not necessary," Rose said, shaking her head at Elena and Sarah, refusing to be treated like an invalid.

"It is necessary," Damon called over his shoulder, turning around as he walked out backwards with his smug smile in place as he explained. "Elena's a do-gooder. It's in her nature, she just can't resist. And my sister seems to have developed this really stupid impulse as of late, to help Elena with whatever she's doing." As he finished he vanished from view, narrowly avoiding the scowl Sarah shot towards the archway.

She quickly wiped it off though, placing her hand on Rose's knee as she turned to her friend with a smile. "Back in a sec. Just keeping drink that until I get back, okay?" With a brave smile, Rose nodded, understanding that Sarah had to have a word with her brother. Just like always.

In appreciation Sarah smiled back before getting up and vamp speeding over to Elena's side as both walked out the study and after Damon who was halfway towards the door. "Damon," Elena called softly after him. He heard, turning around before taking a few steps towards them, all keeping their voices down in hopes that Rose wouldn't overhear their uncomfortable conversation. "Is she gonna die?"

"Probably," Damon sighed. "The wolf bite caused some kind of infection and it's getting worse."

"Like poison?" Elena asked concern all over her face. Though that was hardly surprising. Despite the tactless way in which he put it, Damon was right about her. Elena did care, and she couldn't stop herself. What was more surprising for Sarah, was that Damon almost mirrored her look of concern.

Emotions slipping past his built up walls for just a second as he said, "I don't know, Elena." In that, Sarah heard Damon's heart. His hurt. His fear of loss. But then he recomposed himself in a split second, gesturing with his wide arms as he said, "I'm not an expert in the field," sounding more like the person he was pretending to be right now. Heartless and uncaring. But he wasn't that man, and Sarah knew, he never had been.

"I'm sorry," Elena said, as she too had heard and seen his heart in what he'd said.

"Death happens," Damon cut in quickly, maintaining a scowl as he fought the emotions raging inside of him. "We come, we go. Sooner she dies the better."

"Damon," Sarah scolded, but he just scowled at her instead of Elena.

"That's life, Sis. We all gotta go some time," Damon said spitefully.

Sarah rolled her eyes, glancing back at the study before leaning towards Damon. "Could you maybe stop the whole macho alpha male thing now. I get you don't want Rose to worry, but come on Damon, it's okay to feel."

"I don't feel anything," Damon snarled, leaning towards his sister as his blue eyes flared up. "I don't know what you think is going on here, but I have no care in the world for the woman who's dying in our study right now," Damon explained with a jab of the finger towards the open archway that lead into the study.

"Damon, it's okay. We understand," Elena said softly.

"There's nothing to understand," Damon snapped.

"You can talk to us Damon," Sarah pressed, trying to reassure her brother while also trying to open the lock that was around his heart.

"There's nothing to talk about it!" Damon shouted in frustration. "I get you like to play the noise little sister, and since this one started her suicidal missions, you two have decided to become the new Thelma and Louise," Damon growled as he jabbed his thumb towards Elena. "But could you both, please, try and grasp the simple fact that I do not love Rose."

"Who said anything about love?" Sarah quipped, raising an eyebrow.

Credit to him, Damon was smart enough not to respond and dig himself a bigger hole. Unfortunately, Sarah didn't want her brother to be that smart. He glared at her for a few seconds, breathing heavily through his noise before turning and stomping out the front door without another word.

But once he was out the door, Sarah felt the guilt settle in. That had probably been the last thing her brother needed right now. Then again, she didn't want him wasting what little time he had left with Rose. He clearly felt something for her, whether it was love or not was hard to tell. Damon had been an all or nothing guy even before he turned. First it had all been for Katherine. Then there was nothing. Then he'd started looking towards Elena, until Sarah shut that idea down. And now…now he was at risk at being hurt. Stuck in between his two extremes not knowing which to go to.

She didn't like it, but there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing except look after Rose, ease her pain, and hope Damon came to his senses before the end and came back to her. If he didn't, Sarah would help her pass, but she could tell from watching them both, there was something there. And maybe at the end, Rose would rather have that then Sarah by her side.

"What now?" Elena finally asked, looking to Sarah as the vampire sighed.

"Play nurse," Sarah said with a tired smile to Elena. From there they then went back into the study, finding Rose just as they'd left her. But already the effects of the blood were fading and she was groaning once again in pain. She was continually moaning about the couch so Sarah and Elena agreed they needed to move her. And then Sarah had the great idea of putting her in Damon's bed, which Elena happily agreed with. Rose had caught onto what game they were playing at, but right now she just wanted a bed, so she didn't say anything as Sarah helped her up.

"I hate this," Rose grumbled as Sarah walked with her into the room, Rose's arm wrapped around Sarah's shoulders as the younger vampire supported her. Elena followed behind, glass of blood in hand. "I'm a vampire, I haven't had a cold in five centuries."

"Good thing too. If anyone else had had to put with this, I imagine they would have killed you long ago. Now shut up and get into he bed," Sarah said in dramatic sarcasm as she took Rose over to Damon's bed. Once they were close enough, Rose unwrapped herself from Sarah's side, falling onto the bed, knees first.

"You're so sympathetic," Rose grumbled as Sarah stepped aside, allowing Elena to pull off Rose's hoodie, once she'd placed the glass of blood on the night stand. The bite mark was still throbbing, boils appearing as the cracks in the skin grew wider and deeper. But Elena was learning quickly, and only for a split second did her disgust show before she reeled it in, helping Rose get under the sheets.

"We're not supposed to get sick. When we die, it's supposed to be fast and sudden, and it's certainly not drawn out in illness," Rose continued to complain as she lay back, pulling the sheets over her.

"You're not gonna die," Elena said as she helped Rose with the sheets, like the good nurse she was.

"Such a human thing to say," Rose teased with a grin. Sarah let out a snigger, but shut it when Elena looked back at her.

"Sorry," Sarah apologised, as Rose chuckled to herself, before breaking out into another coughing fit. Sarah then passed the blood to Elena who held it out for Rose who eventually took it for a sip once her coughing died down. Again she grimaced, taking only a sip before forcing the glass back into Elena's hands.

Rose then lay down on her side, making herself comfy as Elena took the chance to look around the room she'd never set foot in. She'd been in Stefan's room many times since meeting the Salvatores, but this was her first time she'd set foot in either of his siblings' rooms. She looked around, taking in the fireplace, the flatscreen TV on the wall and the huge open bathroom.

"You've never been in Damon's room before, have you?" Rose said with a teasing grin as she watched Elena look around.

"She better not have, if Damon knows what's good for him," Sarah said firmly. Elena looked back at her raven haired friend, smiling as she handed her the blood. After that though she started behaving a little nervously, pushing her hair behind her ear as she shrunk in on herself a little. Like being in the room felt wrong. Then as if needing somewhere else to look, she glanced down and found a book on the floor. She bent down, picking it up as Sarah sat the glass of blood down. Normally the vampire would have had a drink, but consider Rose had drank from the glass, Sarah wasn't really wanting to push her luck.

Looking back over to Elena, she was now staring tensely at the book she'd picked up. Sarah then snatched it from her, grinning when Elena shot her an irritated look. "Gone with the Wind," Sarah read from the cover, before her eyes went back to Elena's. "He does like that one," she said before throwing the book onto one of five growing piles that had formed next to his bed since he'd moved back in to the boarding house.

"What about you, do you like it?" Elena asked, folding her arms as she titled her head to watch Sarah.

"Not my favourite," Sarah said with a shrug, as she glance back at the book. "I've only ready it…three times," Sarah said, cocking her head as she tried to recall how many times she'd read the thing.

"What is your favourite book then?" Elena asked curiously, folding her arms.

Sarah scoffed, "You mean this week?"

"All right," Elena chuckled a little. "What's one of your top ten, then?"

Shrugging, Sarah threw out the random answer of, "Dracula," to which the two began to laugh.

"I'm serious, Sarah," Elena stated. Though she was still smiling in spite of her words.

"Dracula's a perfectly good book," Sarah said defensively, though it was hardly passionate enough for it to be serious.

"And I'm the one who got the infectious werewolf bite," groaned Rose from the bed. "Where's the justice?"

"Look, I read a lot of books," Sarah said with a shrug. "Asking me to pick a favourite is like asking someone to pick out their favourite memory. And if they can so easily do either of those things, then they're doing it wrong. It should never be easy to pick out your favourite book or memory," Sarah explained passionately before frowning when Elena burst into a smile. "What?"

"I just don't think I've heard you talk about books so passionately before," Elena pointed out, bringing a mild blush to Sarah's cheeks. Though it was easily missable thanks to her smile.

"Yeah, well. I had to find something to do in between all the family drama didn't I?" Sarah said rhetorically, smile remaining while Elena brushed a strand of her brunette hair back behind her ear.

"You're both so lucky," Rose said with a sad smile, looking up at both women from her horizontal position on the bed, having now comfortably sank into the mattress. "No one's ever loved me the way you're both loved."

"I very much doubt that," Elena said as she turned back around to her patient, sitting down on the bed next to Rose.

"Trevor was my best friend. Nothing more," Rose began to explain. "I spent all those years on the run from Elijah and Amelia. I just never thought it was a good idea to set up roots. The whole idea of family is not exactly compatible with being a vampire."

"Stefan and Sarah seem to make it work," Elena said a little quickly, almost defensively.

"That's different," Rose said tiredly, sounding like she was in no condition to discuss the matter further. Seeing this, Elena held her tongue, even though she was more than happy to argue the matter.

Instead, Elena looked to Sarah. "What do you think?" she asked the younger of the two vampires. "Can vampires have families?"

With a sigh that had more complexion behind it than Sarah wanted to let on, she made her way over to her friends, joining them by the bed. She remained standing, face sealed in thought until she started to smile. "Well, I know Rose here is lying about that whole, 'no one's ever loved me' bit."

"It's true," Rose groaned feebly from bed.

"What about Damon then?" Sarah prompted, bringing a grin to her and Elena's lips.

"He doesn't love me," Rose mumbled weakly.

"You sure about that?" Elena chimed in.

"Yes," Rose said with as much strength as she could muster. But even with an infectious wolf bite and already pale skin, the blush still broke through on Rose's cheeks. Her two nurses looked to each other, repressing giggles as they grinned away.

"All right, Rose, whatever you say," Sarah said slyly as Elena let out a chuckle that she quickly got under control.

"When I'm I getting new nurses," Rose groaned, turning her face into the pillow.

"Sorry, you're stuck with us until Damon gets back," Elena said in a mixture of sympathy and light teasing as she grinned.

"Well in that case," Rose said as she rolled her head back around to look at Elena. "Can I ask?" Rose said, eye taking on a more serious look. "Why are you so eager to give up?"

"I'm not giving up on anything," Elena answered, before taking the blood from the nightstand and handing it over to Rose. "Here," she said as the vampire took the glass, though Rose seemed to be using it as something to cuddle, rather than drink.

"What do you call this whole deal with Elijah and Amelia then?" Rose asked.

"I call it my best option," Elena answered.

"It's your easiest option," Rose answered back, momentarily stunning Elena.

"That's not fair," Elena replied, though there was something else to her voice that Sarah noticed. In her own opinion though, she had to agree with Elena over Rose. It wasn't an easy choice, but then again Rose didn't know all the details like she did. Elena was still going to get sacrificed, but in return all of her friends and family would be safe. And Sarah was going to be forever thankful for that, even if she wished it could be different. But it was what Elena wanted, and Sarah was going to help her until she either changed her mind or achieved her goal.

"Do you really think that your witch friend destroyed the moonstone?" Rose then inquired, though Sarah noted the tone of skepticism in her voice.

"I spoke with Bonnie. I know that she had the help of another witch," Elena explained.

"Which is more than likely one of witches working with Elijah and Amelia," Sarah interjected, folding her arms.

"So, no, I don't," Elena answered honestly, though it was hardly a major concern. At least in regards to Elena's endgame plan with the two Originals. Whether they had the moonstone or not – which Sarah suspected they did – it didn't effect the deal Elena had made. And even if it did muck up the Originals' plans, they claimed it wouldn't make them go back on the deal. They were apparently people of their word. Although, Sarah was still yet to see proof of this statement. And unfortunately, the deal with Elena would be the only way to find out if it was true or not.

"You really are determined to die, aren't you," Rose said quietly.

"I'm not going to die," Elena said with a brave smile, one that Rose caught onto as she lifted one eyebrow ever so slightly above the other.

"Are you sure about that?" Rose asked, and the question was enough to once again stun Elena. It was then Sarah realised just how much Rose had worked out on her own. Maybe it was from her own past experiences with Elijah and Amelia, or maybe she was just smarter than she'd ever given her credit for. But Rose had worked out what her brothers had not. That in Elijah and Amelia's deal with Elena, she was still at risk of dying. "At least I ran, you're not even trying," Rose said, snuggling down into the bed while still cuddling her glass of blood in one hand, not that she'd taken a sip since Elena handed it over to her.

Then her eyes closed and she let out a yawn. She didn't need to say, "I'm so tired," because Sarah and Elena had already worked it out from her yawn and mere look alone. She was exhausted, drained even, and the blood didn't seem to be helping with that. Apparently thinking the same, Elena took the glass of blood from Rose's loss grip and placed it back on the nightstand.

After that she looked to Sarah who subtly nodded towards the door, deciding it was best to leave Rose alone, at least until she got off to sleep. Nodding in agreement, Elena slid from her seated position on the bed and up onto her feet. She started to walk out and Sarah went to follow when she heard Rose stir from behind. Both she and Elena turned then to see Rose reaching out across the empty space towards them, eyelids half open as she drifted between conscious and unconscious sleep. "Tell them to prepare the horses," she ordered in a daze.

"It's okay, Rose," Sarah said softly, with a delicate smile to her injured friend. "Just get some sleep."

"You'll feel better when you wake up," Elena added, both she and Sarah watching as Rose closed her eyes and settled back down into the bed.

But it didn't last for long, as she rolled over, mumbling, "Trevor, don't be so stupid. We're never going to make it there before the sun," smiling dreamily as she did. Then suddenly she was sat up, groaning in pain before falling onto her back, arms clutched around her stomach. "Blood… I need blood," Rose groaned out, eyes opening wide, only to then be squeezed shut as she tried to fight off the infection raging inside of her.

Elena turned to run back over to her but Sarah was already there, on the bed with Rose helping her up as she handed Rose the blood. One of her hands then helped Rose guide the glass up to her mouth with the other resting on her back, helping her sit up. By the time Elena joined them at the bed, Rose had already taken a gulp of blood. But then she turned, choking on what she'd taken until she threw it back up, along with another black substance from within her body.

"Crap," Sarah groaned, rubbing Rose's back while she coughed up the rest of whatever she needed to get out. She could see the warning signs for what it was, there were only a handful of reasons vampires couldn't hold down blood, none of which were good.

"What's happening to her?" Elena asked in shock.

"I don't know," Sarah admitted grimily as Rose continued to cough up the black substance from within, having thrown up all the blood she'd just drank.

"What do we do?"

"Get some water. Now!" Sarah ordered, looking back to Elena who was already running into Damon's bathroom. By the time Sarah then turned back to Rose, the sink was already running and Elena was pouring a glass of water. "You're gonna be all right. Just focus on getting it all out," Sarah said supportively, but she was struggling to believe her own words. If she'd been skeptic about the werewolf bite legend before, this would be enough to push her towards the possibility of it being real. And assuming it was real, she doubted it would be easily cured by simply throwing up. As a general rule, when black stuff comes out your body, it's a sign of very bad things.

Finally Rose stopped coughing, leaning back towards Sarah who continued to hold her. But then Sarah found herself on the wooden floor of her brother's room, groaning out as her butt, then her head, whacked off wood. "Sarah?" Elena called, returning to the room with a glass of water in hand, only to find Sarah on the floor and Rose having vanished from the bed.

Going back to Sarah, who was now rubbing the back of her head, Elena got out, "What happen–" right before she found herself shoved against the wall in a series of blurry movements. Next thing she saw, was Rose's vampire face glaring back at her, as blood filled her eyes and the veins blow her eyes began to throb.

"It's all your fault, Katerina!" Rose shouted at Elena, fangs having formed in her blackened stained mouth. "You Katerina, you did this!"

"It's Elena! Rose! Rose, I'm Elena!" Elena shouted back as she tried to fight her off, but she had no strength in comparison to that of an older vampire like Rose, who held her easily against the wall.

"You betrayed us!" Rose shouted angrily, not hearing anything that Elena was saying, as she glared on in fury.

"I'm not Katherine!" Elena cried out.

"I'll kill you!" Rose roared, arm reaching back as she went to rip out Elena's heart.

"Rose, stop!" Sarah shouted over Elena's cries, grabbing ahold of Rose's arm before she could remove Elena's heart. Rose's head swung around to meet Sarah's, ignoring Elena who she had secured with her other arm. "Come on, get a grip!" Sarah shouted at her friend who only hissed back. Then using her superior strength, she yanked her arm free of Sarah's hold, then grabbed her by the throat. Swinging her around and shoving her against the wall next to Elena.

"Rose…it's me…Sarah," she croaked out, trying to reach her friend like Elena had.

"I don't care who you are!" Rose snapped. "If you're with her, then I'll kill you!"

"Rose, it's us, your friends. Elena and Sarah," Elena pleaded, able to speak more easily than Sarah, as she was only held in place with Rose's hand on her shoulder, while Sarah had Rose's hand around her throat. "We just want to help. Please, listen to us!"

Then, just as suddenly as Rose had attacked them, her throbbing veins began to settle, and the blood drained from her eyes. She then blinked, and it was as if she'd just woken up from a dream, and realised what she was doing. "Elena? Sarah?" Rose said slowly, releasing them both as she stepped back in pure confusion.

"It's me, it's Elena," the human girl said, though she was visibly shaking in both body and voice. Sarah, however was a little more relaxed, body calm while she rubbed her burning throat, choosing not speak while she let her body heal.

"Oh my God…Elena…Sarah. I'm so sorry. I…I don't know what's happening to me. I'm sorry," Rose said hysterically as she tried to get a grip of herself. So confused and terrified of what had just happened, almost as much as Elena seemed to be, externally anyway. Sarah was confident she was made of stronger stuff – though they'd all been shaken by what had just happened.

"It's…It's all right. We're all okay and alive," Sarah said, still struggling to speak after her recent choking experience.

"My mind, I'm…" Rose said, hands going to her head.

"It's okay," Sarah promised, taking Rose by the arm as she led her back towards the bed. Looking over her shoulder as she went to make sure Elena was doing all right. But already she'd stopped shaking, and had a brave smile on as she followed the two vampires back towards the bed. But Sarah noted the distance she maintained.

"It was just for a second," Elena said in support to Rose, offering a smile when she looked her way.

"I'm sorry, don't be scared of me," Rose begged, terror in her own voice.

"Please," Sarah scoffed. "It's gonna take a lot more than your ugly mug to scare her off. Right, Elena?"

"Right," agreed, Elena, smiling bravely as she managed to keep her nerves under control.

"Now come on, back into bed," Sarah ordered as she helped her friend back into the bed. "And feel free to do whatever you want in there. Mark your scent or whatever. Just make it clear to my brother that you're here to stay," Sarah said with a grin, before standing back up alongside Elena once Rose was safely in bed.

"I'm scared," Rose said quietly, not able to join in on Sarah's positive spin on things.

"You're not alone," Elena spoke up as she stepped forward. "Me and Sarah are right here."

"Here, where's here?" Rose asked uneasily as she began to nervously look around the room.

"You're in my house," Sarah said with a tender smile, as she placed her hand on Rose's shoulder, gently pushing her back down into he bed when she went to sit up. "In Damon's bedroom."

"I want to go home," Rose said timidly, eyes and body unable to stay still or get comfortable.

Sarah wasn't sure what to say to that, never having seen her friend like this before. Thankfully, she had Elena, who leaned in next to her and said, "Tell us about it," offering up an always caring smile.

"St. Austell. Thirty kilometres south of London. With fields and trees and horses." And as Rose spoke, she seemed to relax. Sinking into the bed as she let her eyes close and her lips seamlessly shift into a small smile.

"Sounds beautiful," Elena said quietly, while she and Sarah smiled softly at the tired Rose.

"When you live long enough, everything disappears," Rose then said. "So much time wasted, I just wish I hadn't been so afraid." After that she fell silent, and not long after she drifted off to sleep. She snored a little, as one does when they're sick, every so often her breath would catch and Elena would begin to panic. That was until Sarah pointed out Rose was a vampire and could survive without air longer than humans. And even if it did cause her to die, she'd come back. At least that's what Sarah hoped.

When it later became clear that Elena needed something to do, Sarah sent her to go and get some clean sheets from one of the cupboards out in the hall. She insisted she was happy to stay, but Sarah could see the worry in her eyes. Not over Rose attacking her, but over the possibility of her death.

It was still odd to Sarah, how Elena could sometimes so easily forgive someone, and so quickly too. She'd forgiven Damon, who even killed her own brother. True he came back, but Damon hadn't been aware of that factor at the time. If something like that had happened to Stefan or Damon, Sarah wouldn't rest until she got revenge. But Elena was just so good, so kind, so selfless that she would put all that aside, even for someone who'd wronged her.

Even so, her constant, not so subtle worrying was beginning to get on Sarah's nerves, so she demanded that Elena go and get some sheets. Pointing out it would be good for Rose, which was apparently what Elena needed to hear in order to comply with Sarah. She made a mental note of that, now having a useful way to manipulate Elena should she need to.

In the time that Elena was gone, Sarah remained by Rose's side. She found Damon's privet fridge, that was hidden away behind a secret panel in the wall, stacked with blood bags. What shocked her though was how empty it was, only a few left, with a dozen or so empties lying around inside. _He must be using these over people_ , Sarah thought, allowing herself a smile. He really was making an effort to be better. In all honesty though, she missed the fresh taste of blood too, but blood bags kept everyone else happy and it satisfied the vampires.

Grabbing one of the few that remained, Sarah opened up the bag as she closed the fridge. Then covering it up with the secret wooden panel. By the time she'd turned back around towards the bed, she'd taken two gulps before then freezing on the third. She began to frown, green eyes staring at the bed in case they were playing tricks on her. But they weren't. Rose was gone again.

"Rose–" Sarah got out before finding herself once again on the floor. Legs swept out from under as she landed face first. Luckily she managed to catch herself with her hands. But by the time she lifted her head and flicked her hair aside, whoever had attacked her was gone. As was her blood bag.

 _It was Rose, had to be_ , Sarah thought. _But if she'd wanted blood all she had to do was ask_. At vamp speed she then jumped back up to her feet, slowly looking around in case Rose was still in the room. Feeding. But there was no sign of her, nor could Sarah hear her from any of the nearby rooms. She still had to be in the house though, as the sun was up.

When the door creaked, Sarah swung around to face it, thinking it might be Rose about to rush her once more, but instead found Elena walking in with fresh sheets in hand. It took her a second to stop, realising that something was wrong. She looked to Sarah, frowning, before her eyes then moved to the bed and widened. "Where did Rose go?" Elena asked calmly, looking towards the bathroom in case she'd gone in there. But Sarah could see into the walk in bathroom from where she was stood, and there was no way she was in there.

"I don't know," Sarah answered as she made her way over to Elena who dumped the sheets on Damon's bed. "I turned my back on her to get some blood, and the next thing I knew she was gone and so was my blood bag."

"Well, she can't have gone far. The sun's still up," Elena pointed out, gesturing to the window that had been covered up by luscious styled curtains, keeping out the sunlight.

"I know, but after what happened earlier, I'm worried about her," admitted Sarah, facial features conveying that message.

"You don't think she'll run outside do you?" Elena asked in mild panic.

"I think we better find her before she gets the chance. Come on," Sarah said as she lead the way out of her brother's room with Elena hot on her heels. They searched every bedroom, but found no sign of her, so they went down to the first floor and continued their search there. Sarah tried her heightened hearing but couldn't pick up anything. The house was eerily quiet. It was making Sarah feel uneasy. She looked into the living room, still no sign of Rose. She went to look at Elena then, only to find she was entering the study further down the hall. Blissfully unaware that she'd gone the other way from Sarah. The vampire then silently sped over to join her, deciding it was best not to separate, and followed Elena in as if she'd been behind her the whole time.

The study was also empty, and Elena turned to look back at Sarah with a furrowed brow. "We'll keep looking, come on," Sarah said as she rolled her head back towards the hallway.

"I'm just going to call Damon. Let him know what's going on," Elena said, walking over to her bag that she'd left downstairs. "You go on," Elena said as she retrieved her phone.

"It's okay, I'll wait," Sarah said nonchalantly, leaning back against a bookcase. Truth was she didn't want to leave Elena alone, not with Rose like this. Fact was earlier Rose could have easily killed them both. She was older, stronger, and starting to lose it. That made her dangerous. And even if Sarah knew what to expect now, it still wouldn't count for much, and if she was going to struggle against Rose, then Elena would be doomed. At least if they stuck together, Sarah could race them both outside into the sunlight if things took another drastic turn. Alone though, Elena wouldn't be able to escape Rose. Even Sarah was going to struggle, what with Rose's advanced age.

Elena started to make the call. "It's Elena," she said once Damon answered. "I'm worried about Rose. I think you should come home. Something strange is–" A loud clang echoed throughout the house and both Sarah and Elena sharply turned their heads. It had to have been Rose, they both knew that, and after quickly focusing her hearing, Sarah knew where they were going to find her now.

"Downstairs," Sarah said, looking to Elena as she got ready to leave.

"I'll call you back," Elena said as she hung up, cutting off Damon's protests and demands for an explanation.

Sarah took the lead, Elena following. They both left the study and then took the stairs down to the basement. The smell of blood hit Sarah almost instantly, as if walking into a new atmosphere. It wasn't fresh, she could tell that right away. Rose had just gotten into the refrigerator that they kept int he basement. Nothing to worry about…at least that was her thinking until she found blood bag after blood bag littering the floor.

She looked back to Elena, an uneasy look on both of their faces. "If you want to go and wait outside–"

"I'll stay," Elena said firmly, shaking her head at the idea of leaving. Not wanting to waste time arguing, or generating too much noise, Sarah merely nodded back, before proceeding to follow the blood bag trail. It didn't go all that far, just around the corner, where they found Rose hunched over, on the floor, tearing into a blood bag. The last one full of blood, while empty plastic bags formed a messy ring around her. Next to her, the open fridge cast an unflattering white light on her, bringing out the infected growing area on her back. And from the sounds she was making as she devoured the blood bag, she sounded more like an animal than a person.

"Oh my God," Elena gasped as she took in the sight from next to Sarah. A second passed, and then Rose turned swiftly, glaring at the pair, before she then focused on Elena. Sarah could understand why, given what she saw in Rose's eyes. Even before the whites of her eyes turned blood red, she could see how hungry Rose was, and how the frozen stuff wasn't doing it for her. She needed it to be fresh, from the vein. But then something else followed that look, after her vampiric features came out. An undying hatred Sarah had occasionally glimpsed in the mirror. But only when she thought of…

"Katerina," Rose growled, fangs elongating as she practically spat at Elena.

"Oh, crap," Sarah breathed out as Rose started to rise. Quickly Sarah shoved Elena towards the stairs, implying that she run while she held Rose off. But then she suddenly found herself being pulled away by Elena. She looked to Elena confused and about to ask what the hell she was doing until Elena shoved her down the corridor. With herself now in between Rose and Sarah, Elena grabbed an olden broken door and pulled it over to block Rose off. Rose threw herself towards the pair but the door blocked her in mid-flight, as she snapped and growled at them, saliva and leftover blood flying as she cried out at them.

"Run!" Sarah ordered, grabbing Elena and pushing her ahead as the two ran for the stairs. Meanwhile, behind them, Rose threw herself at the old door once again, only this time breaking through, but by that point Elena and Sarah had made it to the top of the stairs and where running into the study.

"Go on only, I'll hold her off!" Sarah called to Elena as she turned around to face the roaring Rose who was charging up the stairs after them.

"No, Sarah, I'm not leaving you here–" Elena protested, voice been over powered by Sarah and the sounds created by Rose as she ran.

"Elena, just go, I'll be fine!" Sarah shouted over her shoulder, finding Elena had stopped in the middle of the study, waiting for her to follow. She then turned to see if Rose had caught up to them – and to find out how much time she'd have left to argue with Elena – before then finding Rose right in front of her. No longer seeing Sarah, but instead a barrier between her and who she thought was Katherine.

Snarling, Rose advanced, ready to attack Sarah until she shouted, "Rose, stop. It's me, Sarah!" That gave the bitten vampire pause, though her features and everything else remained the same. It was almost like she was frozen. "It's Sarah. Sarah and Elena," she explained, gesturing back to Elena who had taken a step closer to them.

"I'm not Katherine, Rose. I'm Elena," the doppelgänger explained, doing her best to put on a friendly smile.

"And we're your friends," Sarah added, going for a friendly smile as well, only it came out more uncertain than she'd hoped for. "It's just a hallucination. It's not real. Katherine's locked up, and she's never getting out. That's Elena, and I'm Sarah."

"You're friends," Elena added. And for a moment, it seemed like they'd broken through to Rose again, their friend. Her vampire features retracted, fangs disappearing into her gums, blood leaving her eyes, shoulders relaxing just enough.

"That's right," Sarah said encouragingly, looking at her friend with a smile. But Rose just continued to stare at them both, as if unsure. Then her eyes flicked to Elena, and suddenly her vampire features were back. With a roar of anger she shoved Sarah aside, sending the vampire into a bookshelf. She clattered to the floor, books following her down, each giving her a good whack as they landed on top or around her.

"Sarah!" Elena cried out, only for the word to turn to a gasp as the wind left her body. Rose had tackled her, both landing beneath a closed curtain next to the fireplace. Rose had her pinned, hands holding down Elena's shoulders while she straddled her. Elena fought back as best she could, but she had no chance in her position, not against someone as strong as Rose. Even so, Rose took longer than usual to go in for the kill, hissing and growling as she glared at Elena's neck. As if mentally trying to understand how Katherine's blood could appear so human, and if that meant bitting into her would kill her.

She didn't get the chance to find out, as Sarah raced over. Rose didn't notice, and even if she did, it wasn't her Sarah was going for. Grabbing hold of the curtain behind the tussling Elena and Rose, Sarah yanked with not even half her strength and the thing was torn away. The curtain fell, and light blasted into the room through the window. Instantly the sound of sizzling skin filled the room, followed by Rose's cries of pain.

Sarah waited for her opening, confused as to why – despite her screams and obvious pain – Rose held onto Elena, remaining in the light. But finally the pain and fear of death won out over her insanity and she released Elena, rolling towards the fireplace and out of the shining sun. Sarah then darted in, avoiding Rose as she grabbed Elena, pulling her up before running from the study at vamp speed.

When she stopped by the front door Elena stumbled, but Sarah caught her and redirected her towards the door. They ran, and despite the fact it was only a meter or two away, Sarah still managed to get grabbed from behind before they could reach it. She found herself being lifted up off the ground before then flying backwards into the living room where she hit the floor. A groan of pain escaped her lips before she then found Rose on top of her, once again hissing and snarling like a lunatic. Sarah tried to shove her off but the older vampire was easily able to remain on top, despite her erratic movements.

Arms then swung at Sarah and she managed to catch them, but one quickly got away as Rose thrashed the other one about, trying to get free of Sarah's hold. Her free hand then went to claw at Sarah's face and she only just managed to defend herself, using her arm as a shield. But Rose didn't let up, and kept trying to get at Sarah's face while also trying to free her other arm.

Sarah wouldn't be able to keep this up for long, she was painfully aware of that, and she couldn't spot a way to get herself free. That was until Elena rushed in from behind Rose, practically jumping onto her back as she thrusted her fingers into Rose's bite mark. Another cry of pain, similar, but different to the one from when Rose had been hit by sunlight. Refusing to let up, Elena pushed her fingers in further, face contorting in disgust and distress at her own actions. Then finally Rose subsided, back arching as she tried to free herself of the pain caused by Elena's fingers inside her infected wound.

With Rose relenting, Sarah quickly grabbed Rose's other – momentarily still – arm. She then told Elena to let Rose go. Cautiously, Elena backed off, yanking her fingers from Rose's back. Then Sarah pulled Rose towards her, while curling her legs in and sliding them beneath her opponent. She rolled back and then unleashed her legs, sending Rose arching towards the fireplace, where she hit the wall with another animal like scream.

Wasting no time, Sarah shot back up to her feet and grabbed Elena. Now subconsciously fearing the front door, Sarah took a detour, and ran up to Stefan's bedroom. The highest place in the house, with only one staircase leading up to it. It was one of the easiest rooms to defend in the house from an inside approach.

Once in, Sarah then slammed the door shut and locked it, but knew full well one wooden door wouldn't be enough to stop Rose. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, landing on a nearby dresser. It seemed Elena had the same idea as she was already running towards it, meaning Sarah didn't even have to convey her message. Grabbing an end each, they quickly moved the dresser in front of the door, the legs scrapping against the floor as they did. Still not comfortable though, Sarah grabbed the nearby couch, lifting it up as she dragged it towards the door. Elena ran around and started to help, lifting her end so they could move it faster, before then allowing Sarah to position it against the door. And then just for good measure, Sarah shoved the closed bookcase towards the door, which it hit with the loud sound of cracking wood.

The sound of a chair toppling over behind her caught her attention, and Sarah momentarily panicked, thinking Rose had somehow gotten into the room. In reality, it was only Elena, who'd been backing up and hit a wooden chair, knocking it over in the process. Sarah met her eyes, trying to reassure the panicked girl. She wasn't scared, necessarily, but she was alert and understandably shocked after what they'd just gone through. Her breathing laboured as she tried to get it under control.

Wanting to keep her busy, but not so much so that her adrenaline continued to flood through, Sarah calmly told her to open up all the curtains, letting in as much sunlight as possible. Elena nodded, quickly completing her task while Sarah grabbed the leg off the knocked over chair and snapped it off. Now she had a stake, but she was only going to use it as a last resort. No matter what was happening, she didn't want to kill Rose. She was her friend, and she was sick.

But she'd still do. To save herself and Elena, she'd do it.

Elena stepped over to Sarah's side once she'd finished opening up all the curtains, light now filling most of the room. But there was still a few spots where shadows clung to the walls and floor, providing spots where Rose could hide until the sun went down. "Whatever happens, stay in the light," Sarah ordered Elena, glancing over to make sure she understood. She nodded, but remained next to Sarah. Half her body in the light, while the other half was in the shadows along with Sarah.

A rattle from the door caught their attention, both looking back to the barricaded door. Someone was trying to open it. Sarah took up her fighting position, stake in hand while Elena tensed from next to her. "Sarah? Elena?" It was Rose, on the other side of the door. She tried again but still couldn't get in. "I know that's you and not Katherine. I know that you're my friends–" the last word was mixed in with a violent cough, followed by the sound of Rose throwing up once more.

Her body was still rejecting the blood. Sarah knew that wasn't a good. She also knew it wouldn't be long until the sun set, and if blood bags weren't doing it, logic would compel Rose to try a fresh source, and drink until either things improved, or got worse. "Please," Rose groaned out from beyond the door. "I'm sorry I tried to hurt you both." Another coughing fit. "But I need your help. Please, Sarah? Elena?"

Unable to ignore her friend's pleas, Sarah bit her lip. She would be happy to risk herself, but it was Elena she was worried about. In her opinion, things would probably be fine if Elena wasn't here. Her resemblance to Katherine seemed to be what was triggering Rose's hallucinations, or at the very least, making them easier to believe. But she was here, and Sarah had to protect her now. While also trying to help Rose. She couldn't prioritise one friend over another. So she looked to Elena, positioned in her readied stance.

"I'm going to open the door," Sarah said quietly as not to startle anyone. Elena didn't seem all that surprised and nodded in understanding. Passing her the stake, Sarah forced it into Elena's hands, making sure she had a hold before letting go. "Stay in the light, and up against the window," Sarah instructed. Though reluctant, Elena did as told, backing up towards the window that provided her with the best view of Sarah and the doorway.

Once she was safely surrounded by light and armed with the stake, Sarah turned back to the door. First she moved aside the couch, flipping it over so that it landed upside down and out of the way. Then she pushed the bookcase back upright, and finally pulled the dresser back enough so that she could easily open and close the bedroom door. Another look to Elena, making sure she was safe and comfortable. Another nod from Elena, and Sarah unlocked the door. She gripped the handle, taking a steady breath, reading herself for whatever happened next, and then opened it. Only now, Rose was gone.


	24. Something Bad

_Review responses:_

 _Guest: I'm so glad you're enjoying it, although you might be about to experience a step backwards..._

 _Okay, gonna say it now, I might have gone a little overboard with the ending. But it does serve a purpose and I just couldn't stop myself once I got going. Definitely a downer of a chapter though, as most of you can guess I imagine, I have changed some things up though and put a bit more emphasis on Damon and Rose, which I felt was needed for this story. So if you're having a bad day, maybe hold off on reading this chapter till tomorrow._

 _I'll also apologise for any spelling and grammar mistakes in advance. I know I always miss some, even when I go over my chapters, but this one was a lot more rushed to get through so that I could get it up in time. And I'm not just talking about the edit, but the writing of it as well so hopefully it runs smoothly, pacing wise. But if not please tell me and I'll try and amend it in future chapters. I just really didn't want to miss an upload and push this back because the Uni workload that has me screaming already!_

 _But happy thoughts! And in two weeks I get to bring back... Oh, crap! You mean we have to deal with that bas–!_

* * *

 **Chapter 24: Something Bad**

* * *

All that was before Sarah, was an empty staircase leading down into the rest of the house. Rose was gone. As for when she'd left, Sarah had no idea. She hadn't heard anything to suggest she was leaving, but then again she hadn't heard her cough or splutter or make any form of noise since she stopped asking them to open the door. Glancing to the window, Sarah bit down on her lip. Time was running out, the sun already setting, far more faster than she'd realised. Normally at this time of year the sun would be shining for another hour or so, but the gloomy weather was already limiting the sunlight, and there was no signs of improvement on the horizon. Her only option now was to find Rose, hope she was sane enough to comply, and lock her up before they lost all the remaining daylight.

There was however, one variable that Sarah didn't know what to do with. She glanced over her shoulder, turning from the window and looking to Elena. She couldn't leave her up here, not with the setting sun. If Rose came up her and found Elena on her own, and descended into another episode, the weak sunlight shinning into the room wouldn't be enough to protect her. And the broken chair leg in Elena's hands was hardly going give her the upper hand. However, taking Elena with her might bring about another episode because of her mere appearance. Sarah had learnt long ago that Elena was not Katherine. Rose knew it too, had since the start, but her mind was warped now, and she knew that face as Katherine – longer than she knew it as Elena.

"You should go," Sarah said as she stared into Elena's eyes.

"No," Elena said, voice shaking before she continued. "I'm not leaving you, or Rose."

"You're not helping," Sarah pointed out, and she felt sorry for the hurt that flashed through Elena's eyes. It hadn't been meant as a personal attack. "I know you're trying to, and I appreciate it. But right now, all your face does is remind Rose of Katherine. It's making the hallucinations worse, giving them something real to push them along. You being here isn't helping."

"I can't just leave–" Elena tried to argue.

"Yes, you can," Sarah cut in. "Get in your car, and drive back home before…" Sarah stopped, as a cloud passed by, blocking out the sun as the light shining in vanished from the room, taking most of the shadows along with it. "Damn it," Sarah cursed beneath her breath, looking back down the stairs in case Rose had returned. She hadn't, and now she might have fled the house. The cloud would pass, but even then they had an hour or so of sunlight left, at least that's what Sarah figured.

"We're wasting time. We need to go downstairs and find Rose now before she leaves the house," Elena pointed out, stepping towards Sarah.

"Don't you think I know that," Sarah snapped, turning to face Elena who'd jumped at the sharpness of her friend's words. "Sorry," Sarah apologised, running a hand through her hair as she took in a breath. "It'd just be easier if I'd gotten you out earlier."

"Yeah, well, I'm still here," Elena bit back, making Sarah's eyes widen as she turned back to Elena. "And I'm not leaving until I know Rose is safe. She matters to Damon, and they both matter to you and Stefan. So she matters to me. I don't care if you're worried about me, I'm going to go and help her," Elena declared before marching past Sarah and down the stairs, all with the green eyed vampire's momentarily surprised gaze following her.

"Okay…" Sarah said, a little taken aback by Elena's sudden declaration. She recovered soon enough though, following the brunette down to the second floor. For the second time that day, Sarah and Elena searched the house from top to bottom, finding nothing. This time however, they did split up, partly because it meant they could cover more ground and because Elena kept trying to do it alone. If Sarah went left, she went right. If Sarah went into the bedroom, Elena would try another door down the hall. Eventually Sarah got the hint and left Elena to do her thing, since she was so determined to prove herself. She didn't even bother to listen in on her in case she got into trouble, focusing instead on any sound that might lead her to Rose. She heard a few things here and there, but by the time she'd arrived – if Rose ever had been there – she was gone.

She met back up with Elena in the front hallway, neither having seen Rose. It was then they saw the open door, and the black sky outside.

"Crap," Sarah groaned, looking out the doorway and peering around in case Rose was miraculously still in the front driveway. She wasn't.

"We could still catch up to her, she might not have gotten far," Elena suggested hopefully.

"Doubtful," Sarah muttered turning back around. "She could have left at any point between now and when we left Stefan's room. That gives her more than enough time to get into the centre of town or anywhere else in Mystic Falls."

"You don't know that," Elena pointed out optimistically.

"Yeah, but I'm realistic, Elena," Sarah pointed out with an irritated look. Not for Elena, but for the situation they'd gotten themselves into, and Elena understood that. "Now I've just gotta hope we can find her before she kills anyone, or worse."

Then, hearing footsteps behind her, Sarah turned, as Damon walked into the house, frown quickly forming when he found his sister and Elena waiting for him. A second later, he'd spotted the stake in Elena's hand, as well as the matching worried and concerned looks on the women's faces. "Everything all right?" Damon asked casually, suspicious blue eyes moving between his sister and his brother's girlfriend. When neither answered, he peered past them into the living room, finding it empty. His brow lowered further, as he did a quick scan of the hall, not finding who he was looking for.

"Where's Rose?" Damon asked, the concern, no matter how well he hid it, inside his voice.

"We don't know," Elena sighed out, lowering her head in shame as she brushed her hair aside.

"Seriously?" Damon asked rhetorically, hinting them both with an expression to back it up. An expression that then shifted in to a mixture of anger and fearful concern. "I mean I'm out the door, for what, two minutes, and you go and lose her? What could have possibly happened in the time I was gone?"

"She not herself Damon," Sarah began to explain. "The wolf bite, it's messing with her head."

"She kept thinking I was Katherine," Elena added.

"Well, we can't exactly blame her for that," Damon muttered.

"Hey!" Sarah snapped, whacking her brother on the arm as he glared at her. "This is serious. She was attacking us, chasing us around the house." Her voice then dropped, taking on a more sympathetic tone. "She loosing it Damon. I'm not sure how long she has left."

"She's not dying," Damon snapped suddenly, surprising Sarah with his sudden change in tune from earlier. "She just needs blood and rest."

"Damon she's coughed up ever drop of blood we've given her," Sarah pointed out, brushing aside her raven hair.

"It'll be the blood bags, she needs something fresh, from the vein," Damon argued.

"It's got nothing to do with the blood. Her mind and body and being messed with because of the wolf bite, and we both know how this is going to end."

"Know?" Damon spat out the word, squaring up to his sister as he glared down at her, icy blue eyes alight with a defiant flame. "We don't, 'Know,' anything."

"We know Scarlett's bite killed Logan Fell," Sarah pointed out, folding her arms.

"We know he died, and we know Scrappy bit him. That's not causality, that's a coincidence. And if there was a connection, he died over night, Rose has been bit for almost a day and is still walking," Damon countered, gesturing madly towards the open door behind him. He was stretching, Sarah could see it, Elena could too. Whatever had happened while he'd been out, it hadn't gone well. He'd come back with nothing and while before he'd been ready to declare Rose dead then and there, now he couldn't even accept the idea. He'd realised her cared. And now it might be too late.

"Okay, fine," Sarah said sternly. "We don't know everything about this werewolf bite." Damon looked like he was ready to jump in, but Sarah continued on before he could reveal in his minor pointless victory. He needed to hear this. "Maybe it takes different people longer to die than others, maybe it doesn't kill vampires. You're right, I'm not one-hundred precent sure. But what I do know, is that Rose's mind is shattering. She's hallucinating like crazy, and she can't tell up from down. Her bloodlust is out of control and nothing she drinks or eats can stay in her stomach for more than a few minutes. She's becoming more and more aggressive and violent with each passing hour, and now, she's out there, potentially killing God knows how many people."

Finally it sank in, as Damon's face lowered and the saddening realisation entered his heartbreaking blue eyes. Sarah felt for her brother. She did. She'd wanted him to find love again, to move on from Elena. He found it in Rose, even if it was still early days. But now he was losing it, losing her, and Damon had never been good at loosing people he didn't cut out of his life by choice.

"I'm sorry. I really am, Damon," Sarah said as she placed her hands on her brother's shoulders, meeting his eyes with her compassionate green. "But she hasn't got long left. And we need to find her before she does something that effects us all. She's older, and she's stronger and she needs to be stopped."

For a moment Damon just stared down into his sister's eyes, before then shoving her arms off. "First we find her. Then _I'll_ decide what we're doing." Sarah was fine with that. Better he see it for himself, however painful it was. If she did something unthinkable without him seeing how bad she'd gotten, he'd never forgive her. He might even run off again, abandoning his family. Sarah didn't want that. So she let him lead the way, both she and Elena following him as they took his car back into town. They were brainstorming where to search when the Sheriff called. There'd been a vampire attack.

It was at the school, and Damon broke every speed limit and ran through every red light to make sure he got them there as quickly as possible. Sarah could see it in his eyes, the fear. He wanted to get to Rose first, to try and talk to her. He needed that. Part of Sarah wondered if they both did.

When they arrived, Damon went over to the Sheriff alone. Sarah remained with Elena by the car, and while she listened in on the Sheriff and Damon's discussion, Elena tried calling Stefan. She got his voice mail, and the Sheriff gave Damon the run down of the situation. Key bullet points; vampire attack, no idea who it was, no one else knows, police are dealing with whatever party's going on around the school by moving everyone inside, and the Sheriff is heading around the East side while Damon was to take the West. Also, the kill was fresh, meaning Rose might still be nearby, seeing as she'd have established this place as an easy hunting ground.

No matter how broken and lost her mind was, the primal part of her would recognise the need for food and remain until another predator arrived. Or at least Sarah hoped so. She wasn't lying when she'd admitted to Damon that she wasn't full sure about how the werewolf bite effected vampires. But right now, she had nothing better to trust than her gut, so her gut it was.

When Damon returned Elena finished up her message to Stefan and hung up, turning to Damon and Sarah afterwards. "You haven't heard from Stefan have you?" Elena asked Damon. "It's just we haven't heard from him all day," she explained with a wave of a finger between herself and Sarah. "Do you know what he's up to?"

"My baby brother is not exactly my priority right now," Damon mumbled, as he pulled the stake Elena had being holding earlier from his pocket. "Take this," Damon said as he discreetly handed Elena the stake, who then hid it beneath her jacket. His gaze then swung to Sarah, icy warning in his blue eyes. "Don't do anything unless I say so." Sarah nodded. No back talk, no snappy comments, no challenge. She didn't want to make this any harder for him than it already was. She'd made her peace back at the house, now she could only support him until they found Rose. Then they'd make a decision.

"Right, come on, let's go," Damon said placing a hand each on Elena and Sarah's back, before guiding them towards the quieter West side of the school, heading towards another parking lot.

Making their way across the concrete ground, Damon and Sarah scanned the environment, eyes and ears on high alert while Elena did her best to help, tightly holding her stake in hand. They were just reaching the other end when a scream tore out through the night. In the blink of an eye Damon was gone, rushing over to investigate. Sarah followed behind, taking Elena's wrist so she could keep up with them at their supernatural speed.

They arrived to find Rose by a car, a dead body smashed onto the broken windscreen, blood leaking from his neck, and Rose sinking her teeth into a young screaming woman. Sarah remained back with Elena, a car between them and Rose, while Damon circled around until he was behind Rose, shouting her name as he tried to get through to her. "Rose! Rose, stop!"

She turned, so fast that she snapped the girl's neck in the process, the blonde's body going limp before collapsing in a pile on the floor. However Sarah was more focused on the crazed and angry look Rose was giving her brother. She lunged, Damon caught her and they both fell to the ground, twisting and turning as they did.

Elena went to move in and help, but Sarah held her arm out to block her from going in further. Damon had to do this. He could do it. She believed that. But more so he needed to see first hand what Sarah had been telling him. How broken Rose was, how damaged she'd become as a result of the bite. If he needed her help she'd be there, but for now he needed to bear witness.

And he did, as he pinned Rose to the ground, shouting at her, calling out to her in hopes that he could bring her back to her senses. "Rose, Rose! It's me, it's Damon. It's Damon." As he shouted, Rose began to cease in her thrashing. Staring up into those loving and scared blue eyes until finally she stopped moving. The blood faded from her eyes, and a look of confusion passed over her.

"Damon," she whispered up, and Sarah felt her heart crack a little. To hear a friend sound so desperate, so in need of her brother…and so frightened.

"It's okay," Damon said soothingly, as he stroked her bloodied hair. "I'm here."

She tried to sit up, but Damon kept her down, trying to shield her from the reality for just a little longer. Sarah remained where she was, wishing both of them could escape the reality that was coming, but that wasn't how life worked sadly. "What happened, how did I…?" Rose trailed off, spotting the dead girl by the car. The one that she'd killed.

"Did I do this?" Rose began to weep, mumbling out apologises for what she'd done even though she'd had no control over herself. She knew that though, and it scared her. Scared them all, in truth. "I never meant to hurt anyone. I never wanted to hurt anyone."

"I know," Damon said, taking her face in his hands and trying to get her to focus on him, to block out everything else and just see him. It was hard for Sarah to watch, to see her brother and friend fighting the inevitable. Rose trying to claw herself away from death and her breaking sanity. Damon trying to internally decide whether to open up and be hurt, or to close himself off and leave Rose alone and heart broken. Despite the cold heartless exterior her tried to put up. Sarah knew which would prevail. But that didn't make watching two people she cared about getting hurt so badly any less painful.

Sarah was then broken from her thoughts when Rose looked over to her and Elena, tears flowing from her eyes in a rushing stream. Her body trembling from a mixture of sadness, fear, and the werewolf infected bite running through her veins. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she cried out, and Sarah honestly didn't know how to respond. She didn't blame Rose for any of it though.

"Come on, let's get you home," Damon said, going to lift Rose up in his arms before she shoved him away.

"No, I don't have a home, I haven't had a home in so long!" Rose cried out, tears bursting through as she cried so hard. It was killing her, but even worse, it was breaking her apart, making her experience nothing but pain. Her mind was broken, as was her body. As was everything. All she wanted was for it to end but she didn't have the strength to do it herself. She need someone else to do it for her. And he knew that now.

"Oh make it stop, please make it stop! I hate it, make it stop!" Rose continued to cry until finally Sarah saw Damon nodding. She doubted he was even aware of it himself. So lost in the suffering of someone he cared about, and so angry with himself for not knowing how to fix it.

He picked her up. Taking Rose in his strong arms while she cuddled into him, crying into him as she held on to the last thing she loved. Sarah didn't say a word as Damon passed her, and neither did Elena. They both respectfully lowered their gazes as Damon passed, not wanting to up set him by looking for any sign of his true feelings. They both already knew anyway. And as they went to follow, Sarah spotted a few extra tears on the ground.

It was easy enough to get back to Damon's car. By this point the police had gotten everybody into the school or away from the parking lot. The Sheriff was still on the other side of the building, hunting for vampires, giving them an empty and peaceful space as they loaded Rose into the back of Damon's car.

Once she was in, Damon threw Sarah the keys, muttering something about her driving before then climbing in next to Rose. Sarah climbed into the driver's seat, and Elena hesitated for a moment – watching Damon as he held Rose against him in the backseat – before then climbing inside too.

The drive home was silent, save Rose's whimpering and occasional screams. She didn't get violent. It was just as if she was having a series of nightmares, over and over. Haunting and terrifying memories resurfacing and playing out as if they were happening all again. At least that's what Sarah thought, judging by some of the things Rose was saying. Damon paid no mind to any of it. Just held her tightly, eyes fixed straight ahead, giving nothing away. His hands did though. And through the rearview mirror, Sarah could see just how tightly he was holding onto Rose.

When they got home, Damon took Rose back up to his room, telling Elena to go home as he made his way inside. Other than that he didn't say anything. Not even when he walked in and realised Rose had already been sleeping in his bedroom prior to all this. He just lay her down, helped Sarah change the sheets around her, then stood over her. Waiting for her to awaken once more.

Sarah was stood a little further back, watching the couple. Arms folded, trying her hardest not to think about how this was all going to go. Rose was getting worse, anyone could see that. The sad thing was, as she got worse, so did Damon. His true feelings coming out more and more, as he realised how little time he had left. It wasn't fair. The more he showed those feelings, the more he was hurting. He wanted to show Rose he did care, but doing that was hurting him, because he knew it wasn't going any further than tonight.

"Hi there," Damon said softly as Rose's eyelids fluttered open.

"I'm sorry," she murmured out, too tired to put any real emotion into her voice. She was sweating again, Sarah spotted that, and still so pale despite the blood she'd taken in. _How much longer was this gong to go on?_ She wondered. Like Damon had said, Logan Fell had died within a few hours, but Rose had been going on twenty-four hours now. How much longer did she have to endure this suffering before it finally ended and she found peace. Looking at Damon now, Sarah hoped it wouldn't be too much longer, for either of their sakes.

"You went on a murderous rampage. It happens," Damon said with a shrug, stroking Rose's hair as he leaned in to be closer to her. She tried to smile, to show she cared as little as him, but she did care. Even through the fog that was her mind, she knew deep down she cared, like she always had.

"I'm sorry, Elena. I don't like taking human life, I never have," Rose suddenly said, though Sarah knew why. Because Elena had just entered the room. Despite Damon's order to leave, she'd remained. Sarah had heard her entering the house and coming up the stairs but didn't say anything. There was little point. She'd go when she felt like it, no matter what anyone told her. Because she cared too.

Sarah did turn though, along with Damon who's angry blue eyes landed on Elena. "You shouldn't be here," Damon stated, practically willing Elena to leave with his gaze alone. He knew about the hallucinations, how Rose had seen Elena as Katherine. He'd pointed out himself earlier that it was an easy mistake to make, and just like Sarah, he figured Elena being around Rose wasn't helping. That was why he'd so bluntly told her to leave when they first got home. And why he was so annoyed that she hadn't left when he'd told her to.

Elena didn't leave though, despite Damon's glare. She'd seen it but she was more focused on Rose, who was looking right at her. Looking into her very soul as if connecting with it on a stranger personal level. "It's the worst part about it," Rose continued, confessing to Elena. "The hunt, the need to kill, the thirst, the pleasure it brings you afterwards. I wasn't meant to be evil… It hurts."

"So stop talking about it," Damon cut in, condescension in his voice. Sarah would have hit him had it not been so obvious he was trying to mask his own hurt feelings. Trying to push down his our pain by not talking about it. But not everyone treated emotions in the same way Damon did, a fact that very much annoyed him from time to time.

He stalked off towards his sister, as if about to leave, allowing Elena to pass and approach Rose's bedside while she continued to speak to her. "Damon's a lot like me. He wants to care but when he does he runs away from it," Rose explained, knowingly. Funny how death seemed to give a certain clairvoyance to someones words. As if they must know it all because their time has come.

In this case however, they did hold truth to them. Sarah could see it in her brothers eyes. He was stood in front of her, not looking at her however. Staring at the door, as if contemplating running away. He was tempted, Sarah knew it. Tempted to run away, turn that emotional switch right down and push away all those nasty feelings. But that would make Rose right, and Damon hated it when other people were right about him. Which left him with only one other option. Stay. No matter how painful. And Sarah was proud of him for doing just that.

"I'm sorry for what I've done today," Rose said to them all.

"We know," Elena said in a sooth understanding voice.

"And you need to fight," Rose added, voice suddenly scared, frightened. Because she too was fighting a loosing battle. "I know that you're scared but you have to do it anyway." Suddenly she started coughing again. Damon swung around, and Sarah got ready to move, but both saw Elena already comforting her. It was a short series, ending as suddenly as they began, with Rose cuddling into Elena's hand, smiling every so slightly. Like a tired child who was sinking into their bed after a long exciting day.

Her eyes then opened up, looking directly into Elena's soft nurturing brown ones, making her feel so peaceful for a moment. "Why are you so nice to me?" Rose asked.

Elena smiled down at her. "Guess it's something to do with being human," Elena shrugged, not quite sure she understood it herself. Her need to care, to help, to protect.

"You can never forget it, what it's like to be human. It haunts me. It's the only thing that's kept me going," Rose explained, her smiling growing in bravery as she continued to look into Elena's calming eyes. Even if the human doppelgänger was feeling anything but. "It doesn't hurt as much anymore," Rose said, taking in the blissful moment of peace.

Before the pain suddenly returned. This time burning from within her stomach. Her arms began to wrap around her chest, groans echoing from within. The blood, the fresh blood she'd taken when she'd lost control, the blood of those people she'd killed. It was thrashing around inside her now, trying to get out. Her body fighting to reject it but having nowhere to send it now that it'd been absorbed. Now it only helped push the infection throughout her body. Spreading the pain as she began to scream once more.

"What'd we do?" Elena asked desperately, looking back to the brother and sister.

"Go," was Damon's one and only answer, motioning with his thumb for Elena to get out. She moved aside, allowing Damon to move into her spot at Rose's side, but she remained in the room. Damon didn't stay there for long though, as he quickly moved onto the bed, pulling Rose onto his lap as she continued to roll about and cry out in pain. He was doing what he could to comfort her, but Sarah could see, Rose wasn't the only one who couldn't take much more of this.

She moved over too, taking Rose's hand and holding it as she whispered soothing words of comfort to her, doing what she could to mentally null the pain with her vampire powers. "Guys…" came Elena's voice, breaking Sarah and Damon's concentration. She was just trying to help, they both knew it, but she'd done all she could, and if she hadn't been before, she was certainly becoming a hindrance now.

"Just go," Damon snapped, another glare being sent Elena's way. "We've got this."

"He's right, just go home, Elena," Sarah added, with a more sympathetic and understanding look to her friend. But she still used the same amount of firmness that Damon had, letting her know that she'd either leave willingly, or by force in the next few seconds. She hesitated, like Sarah knew she would, but in the end Elena did leave, and this time Sarah heard her car leave too.

Before that though, once she'd left the room, Sarah turned to Damon, shouting over the screaming Rose. "Damon, you need to go into her head."

"I know, I know," Damon snapped back, before taking Rose's head in both hands, closing his eyes and focusing. It was the best way to get her through this. To put her to sleep and push aside the pain until she thought that was just part of the dream. Blurring the lines between reality and dream. It was all about making her peaceful now. Trying to make these last few moments count.

It took a few attempts but eventually Damon managed to put her to sleep with the aid of Sarah. But having two minds inside her head, not including her own, had knocked Rose out completely. They'd meant to only momentarily put her to sleep until the pain passed, but even when it did she remained in a deep sleep. Sarah suggested waking her up or even going into her head but Damon shut down those ideas, deciding that Rose needed her rest. He also needed a rest, as Sarah knew, and time to think as well. Time to breath and come to terms. She made sure to give him that time, claiming she was stepping out for some air when she left. She only went out into the hallway, closing the door behind her before then sitting down against the wall between her and Damon's room.

From there she listened, like the nosey little sister she was. Though she saw it more as the caring sister. Maybe Damon did too. He never came out and shouted at her for snooping around. Or maybe he was just scared to go through this completely alone. Maybe having one of his siblings nearby made him stronger, reminding him that he was the oldest and there for the most responsible. He'd let his siblings down many times. He'd let himself down too, but he couldn't do both at once, not when Rose needed him. So he found the strength some how, and continued on while Sarah waited beyond his bedroom door.

"Who'd have thought you'd be a nice guy?" came Rose's weak voice from Damon's bed.

"I'm not nice," Damon whispered back. "I'm mean, and I like it."

"You lie," Rose said knowingly, though her voice made it hard to tell if she really knew, or was just guessing.

Damon softly shushed her before then saying, "Just sleep…just sleep." Then silence.

Eventually Sarah figured Damon had once again put Rose to sleep, this time entering her mind alone. Good. As much as she wanted to be there for her brother, she didn't want to hear this goodbye. Nor did she want to say one herself. She liked Rose, she called her a friend, but they'd never been the closest by any means. Saying goodbye just felt…odd. At least with Damon it made sense. He was the only one that really still matter to Rose.

Even so, Sarah couldn't help but think of Lexi now. Yet another friend lost after being dragged into her horrible life. Another friend she hadn't said goodbye to. Even after all this time, it still hurt, knowing she'd never see her again, never laugh with her again, never scheme with her again. Her best friend…gone. _Would it feel the same once Rose was gone?_ Sarah wondered for a second, as she listened to Damon and Rose's steady breathing, while the two dreamed.

Then a quickening heart, the beat picking up. Not Rose's though, Damon's. A sniff followed suit, the smell of salty tears just touching the still air. It was time.

Sarah closed her eyes, letting her ears guide her into the room, allowing her to see without actually being in there. Damon lying on the bed, the mattress quietly groaning beneath him. Rose leaning back against him, Damon's muscles tensing under her weight as his shirt stretch and pulled to accommodate for the pressure. Her older brother sniffling and choking as he fought to hold in those tears. The stake in both hands, held above Rose's heart, trembling and readjusting their grip, over and over. His own heart picked up in speed, readying for the kill he didn't want to make when suddenly…

The stake came down. It punctured Rose's heart. Damon's heart skipping a beat, slowing as the reality set in. The tears rolled down his face, slow and steady like his heart. His chin, resting atop a dead woman's head. Silence.

Sarah gave him a few minutes alone, before then opening her eyes and standing up. Slowly she reached for the doorknob, turning it and pushing open the door just enough to look in, to see if Damon wanted her there or not.

He hadn't moved, still laid on top of the bed, holding the stake that had penetrated the dead Rose, whose body had already finished desiccating. Skin no longer pale, but a lifeless stone like grey, with veins having stopped, thickening and rising up all over her body. Sarah did her best to look past her dead friend, and to her brother. The one that needed her. He was still crying. Not verbally, but the tears were rolling down his checks in single file lines, while a lump in his throat moved up and down uneasily.

"Damon…" Sarah whispered, opening the door some more as she carefully placed one foot into the room. It took a moment for Damon to register his sister's voice, turning his head as those open and sad eyes connected with her own. She saw the emotion in them then, saw everything he'd been pushing away. Before he had a chance to do anything, she ran to him, arms flying around his neck as she pulled him into a hug. Careful not to accidentally hit or damage Rose's delicate body.

"I'm sorry," Sarah said softly to her brother, her own tears coming out now. She heard Damon sniff once more, her own sadness triggering his. One of his hands left the stake, instead now grabbing onto Sarah's arm in comfort. Sarah wasn't sure how long it was they spent there. At a guess it was an hour or two. Stefan never came home, neither did Scarlett. It was just her and her brother in that big old house. Holding one another while they weeped for their departed friend. For Damon though, it had obviously been more than that.

Eventually though, they had to move. Or rather Damon insisted they had to. He had to show the Sheriff Rose's body. Convince her the vampire threat had been dealt with once again. Sarah objected. She'd already lost Lexi to the Sheriff, who'd disposed of her body, robbing them of the chance to give her a proper burial. Damon calmed her though, reassuring her that he wouldn't let the Sheriff take her, that he'd dispose of the body.

After that Sarah helped Damon move Rose to the car and then Damon drove off to meet the Sheriff. He left Sarah to clean up, mostly so she'd have something to do if she wanted to, rather than sit and mourn. She chose to do it, tiding Damon's room and cleaning up whatever messes Rose had left throughout the house. She was halfway through tiding Damon's bedroom, the last of the messes Rose had left behind, when he returned.

He took her out back, having already dug a hole in the ground apparently. Rose was already there, lying down next to the pile of dirt, from which two shovels stuck out. They stood there for a moment, thinking of things to say before Sarah asked if Damon had anything he wanted to say. He muttered something but that was all, once again trying to push those inconvenient emotions down. Sarah tried to get him to open back up again, but he claimed to have done enough crying for one night, before then kicking Rose into the ground.

Sarah hit him after that, both falling to the ground as they fought like children, rolling about in the dirt. Eventually they broke apart, once Sarah released this was Damon's copping mechanism, and no matter how much she hated it, he needed it right now. So they took a break from their fighting, which in truth had helped unleash some of her own bottled up emotions, and went back to the grave.

Since Damon wasn't willing to do so, Sarah said some words. Just reminiscing over what she and Rose had done during some of the times they'd met, how they'd met, how they'd run into each other again when she kidnapped Elena. At that point Damon ended the eulogy off, apparently it was too close to his own story relating to Rose. Sarah didn't argue with him, just grabbed a shovel when he did and started to burry the body.

Afterwards, they did the only thing that they could. They went home. Only to walk in the door and find Elena waiting for them in the living room. As they walked in, Elena stood. "You were supposed to leave," Damon growled. Elena ignored it, picking up a scotch she'd poured and holding it out to him.

"I did, but then I came back to make sure that you were okay. Both of you," Elena said as she looked over to Sarah. She smiled softly in appreciation, but her look told Elena that everything was not all right.

Taking the drink from Elena, Damon did his best to sound nice, even though he clearly wanted her gone. "I appreciate the gesture," he said before looking down into his glass. "I'm just glad it's over."

While he downed the contents of his glass, Elena said, "You know I don't believe that."

Damon rolled his eyes, setting down his empty glass before gesturing to the door. "Go home, Elena. Get some rest. It's a whole new day tomorrow," Damon said tiredly. It wasn't just that he was tired though, he was trying really hard not to get angry with Elena and the only way to do that was to focus on his own exhaustion. But Sarah could see his patience was wearing thin while she made herself a drink from the small bar by the couch.

"Damon, I'm your friend," Elena began.

"I'm well aware of that," Damon growled, a warning. Sarah didn't bother to intervene though. She could see were this was going and she wasn't going to sway the minds of either party involved. So instead, she drank, and watched.

"And a friend usually knows when their friend is hurting," Elena added.

"What do you want to hear?" Damon snapped, anger flaring, but even then Elena refused to jump, standing her ground and wanting to be there for him. "That I cared about Rose? That I'm upset? Well I didn't and I'm not." A snort from Sarah had her brother wheeling around to face her. "And you just keep you damn mouth shut!" Sarah didn't flinch. Just matched Damon's glare with her own before taking a sip of her drink.

"Stop it, Damon. We're just trying to help you," Elena said calmly, bring the blue eyed vampire's attention back to her. "Don't push us away, don't try and turn it off. Not when you're so close," she pleaded. "Just let yourself feel something, for once–"

"I feel, Elena, okay," Damon cut in, glaring at her as he stepped towards her. "And it sucks! And what sucks even more is that it was supposed to be me!" he shouted, pounding on his own chest in anger. "Jules was coming after me," he admitted, his voice shaking ever so slightly at the end. Sadness momentarily over powering anger.

"You feel guilty," Elena said slowly, as she and Sarah released just how bad this whole thing was for Damon. It wasn't just he was sad for losing Rose, but he was angry, angry with himself because he saw it as his own fault.

"Well that would be human of me, wouldn't it, Elena?" Damon snarled, closing in own her. "But I'm not human. And you want to talk about giving up? That's all you've done is give up!"

"That's enough, Damon!" Sarah shouted over her brother's voice.

"I thought I told you to shut it!" Damon snapped, turning on his sister once again.

"She's just trying to help you!" Sarah pointed out, putting down her near empty glass as she rounded the couch and approached her brother, squaring up to him.

"Well I don't want her help, or yours! All I want is for you two, to leave me alone, and go home!" Damon shouted, arm flying out towards the front door as he pointed at it in fury. Then silence fell, Elena staring at the two glaring siblings, while Damon and Sarah stared into each others eyes, waiting to see who would break first. In the end, it was Damon. Too tired to continue the fight as his arm dropped to his side.

"There's been enough doom, gloom and personal growth for one night," Damon muttered, before then turning back to look at Elena, motioning for her to leave once more.

This time though, she conceded. "Okay, I'll go," Elena said with a nod, picking up her bag before lingering. "If you change your mind–"

"I won't," Damon cut in, avoid her eyes.

Elena waited a minute, holding her gaze on Damon before then continuing. "Call me. If you need to." She didn't say anything else. Just walked past Damon, offering Sarah a sorry smile which she nodded in thanks too, before watching Elena walk out the front door and drive on home.

"You know, you can be a real ass sometimes," Sarah said to the back of her brother.

"Yeah, well…" Damon said, taking in a breath as he ran his arm against his face. It was then Sarah realised he was once again fighting off tears. "You're just as bad as me," he pointed out, turning as he offered her a smug grin. But it fell short when pulled down by those sad, sad eyes.

He then walked past her, patting her on the shoulder as he made his way towards the front door. "What are you doing?" Sarah asked, turning to watch her brother as he opened up the front door. Linger as he looked back to answer his sister's question.

"Something bad. I think you'd agree I'm owed one," Damon said, before stepping out into the night, and pulling the door shut behind him.

He was right, Sarah did agree with that. And knowing Damon, it was going to be something really bad. She just hoped he could live with whatever he was doing, and that it wouldn't come back to bite him on the ass if anyone else found out. He'd been making such good progress with the life they all had here in Mystic Falls, hopefully he wouldn't throw that all away because of one bad day.

That said though, with her brother gone, and her need to watch over him passing with their distance, Sarah too began to feel disappear. It wasn't going well. Not when she looked at what she'd lost recently. Rose…Ronnie…Lexi…and soon to be Elena too. Being a vampire didn't mean watching everyone around you die, but in that moment, it felt like it did for Sarah. Normally she would have gone and talked to Lexi during a down moment like this. But she was gone. There were her brothers too, but Damon was even more unstable than her right now, and Stefan had been gone the whole day. There were her other friends, but they were all so young in comparison. True they'd lost people, even their own lives in some cases, but it wasn't the same. They wouldn't be able to relate to what Sarah was feeling right now.

Taking a breath, she came to a decision. It was just something she had to do. Like Damon. She needed it to cope, to move forward. And no one would ever have to know…

Despite her mind being made up, it took her some time to actually move form her spot in the living room. Part of her kept expecting something to happen, to stop her from going through with it. But nothing did. No Stefan barging in to put a stop to her, no Elena with some new urgent crisis or even Scarlett just coming home and asking her what was up. There was just her, alone in the house, and that had been enough to push her out.

She got changed first, into something fresh and comfy. When she was done she had donned a short black dress, with extremely short black shorts underneath – so short they couldn't even be seen beneath the hem of the dress, which stopped way before the halfway mark on her legs. Over that she had her cleaned leather jacket, that blended in as much as she did with the night itself. And to top it off she wore long black boots that came up to her knees with long sharp heels that held her up as she looked herself over in the mirror.

 _Oh, yes. This was perfect._

With her attire dealt with, Sarah made her way out to the garage. Not bothering with the helmet, she climbed straight onto her prestige dark blue motorcycle and reeved the engine into life. With a grin, she kicked up the kickstand, tearing off out of the garage, taking a sharp turn that left behind a thick black skid mark along the drive, and then raced off towards the road. It may have been late, and the drive would be a few hours, but she knew that when she got there, someone would still be up.

The ride flew by, much like Sarah's flowing raven hair as she raced on through the night. The darkness of everything, bar her bike, making her seem like a shadow as she drove by in a blur along the dark roads. When she arrived, she found a parking spot in a deserted parking lot. They were into the small hours now, so it wasn't entirely surprising. After making sure her bike was secure and safe, she took stock of her surroundings.

Whitmore. A small college town not more than an hour or two's drive from Mystic Falls. Sarah had been saving this for a rainy day, and now it was here. An ideal place for her to come and kick back for a night. What vampire didn't love a college town. Young hot guys, intelligent people, parties ever single night, alcohol and as much blood as you and your compelled blood bag could take.

Sarah was glad she'd saved this. There had been many times over the last few months that she'd wanted to come up to Whitmore and blow of some steam. But tonight, she really needed it, and being here for the first time, it was like flicking off her humanity. Everything else just fell away, and she could give into those primal urges.

With a smile, she took off like a predator on the hunt, racing along in a blur until she found what she was looking for. A house party. Of course, there was one little problem. She needed to be invited in first. But this wasn't Sarah's first college town house party.

"Hey, cutie!" Sarah squealed in a very girlish way as she stepped up to one of the many partiers outside the house. Thick luscious brown hair, prince charming like smile and adorable little doe like eyes. There was worse ways to start the night.

He turned, barely having a chance to look her over as she slung her arms around his neck, turning with him as she smiled up at him. "You wouldn't happen to know who's hosting this little party, would you?" Sarah asked in her best sweet and innocent voice, batting her eyelids for good effect.

"Eh…yeah. Yeah, I know one of the girls," the guy bumbled out, momentarily caught off guard while his friends offered one of two expressions. Either admiring grins or dropped jaws of shock. All hinted with annoyance that it wasn't them Sarah had choose to wrap her arms around. But they needn't worry, she'd get to them all eventually.

"Great," Sarah said, making sure she had the man in her grasp's full attention, before she started the compulsion. "Now I want you to go inside and get this girl for me. Meet me at the front door." As she spoke, her eyes dilated along with his, her words becoming commands as he stared helplessly into her beautiful green eyes.

"I'm going to go inside and get her for you," the man droned out obediently.

"Thank you," Sarah said, letting him slid from her grasp as he stepped away, heading inside.

With a smirk on her lips, Sarah turned to face the man's friends, finding five of them all staring back at her as she placed her hands on her hips. _Five was a big number to start with. Better work my way up first_ , Sarah decided as she fixed each of them with a flirtatious look, catching all their attentions at once.

"Let's see…" Sarah said, tapping her lower lip as her eyes flicked from man to man in thought. "I'll start with…you!" Sarah declared, honing in on one boy with yellow highlights in his jet black hair. Before any one of them could ask what exactly she'd picked him for, Sarah grabbed hold of highlights' t-shirt and pulled him over, taking his lips in an intense kiss. His buddies around them started to cheer, catching the attention of some other partiers around them. Some more people cheered, but quickly lost interest, unlike highlights' friends.

Then Sarah ended the kiss, pulling away as highlights looked dreamily up into Sarah's eyes. It was like the guy was asking to be compelled, and who was Sarah not to grant his request. "Faint," Sarah whispered, and the boy did just that, collapsing onto the ground as Sarah put on a fake gasp and his friends came in closer to make fun of him. "Is he all right? I didn't mean to startle him or anything," Sarah said in an apologetic tone.

"He's fine," one of his friends said, as he and another one lifted him up to his feet.

"Just clearly been a while since he got any," the other teased before the group laughed. Sarah joined in, adding relief into her laugh.

"I'm just glad you two strong guys are gonna take him home," Sarah said, catching them both quickly in a compulsion. And just like that, the two were walking off, carrying highlights in between them. Thinning the herd was always one of the most exhilarating parts of the hunt, at least in Sarah's opinion. It was like going to a butcher and picking out which cow you were going to kill and take home for dinner. There came a certain type of rush from picking who was going to die for your pleasure.

"I guess you're stuck with us then," one of the remaining two said sheepishly, one hand in his slacks while the other scratched the back of his head. He didn't look like the type to be nervous, and he definitely shouldn't be with that muscular body. But then again, his skinny little friend seemed to have all the confidence in the world as he slid up to Sarah's side, arm going around her.

"Don't worry though, we'll keep you safe," he said, lips brushing Sarah's ear.

"Ever consider that you're the one in need of protecting from me?" Sarah asked, turning to the skinny one with a flirtatious look in her eye.

"I'm pretty sure I can handle you," the skinny one said with a look up and down.

Sarah forced a smile, having found her appetiser for that night. The thinner weaker ones were always a good way to start a night full of drinking. A warm up for her body and all its vampire features before she got to the main event. Like stretching before going for a run. Or a meal in this case. "We'll see," Sarah said, before then looking over to the shier one and taking control. "Stand right there. Don't scream and don't be frightened. Only move and speak in order to get someone to leave us alone."

After that she turned her eyes on the skinny one, making him freeze up as her green eyes invaded his mind. "As for you. You are to be silent from here on in, understand?" He nodded, and Sarah smiled. "Good." Her vampire features then rose out of her, like a bird taking flight and she dove into the skinny one's neck with her fangs.

Feeling the crimson delight flowing into her, she realised just how much she needed this. Blood bags were good for so long, but sooner or later, you needed the real thing. She'd been taking blood bags for too long, playing along to everyone else's tune. She couldn't drink because of Stefan's fear of blood. She couldn't drink because Caroline was still learning to control herself. She couldn't drink because Elena didn't like it. She couldn't drink because it might encourage Damon to do something worse. Well now Damon was out there, doing something worse, and by doing this, Sarah was making sure no one would stay mad at him for long if they found out. She was the one in the middle of her brothers, the good one, and the evil one. They'd all been playing the good guys as of late, and while that was good, Sarah missed being bad every once and in while. But now that Damon had tipped over to the dark side, she had to too, so that it wouldn't seem as bad in comparison. She was only balancing the scales.

She finished her appetiser all too soon, and without any bother. Once done, she shoved the drained human over to his friend and cleaned herself off. "Take him home and look after him until the morning. Neither of you will remember this once you leave," Sarah compelled, and like that another two were gone, leaving her alone. But she could spot the first member of that gang, stood on the steps to the house with a girl who was impatiently tapping her feet, waiting to return to the party.

Sarah took her time heading up the steps to join the couple, where the overly tanned blonde glared at her when she realised Sarah was the one who'd summoned her. "And who the hell are you?!" shrieked the overly tanned blonde.

"I'm no one," Sarah introduced herself, letting her eyes work their magic. "But that's not going to stop you from inviting me inside now is it?"

"Please, come in," the overly tanned blonde girl said happily, all annoyance gone.

"Thank you," Sarah said in a mockingly desperate girl voice. She stepped past the two and into the large house, only to then stop and turn back around, motioning the two closer. "Actually, I've got another little job for the two of you," Sarah said, devilish grin sliding into place as the two looked helplessly into her eyes. She then dished out her new orders, and then let the two roam free around the house, while she made her way into the main room where everyone was dancing. A perfect place to find some fresh food and new assistants in her little scheme.

So Sarah joined in the party, compelling her way through every other boy and girl while feeding off of the others in subtle ways. She never took to much though. No, she was still building up to the big event. In between she got some flirting boys to grab her some drinks. They brought back shots, which was even better. She threw them all back, winning every drinking game she was challenged too before then starting a little drinking game of her own. Arm wrestling. If the guys lost, she drank their blood. If she lost, she'd make out with them. She won mostly…but maybe she intentionally lost a few. What could she say, there were definitely some attractive guys at this party.

Then after an hour of partying it was time for the main event. The screamer, as Sarah liked to call it. It was something she and Damon had invented during one of their bad streaks, and it was a favourite move to do when together. Well tonight they were suffering together, and that was good enough for Sarah.

She picked out a few targets and had them join her on the dance floor. Two boys, three girls. The first she pulled towards her was a platinum blonde with bright pink extensions. Very attractive for a young woman, but that wasn't why Sarah had picked her out. No, she'd picked her out because of all the good things she'd been hearing about her, how she did so many charity runs, how she was always there for anyone, even strangers, how she was the most selfless person anyone had ever met. Well now she was going to help Sarah fill her tummy. There were too many good people in this world anyway. What the world needed was more flexible people, like herself.

"Listen closely," Sarah ordered, once again compelling the platinum blonde girl as her other targets danced around them. "I want you to be afraid. To be terrified of me. I want you to realise what is about to happen, and know that you're about to die. But you won't call out for help. You'll just scream." Then watching as the compulsion took effect, Sarah smiled, watching as the girl tried to get away from her, only for Sarah to pull her back with her superior strength. The girl screamed, and it might have caught someone's attention, had not several other dozen people around the house started screaming in excitement along with her.

The scream. Take a dozen or so people, compel them to scream along whenever they hear someone else scream, and bang. You've got yourself a public place were you can safely let your prey scream their guts out while you feed on them. And sometimes, all that screaming really does add an extra spice to ones blood.

Sarah fangs then descended onto the girl's neck, taking in her screams and blood all in one glorious rush.

Delicious.

She took her time in the feed, savouring it before the girl went limp. She then compelled a passerby to store her away in a bedroom and to guard the door unless someone else came by with a dead body. Any trouble, and he should kill someone by bitting into them before running away. _Drastic? Sure, but better him than her_ , Sarah thought. Tonight was her bad night.

She didn't take as much time or care with the others, going through the remaining four much faster than she had with the first. The first was usually the best, as she and Damon had come to realise. After that, the taste beings to lose its uniqueness. Still, it was nice to try it again, and after so long. Now it was time to ramp things down and settling in for the night. That meant sending people on their way so Sarah could get acquainted with her temporary house mates.

Finding the overly tanned blonde from before, Sarah compelled her to bring her the remaining people who lived in the house. One by one she brought them over, and Sarah compelled them to start sending people home. Within ten minutes, she had them all compelled and another twenty minutes after that the house was clear of everyone who didn't reside in it, minus Sarah.

With the house cleared, Sarah had the residents join her in the living room, where she made herself comfy on the one clean couch in the room. "Line up," Sarah ordered, waving a hand at her compelled subjects. They did as told, forming a single line, all stood shoulder to shoulder as they stared at Sarah in confusion, unable to understand why they were doing what the raven haired, green eyed woman told them.

She smiled at them all, taking in the twelve or so bodies before them. That's all they were to her tonight. Bodies. Like Rose's, the friend she'd just buried. Sarah refused to let reality come crawling back in, pushing it aside and choosing to live in her cosy little dream instead. It was just one night, what harm could she do?

"So, any question?" Sarah asked with a flare of friendly welcoming, like one of those annoying camp councillors during first day introductions. When none spoke up, all sharing uneasy and worried looks, Sarah continued with, "Come on. Speak up. Or raise your hand, if that makes it feel more natural. That's what you guys do, right, when you're getting a lecture? You lift you hand up if you have a question." Sarah lifted her own arm up, as if to demonstrate, wiggling her fingers before letting her arm drop back down.

Finally, one of the braver boys lifted his arm halfway up. "There we go," Sarah said in delight, her eyes going to the brave soul. "That wasn't so hard was it? Now, what's your question?"

"What's happening to us?" the boy asked, voice shaking.

"Oh, that's a lengthy question," Sarah sighed, as if it would take up too much of her precious time to answer it. "I've got a better question for you to ask. _Why_ am I doing this to you?" Sarah suggested, staring at the brave boy who seemed to be awaiting an answer to a question he was yet to ask. "Well, go on then. Ask me," Sarah ordered, compulsion forcing the brave one to ask her the very question she'd proposed.

"Why are you doing this to us?" he asked, voice even more shaky and terrified now. He wasn't alone. A few of his fellow roommates had also had a health increase in fear, while the rest were still trying to work out what was going on. Confusion and curiosity overpowering their natural thought process, which was to be frightened. Very, very frightened.

"Good question," Sarah congratulated, like an patronising lecturer would. "Let me give you the short version," Sarah began, pushing herself up and off the couch before then proceeding to march up and down the line of compelled students as she explained. "You see, recently I've been on a bit of a good guy strike. My whole family has been. You know, helping people, doing right by the community…not killing anyone–"

"Are you, like, part of the mafia, or something?" one high pitched short brunette cut in.

"No talking until I'm finished," Sarah snapped, making sure her instructions were followed with the aid of her compulsion.

"As I was saying, recently me and my eldest brother have being following our other brother's goody two-shoes routine. Not drinking from people, not killing anyone, drinking from blood bags and so on." It was at this point, those that weren't already freaked out by what was going on, joined their house mates in a unified look of terror. Sarah continued on though, paying them little interest as she spoke. "It's not bad, but I do miss the taste of fresh blood. Mind you," a chuckle. "After tonight I'll probably be good to drink blood bags for the rest of the year.

"But why now? Well, I just lost a friend." Sarah came to a stop, looking ahead at nothing as she spoke. "An old friend of mine. She and my older brother were really hitting it off…until tonight…when she died." A pause, then Sarah continued speaking while remaining where she was. Still staring out into space.

"Before that though, another friend signed her own death sentence, hoping to save everyone she cares about, including me and my family. And I'm supposed to keep it a secret, no one other than the two of us knows. And it's scary, how easy it is to let her go through with it…I'm not even sure why I'm letting her do it, but I can't bring myself to get in her way.

"Then there's my boyfriend, or rather, my ex, lying, puppet to my archenemy, boyfriend." Another pause, as Sarah looked over to the boy she'd come to a stop next too. This one only slightly shorter than her, with long blonde hair and a tattoo on his exposed shoulder. One of a shooting star, for whatever reason. "Another long story. Let's just say I loved him and it didn't end well… He's dead now."

She started walking again, though slower now. "Before all that though, there was my best friend. She came to town, visiting for my brother's birthday and then…she died. I lost her and I'm never going to see her again," Sarah said, voice going hallow as she once again stopped – something else tickling in the back of her mind. A thought she didn't want to think about.

Then with a flick of the head, whipping the hair from her face, Sarah's eyes suddenly filled with a new life. "As you can tell, I've lost a lot of people," Sarah declared as she started to pace back and forth before her captive audience once more. "And last time I lost someone – that someone being my aforementioned best friend – I did something good. I gave a lost girl a home and took her in. I'm looking after her and making sure she finds her way in this crazy messed up world of ours. But that was last time. This is now," Sarah said, turning around as she reached the end of the line.

"And like I said, me and my eldest brother have been following my good brother's example. It's a change for my older brother. He's normally the bad one. Still thinks he is in some ways. That leaves me in the middle. The one that has to balance them out," Sarah explained. "And right now, my evil brother is out there doing something bad. Something the good one won't like if he finds out. So now I have to do something bad too. That way, whatever he does doesn't seem as bad in comparison."

She then came to a stop. Right in the middle of the ling, before turning to face the terrified eyes looking back at her. A few seconds passed, then the brave boy from before lifted his trembling hand once more. Sarah nodded, indicating he could speak, his voice coming out so shaky it was like someone had stuck a vibrator to his voice box. "So…what…what are you-you going to do…to us?"

"Another good question," Sarah said, smiling. "Unfortunately I don't think you're going to like the answer."

"You don't have to do this," the overly tanned blonde cried out desperately. "You–You said you were a good person. Good people don't do…do whatever it's you're going to–"

"Ssshhh," Sarah said, stepping forward as he finger went to the overly tanned girl's lips, silencing her. "You've got it all wrong sweetheart. I never said I was a good person. What I am, is a vampire. A vampire who's angry, sad, and most importantly, still hungry."

"Please…" the overly tanned girl whispered.

"Sorry, but I need this. And if a few of you have to die in the process, then that's fine with me," Sarah said coldly, giving the girl a good look into her compassionless green eyes, before she then penetrated her neck with her elongated fangs. Blood once again rushed in, and Sarah could feel all of her problems just washing away, as that blood slid down her throat. So sensational, so blissful, so nurturing, so forgiving, so easy to indulge. So easy to forget.


	25. Daddy Issues

_Review responses:_

 _Sarcasm15key: Much like with Damon, no one finds out right away, but there will be consequences down the road, I promise you that. And I don't know if I could handle Sarah completely off the rails – that's a pretty terrifying thought._

 _Guest: Yes she is. :)_

 _Only Reviewer: Oh, yeah, Stefan's no one's favourite here, for good reason too. Glad you enjoyed the ending of the previous chapter, and I'll catch you out one day, just wait!_

 _Just a quick note, the update I made to the previous chapter was just a little error in formatting, nothing to require a re-read, so enjoy this week's chapter! And thanks to all the new favourites and followers, you're always appreciated, just as much as a review!_

* * *

 **Chapter 25: Daddy Issues**

* * *

When Sarah returned home, after her night away at Whitmore, she saw little point in climbing into bed. The sun was already well and truly up, and all the hassle of getting changed twice in less than an hour just didn't seem worth it. She did sneak inside the house though, as to avoid questions from anyone. That said, no one was actively looking to talk to her. Scarlett was apparently out for a morning run, Stefan was having breakfast alone in the kitchen, and Damon was up in his room having a shower. Sarah wondered if any of them had even noticed she was gone.

She entered the house, silently moving to the stairs before taking two at a time, dashing along the corridor and sliding into her room where she swiftly shut the door behind her. After that everything slowed down as she took in a breath. She smiled to herself, enjoying the memory of last night. That would keep her dark side subdued for a while, much like Damon's she imagined. She just hoped he hadn't made too much of a mess…unlike herself. But at least she'd remember to clean up afterwards.

Stood against her bedroom door, her eyes moved over to her bed, part of her missing that big soft mattress of hers. She'd be fine without sleep, vampires didn't need it as much as humans. What she did need however, was a shower. A nice hot shower to wipe off…the remains.

She began to strip. First taking of her leather jacket and placing it on her bed. After that she peeled off her hot and sweaty cloths from the night before, including the boots. All of which was in need of clean. _Perhaps she'd had a little too much fun_ , she thought, looking at the pile of dirty laundry she'd left on the floor. But remembering why she'd gone to Whitmore in the first place, she decided it was fair do's.

Now naked, she made her way into her bathroom, stepping into the shower before turning the dial right towards the red. She turned on the water and let the scolding hot liquid cascade along her body, wiping away the sweat and blood and any physical traces of last night all at once. She had to fight the urge to groan in pleasure, especially when she let the water hit her head. Her tangled and greasy raven hair thickening as it absorbed the water, making it feel like she had a carpet attached to her head.

For a while, she didn't even bother cleaning herself. She just let the water run over her, unknotting any tension in her body while also sending spark like tingles throughout her every now and then. Her only regret was not setting up some music before getting in the shower. But nothing was perfect. Even last night had its faults. But it served its purpose, and so had the shower.

Finally finished, Sarah turned the shower off, climbing out to grab the first of six towels that hung from a nearby rack. She started dabbing herself down, getting rid of the lingering droplets of water scattered across her body. Once finished, she wrapped the towel around her chest, then grabbed a separate one for her hair. An hour or so later, she finished drying off and got herself ready for a new day. She threw on a pair of jeans and t-shirt, pulling on her leather jacket and boots, only to then step out her room and find Damon waiting for her. Apparently having been about to knock on her door.

"Everything all right?" Sarah asked, raising her brow at Damon's raised fist.

He rolled his eyes, lowering his arm back to his side before saying, "I'm going to get an update from Stefan on what he got up to yesterday. He already knows about…our day," Damon said, forcing a smile. "You know, Elena. Can't keep her mouth shut for anything. I think I'm starting to see why she and Barbie are friends," Damon said thoughtful, as if finally completing a jigsaw puzzle.

It was Sarah's turn now to roll her eyes, before lightly pushing her brother out of her way so she could leave her room, pulling the door shut behind her. Both then proceeded to make their way up to Stefan's room, where they found him at his desk, writing in his journal of all things. Because he was original like that.

"All right then, we're both here. Now let's here about you epic, divine plan that's going to save Elena and everybody else," Damon declared with his usual charming smugness as he waltzed into the room with Sarah behind him. Seeing them enter, Stefan put down his pen and shut his journal, pushing it away as he stood up from his desk.

"Before I tell either of you, I need you both to promise you won't do anything rash, and that you'll hear me out," Stefan said as he looked each of his siblings in the eye.

"I'm loving this more and more by the second," Sarah groaned, sharing a look with Damon that made him momentarily smirk before looking back to Stefan as they both awaited the news.

"All right, we promise not to do anything 'Rash'," Damon said mockingly with air quotes. "Right, Sarah?"

"Sure," Sarah shrugged, which apparently was enough for Stefan, although he did hesitate before going on to explain what he'd spent yesterday doing…

"You brought back John Gilbert?!" Damon exclaimed once Stefan finished.

"Are you insane?!" Sarah added, glaring at her brother with as much shock and annoyance as her other blue eyed brother.

"That was your big 'Save Elena' move?" Damon continued.

"You remember he wanted us all dead, right?" Sarah asked, giving her brother a look that said she thought he might have lost a few brain cells.

"Yes, I remember," Stefan sighed, eyes momentarily closing as he let his siblings react exactly as he thought they would.

"Oh, good, so we can cancel that insanity test then. Instead we'll just send them this month's rendition of Stefan Salvatore's most dumbass decisions. Now including his latest lamebrain scheme, entitled, 'I'm bringing back the guy who wants me and my whole family dead, because I slept with his niece – who's actually his secret daughter'," Damon declared with a little less flare than usual. It was obvious why, but neither Stefan nor Sarah were about to say anything as they let the conversation continue.

"Look, I tried to find Isobel–" Stefan went to explain.

"Because she's so much better," Sarah agreed, voice dripping in sarcasm.

"But in so doing I found John who offered to help instead. And if we're being honest guys, we're desperate."

"Not that desperate!" Damon and Sarah cried out in unison, both blue and green eyes widening at their oddly calm brother. Then again, he was the one who thought this was sensible and logical plan. When in fact it was anything but.

"Look, Bonnie's new witch friend is working with Elijah and Amelia, so we have to assume that the moonstone was never destroyed." As Stefan continued, hammering on his points with a waving arm, Damon began to turn away – not wanting his tired face to be seen – while Sarah let out a deeply irritated sigh, folding her arms as she let her brother say his peace. "Elena is putting all of her faith into some deal, that she made with Elijah and Amelia, to keep everyone safe."

"Which they will," Sarah said, though her heart wasn't in her words and Stefan picked up on that.

"Really, so you trust them then?" Stefan asked, though his green eyes told Sarah he already knew her answer. And he was right, she didn't trust them. But Elena wanted to honour this deal and Sarah had sided with her. Interfering would only further complicate the potentially good deal they had, and make things harder for Elena. Plus the deal was only valid so long as they played by the two Originals' rules. Elena was expected to keep everyone else in check and she'd enlisted Sarah to help her. But even so she couldn't argue with Stefan on this point, not without giving up whatever remaining ground she could stand on argument wise.

"Because I don't trust them," Stefan continued, pointing to himself before then gesturing over to Damon who was making his way back over to them, head lowered in thought. "Damon won't trust them. They're both Originals, and it's not like we can just kill them both, because apparently, they can't die," Stefan exclaimed to his younger sister who took it all. She didn't always like hearing the truth, but she could take it. Besides, he was still the one in hot water for bringing John Gilbert back. Sarah agreeing with Elena on the deal with the Originals could be tabled until later.

"I'm still waiting for the part where John Gilbert is the answer," Damon said lowly, obviously annoyed with Stefan's chosen plan.

"Dito," agreed Sarah as she and Damon glared at their brother.

"He knew about the sacrifice, Isobel told him. He said he knew of a way to keep Elena safe," Stefan explained, calm once more. Now this caught the attention of both his siblings as they suddenly perk-up at this information.

"And how do we do that?" Damon asked with a sigh, when Stefan didn't offer up anything more.

"He's not talking." And just like that, their hopes were dropped. Not that Sarah's had been risen particularly high. It would have had to have been one hell of a plan in order to sway Elena, and she'd made her bed on Elena's side of this life or death argument. Of course she wanted to save Elena, but if she thought her way was better then who was Sarah to stop her, who were any of them. If there was a better option, then sure, Sarah would talk to Elena about it, try and sway her. But for now, she agreed with Elena. One death vs everyone they loved and cared about. It was an easy choice to make when you were the one to die. And as long as Elena was on board fully, Sarah would support her. That however, didn't mean she couldn't explore other options, for Elena's sake.

"Well, there's a simple solution to that," Sarah said with a shrug.

"Which is?" Stefan inquired with an unsure stare at his sister.

"We slice him open, drain the vervain from him and then compel him to answer us," Sarah said with a cheerful and optimistic smile. Which was met by a glare from Stefan. "Not a fan I take it."

"We're not doing anything like that, or anything else that might encourage John to turn his back on us," Stefan said sternly.

"Well, he's the one who offered his help, only to get here and not tell us anything," Sarah pointed out angrily as she in turn glared at her brother. "And how do we know he's not lying anyway?"

"He's not," Stefan stated simply.

"Ah, yes, sorry. I forgot you knew what his plan was… Oh, wait," Sarah said sarcastically as her green eyes clashed with Stefan's momentarily.

"As if we didn't have enough problems," Damon grumbled turning to leave as his younger siblings ceased in their glaring match.

As he walked to open door, Stefan and Sarah quickly traded looks before their green eyes both moved over to Damon. "Hey, I'm sorry about Rose," Stefan called over, having not offered up his sincere condolences about yesterday.

"Whatever," Damon scoffed, playing it off as nothing as he turned back around. "I knew the woman for…five minutes."

"Well, you cared about her…after five minutes," Sarah pointed out, as Damon turned away, from both his siblings and his emotions.

"Listen, if you need to talk…" Stefan offered, taking a step towards his brother only for the eldest Salvatore to turn around sharply.

"I don't. Now drop it," Damon snapped, voice level, but suspiciously close to a growl. He sent one look each to his siblings, making sure they got the message before then turning and striding out.

He made it down the first three steps before another voice said, "Hey, Damon. How are–"

"Don't even try it, Scrappy," Damon snapped once more, pushing past her on the stairs before the dark haired girl climbed the rest of the way up into Stefan's room.

"Rude much," Scarlett mumbled to herself, before turning serious when she found who she was looking for. "Hey, Caroline just texted me, said something about a 911. She wants me to bring you," Scarlett explained, looking to Stefan before then switching to Sarah as she continued. "And she wanted you to…" She paused, looking down at her phone as she re-read the text, and quoted, "'Stay with that pigheaded, bully of a brother and make sure he doesn't do anything Damon-y'. Her words, not mine."

"Well that doesn't sound like more trouble waiting to happen," sighed Sarah.

"All right lets go," Stefan said to Scarlett as he grabbed his jacket. Going to follow her out of his room, when he remembered Sarah and turned back to her, pointing his finger at her in warning. "And don't do anything to John before talking to me or Elena."

"Whatever," Sarah scoffed indecisively, avoiding her brother's eye.

Before he had a chance to push her for an agreement though, Scarlett spoke up from the door way where she'd stopped. "Hold on, did you say 'John'? As in John Gilbert?! What the hell is he doing back in town?!" she shouted angrily, voice raising as Stefan pushed her out the door – beginning to offer her an explanation as they went down the stairs.

* * *

On the drive over to Caroline's, Scarlett got Stefan to explain what was happening with John. Apparently, Stefan had thought it was a great idea to bring her boyfriend's supernatural hating uncle back into town, because… Well he didn't really have a chance to explain himself, as once Scarlett understood that John was back she let lose in a shouting rage. When she finally finished, burning herself out, Stefan mumbled something about her sounding like his brother and sister. To which Scarlett promptly pointed out, they were right.

Stefan took that as his chance to move the conversation along before listening to another rendition of, 'why Stefan's idea to bring John back is stupid'. A tune everyone seemed to be playing right now. He asked Scarlett if she'd gotten anything else from Caroline. She hadn't, and when he asked about the initial text, Scarlett shoved her phone in his face. He quickly pushed it aside so he could see the road again, and Scarlett read out the text.

It really was as she had said back at the boarding house. _911, bring Stefan and meet me at my house and ask Sarah to stay with that pigheaded, bully of a brother and make sure he doesn't do anything Damon-y._ Once that was explained, the car fell silent. Scarlett took this opportunity to send Jeremy a quick text, asking how he was doing with John back in town. Jeremy replied, saying he was going to hide out at a friend's for the day, making sure to tell Scarlett where to find him if she needed him. She thanked him, letting him know that she and Stefan were helping Caroline with something. Though she didn't go into the 911 portion of the message, otherwise he'd want to get involved and then John would probably come snooping around, looking to set her on fire again. He reminded her once more to call him if she needed him then sent her a kiss. She sent on back, the put her phone away, noticing a grinning Stefan in the seat next to her.

"Shut up," Scarlett muttered, though she too smiled as Stefan let out a chuckle. However, as he pulled up to Caroline's house, they both turned serious, getting out of the car as they jogged up to Caroline's porch, ringing the bell.

Caroline promptly answered, opening up the door as she ushered them in, looking around outside before quickly shutting the door. "What's wrong?" Stefan asked as Caroline turned to face him and Scarlett.

"Tyler knows pretty much everything," Caroline exclaimed in a panic, with such volume that Scarlett jumped, hands going to cover her ears on instinct before she got a grip. Stefan seemed unfazed by Caroline's pitch, as he quickly lifted his hands to calm her.

"Hold on, hold on. What do you mean 'pretty much'?" Stefan asked, needing her to be more clear before they continued.

"He knows that you, Sarah and Damon are vampires. And he knows that Damon killed Mason," Caroline explained, before then adding, "I didn't say a word," when Scarlett gave her a suspicious look.

"Then how does he know all that?" Scarlett asked unconvinced. She wouldn't put it past blabber mouth Caroline to spill the beans to Tyler, but at the same time she'd done a remarkably good job of keeping all their secrets thus far. It wouldn't make sense for her to suddenly break at this point in the game. And in any case, her heart rate said she was telling the truth. Scarlett just wanted an answer was all.

"It's that woman, Jules," Stefan said with certainty. "The other werewolf that's in town. She had a run-in with Damon." Scarlett had already been told about this update. She'd spent a good part of yesterday trying to find this other werewolf with Jeremy. She had no such luck. But it hadn't been hard to work out that the woman who'd told Tyler that Mason was missing, was the same werewolf who'd attacked Damon and Rose the other night. And now she was spilling all their secrets apparently.

"Tyler was so upset. The look on his face…he was so betrayed," Caroline explained sadly as she looked at them both, Scarlett with folded arms while Stefan ran his hand along his forehead, trying to think. "You're not gonna tell Damon, are you?" Caroline suddenly asked Stefan in alarm, thinking of all the horrible things he'd do if he got his hands on Tyler now.

"No. His relationships with werewolves are already bad enough as it is, no sense in giving him something else to overreact to," Stefan said in as level a voice as he could muster up.

"Are you saying this isn't a big deal?" Caroline asked, briefly considering, and hoping, that she was just overreacting again.

"No, Caroline, it's a huge deal. If Tyler retaliates against us, especially Damon, he'll get himself killed," Stefan pointed out, still trying to come up with a plan on how to deal with all this.

"Well, we can't let that happen," Caroline said firmly to her two friends. "We have to get to him and reason with him before he does something stupid. You guys have to talk to him."

"Hold on, why can't you talk to him too?" Scarlett asked, sending Caroline a questioning look. Though she got her answer when the vampire's cheeks flushed a little.

"I…I–I already tried. He made it clear he didn't want to see me again," Caroline threw out. A lame excuse, but since Scarlett knew the real reason Caroline was keeping her distance from Tyler, she didn't push. "And you should get Sarah too, she's good with werewolf-vampire relations, right?"

"She's with Damon at the moment, per your instruction," Scarlett pointed out.

"And better she stays there in case this Julies woman or Tyler try anything against him. With her there she might stand a chance at keep everyone alive," Stefan explained before looking to Scarlett, finger wagging between himself and her. "You and I will talk to Tyler. Try and get him to see some sense."

"A little, werewolf cop, vampire cop?" Scarlett asked with an amused grin and raised brow.

"Something like that," Stefan said, ghost of a smile on his lips as he reached past Caroline to open the door.

"Just…try not to hurt him," Caroline said softly, worry in her eyes.

"Don't worry Caroline, he's our friend too," Scarlett said reassuringly. "Worse thing I'll do is break his arm," Scarlett said as she walked out the door.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure Tyler doesn't lose any limbs…or bones," Stefan said, once again reassuring Caroline as he slid outside, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Sarah wasn't exactly happy by how easily Damon had manipulated her into coming with him to kill John Gilbert. That said, was it really manipulating when she was planning on doing it herself? It was probably more like encouragement. And Caroline had asked her to stay near Damon for whatever problem Stefan and Scarlett were now off dealing with. So technically she was still doing some good while also doing some bad. Maybe that trip to Whitmore had done more to mess with her moral compass than she first thought?

When they arrived at the Gilbert house, Sarah had to yank Damon back by his jacket to stop him from barging in – reminding him that just because they were here to murder someone, didn't mean they could forget their manners. He'd grumbled about that, right up until Elena answered the door and he stormed in with Sarah behind him. "Where's John?" was all Damon said, marching on through the house will Sarah stopped in the hallway with Elena.

"He's not here," Elena answered, but Damon made a show of searching the other rooms anyway, just in case she was lying. She wasn't though, Sarah could tell she was the only one in the house, which was a shame. Because if John had been here and Jenna was out, then there was no real reason for her to hold back on him.

"Where is he then?" Sarah asked, looking to Elena.

"No idea," Elena sighed, letting the stress of her morning show in one breath. "He just blew in this morning, then announced to Jenna that he's my dad, and then took off," Elena explained with an exasperated wave of the hand at the door.

"Hold on, that's public knowledge now?"

"Apparently?" Elena shrugged with a surprised look that matched Sarah's.

"How you doing then?" Sarah asked after a pause, folding her arms as she leaned back agains the wall, Damon rejoining them as he walked back into the hall.

"Okay I guess," Elena said as she scratched her neck, hands needing something to do as she spoke. "Jenna's heads spinning, but I'm okay."

"And where did she go?" Sarah asked, worried for her friend after her horrible brother in law dropped a bomb on her lap without any warning.

"She went out with Ric, I think they're at the Grill," Elena said, to which Sarah nodded. At least she wasn't alone, Sarah could catch up with her later and see how she was doing then. For now, best to stay with Damon and on the job at hand, killing John…and also finding out what his plan was but that was a side job to the main one.

"John tell you what he's doing here?" Damon asked, blue eyes still looking around as if this could be a trap comprised by John.

"No," Elena groaned, not happy about it either. It was good to know she was on their side about the John matter too. Probably not the kill bit, but at least she was unhappy like them. "You know, Stefan thinks that he's telling the truth about wanting to help me."

"Do you believe him?" Sarah asked curiously.

"No, I don't believe him for a second," Elena answered instinctively, giving them both a look that said it should have been obvious.

"Us neither," agreed Damon finally seeming to be at peace, now that he'd surmised that this wasn't all a trap to kill him.

"All right, so what are we going to do?" Elena asked, looking between the two vampires.

"Kill him," Damon said plainly.

"Damon," Elena sighed. As predicted, she wasn't for the killing plan. _Oh, well, there was always plan B_ , Sarah thought.

"Fine, I won't kill him," Damon grumbled as he pushed past Sarah and Elena, heading for the open door.

"So what's the plan then?" Elena asked again.

"Well, my plan was to tie him up, cut up, drain him of vervain, compel the truth out of him and then do something really nasty," Sarah said with a grin, only to be met by a glare from Elena. "Though I take it you too are not fond of that plan," Sarah said disappointedly as she deflated.

"I just think maybe we should talk to him before we resort to torture," Elena said calmly as she grabbed her jacket.

"It's only torture if it's painful," Sarah pointed out.

"I'm sure you'd make it painful," Elena pointed out as she pulled on her jacket, heading towards the door as Damon walked out to his car.

"I would not." Elena looked back at Sarah with a raised eyebrow. "All right fine. We'll try it your way," Sarah mumbled as she marched out the door, followed by Elena who locked the door behind them. Okay, the Whitmore trip had definitely mess about with her moral compass.

* * *

It hadn't been hard to find Tyler. He was at home, the first place Stefan and Scarlett had decided to look, possibly hiding out since he now knew all about the other supernaturals in town. Stefan had parked at the edge of property and the two had gone on foot until they arrived at the back of the house. From there they listened and Scarlett also did a little sniffing around. She was able to confirm that another werewolf had been there but couldn't say if she still was, although from what they were hearing it was likely the only two people in were Tyler and his mom. They then waited until Tyler was on his own, and moved.

He'd gone into what had been his father's study, now just a study since his father no longer used it, bag of chips in hand before he started to search something on a computer. Scarlett had thought they'd wait a little longer before going in, but then Stefan was suddenly in the room, having entered through the open door that lead to the outside.

Apparently Tyler's senses were improving, as he sensed the threat of an intruder and quickly tried to run. Stefan got in front o him though, cutting him up as Scarlett muttered a curse. She should have know this wasn't going to be easy. She did a quick check with her eyes, hearing and nose to make sure she wasn't going to be spotted then moved silently into the house. It was during that check that she realised why Stefan had moved so suddenly, as Mrs. Lockwood was on her way towards the study. He was probably trying to avoid a scene and if he got to Tyler quickly and shut him up, then maybe they could avoid dragging her into all this.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," Stefan said calmly, making no move to attack Tyler. He was just stood there, blocking his path while Tyler sized him up, currently unaware that Scarlett had now joined them. So his senses could still use some improvement then.

"We just want to talk," Scarlett said, making Tyler jump as he turned around to see her. The surprise quickly vanished and betrayal flashed through his eyes. The same betrayal that Scarlett constantly feared she'd see in Jeremy. And if it felt this bad seeing it in Tyler, seeing it in Jeremy would surely break her.

"Yeah, well, most people who want to talk use the door," Tyler snapped at her, making Scarlett cringe as she backed down.

"Would you have let us in if we'd done it that way?" Stefan asked, bringing Tyler's gaze back around to him. Scarlett realised Stefan was right, this had been the best way to do it. An approach like that definitely would have ended in a scene that would have caught Tyler's mom's attention.

"Tyler?" called out his mother as she walked into the front hall. Seeing a way out, Tyler reacted foolishly, but Stefan cut him off as Tyler tried to run past him. He grabbed hold and swung him around into the wall, holding him there with his arm against Tyler's throat. He shushed him, reminding him how dangerous he was as he let his vampire features subtly come out before letting them fade. He didn't want to hurt anyone, but right now he needed Tyler to believe he would if he didn't stay quiet. Seeing sense at last, Tyler quietened down so that his mother wouldn't get drawn into all this, but annoyingly she kept coming.

"Tyler? I'm leaving for the memorial," she called out again, walking into the study right as Scarlett ducked out of sight behind the desk. When she saw nothing, not having come in enough to see Tyler and Stefan, she shrugged and backed out. As she left, Scarlett stood back up, and all three remained still until they heard the door close behind Mrs. Lockwood.

Then Tyler started to struggle against Stefan's hold, making more noise now since his mother was out the way. "Just calm down, and I'll let you go," Stefan snarled, a little meaner than he'd intended. But the message got through, and Tyler calmed, still glaring at the vampire until Stefan pulled his arm away, releasing Tyler as he put on a friendly smile. "Maybe we're getting off on the wrong foot here."

"What happened to Mason, huh?" Tyler snapped, finishing his direct question with a look to Scarlett who bowed her head in shame.

"I tried to stop it, Tyler," she said, voice weaker than usual as the memory of that day came back to her. She had, she really had tried. She'd begged Damon not too but he'd never planned on letting Mason live after what he'd done to them. Still, it had been hard losing him, but she couldn't very well say that to Tyler, she wasn't going to be getting any sympathy from him now.

"Well you obviously didn't try hard enough," Tyler growled.

"That's enough," Stefan said calmly, putting his hand on Tyler's chest, subtly warning him not to push the matter.

He ignored the warning and continued anyway. "If you'd wanted to, you could have killed every one of them."

Scarlett meant his eyes with her own outrageous blue ones, the though of the idea clearly making her feel disturbed. And after what she'd been told happened to Rose, she wouldn't wish that on any of her vampire friends, meaning she was now going to be doubly careful from now on. "I would never bite them, Tyler. That would be a death sentence. In fact it might actually be worse than that. And they're my friends," Scarlett explained with a more firm, but still delicate, voice as she stepped towards him and Stefan.

"You can give me all the excuses that you want, I'm not going to believe you," Tyler declared, glaring at her before then doing the same to Stefan as the vampire sighed regrettably.

"Tyler, there's a lot for us to talk about. So why don't you just sit down and…" Stefan began to say before Tyler abruptly tried to make a run for it. Stefan caught him easily though, a combination of his reflexes and speed. Grabbing onto Tyler's shirt before yanking him back towards him him, a warning glare now on his face. "I wouldn't do that. Without a full mon, you're no match for me, and your definitely not a match for her," Stefan explained with a nod towards Scarlett. "So like I said, we're gonna sit down, and have a talk, you and us," Stefan declared as he led Tyler to the couch forcefully, before letting him go and motioning for him to sit down. He did, on the edge of the couch while Stefan sat back against the desk next to him. Scarlett took the couch across from Tyler, hoping he'd just listen for once in his life.

* * *

The search for John started at the park in centre of Mystic Falls where the marmoreal for several recent murder victims was being held. Of course most of those had been people Rose had murdered during her mental break down, though Sarah suspected a few had been done by Damon after she passed. She didn't say anything though, and Elena appeared none the wiser as they searched. It made since to start here, since council members would be lurking around like they always were at these events and John would undoubtedly want to speak to them since he was back in town. When they found nothing outside though, they started going through the open buildings, seeing if he was hiding out in one of the nearby restaurants. In the end they all spotted him in the Grill right as they walked in, stood at the table Jenna and Alaric were occupying – both probably wishing he was anywhere else but here, or that they were anywhere were he was not.

"We just need answers. So, please, both of you, don't do anything stupid," Elena whispered to the vampires on either side of her.

"Stupid like, draining him off blood and compelling the truth out of him?" Sarah asked with a forced smile to Elena who glowered back at her.

"I said no," Elena repeated sternly, as Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'll play nice," Sarah said, forcing sarcastic enthusiasm into her voice.

"And you?" Elena asked, looking to Damon who was glaring at John from across the room.

"Don't count on anything," Damon growled, ready to move off until Elena grabbed his arm pulling him back.

"Damon, please. Just try and keep it together. I know it's hard but please," she begged, looking up at Damon who continued to keep his eyes on John who was looking back over at him.

"Fine. But you owe me one… _friend_ ," Damon said with a forced smug smile, not unlike his sister's before the three made their way over to John, Jenna and Alaric together. "John, buddy, how you been?" Damon announced as he walked over, plastering on one of his infamous charming smiles.

"I've been all right, Damon. It's good to see you," John said with his own thin smile, stood next to Jenna who was glaring down at her menu so hard it seemed like fire might actually shoot out of her eyes. She looked up though, catching Sarah's eye who John then greeted also, as this was the first time he'd seen her since returning. "You too, Sarah."

Sarah forced her smile up, then stepped forward and swung, fist colliding with John's face as he staggered back, hand clutching his bruised cheek. "That was for Jenna, since she's obviously been wanting to do it," Sarah said simply, once again smiling sweetly when John looked back up at her. She then looked down at Jenna, winking when she saw how amazed Jenna was, to shocked to laugh at something she'd clearly enjoyed seeing.

John merely nodded, as everyone in the restaurant went back to minding their own business. Jenna did her best to keep her laughter contained as she looked away from John, Damon and Alaric shared a smirk and Sarah looked to Elena who was once again scowling at her, though not as strongly as before. "For the record, that was me being nice," Sarah whispered to Elena, who couldn't help but smirk a little, after seeing John get what he deserved. "Now what's everyone having to eat?" Sarah asked as she grabbed a seat and sat down next to Jenna, forcing John to step aside for her. "I'm starving."

* * *

Stefan had tried talking to Tyler, tried getting him to get involved in the conversation, but he wasn't having it. Scarlett had been more or less silent, deciding it was better to let Stefan handle negotiations, seeing as Tyler was still harbouring strong feelings of betrayal towards her.

"Look, about Caroline," Stefan said from his spot against the desk opposite Tyler. "No matter what her flaws are, when push comes to shove, you're gonna want that girl on your side. She's your friend, stop being a dick to her." His eyes flicked over to Scarlett, before returning to Tyler. "The same goes for Scarlett."

"They lied to me," Tyler snarled, not even willing to look Scarlett's way as his eyes narrowed at Stefan.

Stefan pointed over to Scarlett. "And she went through the same thing you did, when she tried to spare you from your first change."

"That was her own damn fault," Tyler muttered, looking away, before his gaze snapped back to Stefan as he rose above him, glowering down at the him.

"It's one thing not to trust us. It's another to treat something – that you know is a beyond painful – as nothing. She went through that for you, willingly. You both went through it together. And when she could have abandoned you, she stayed to help you, through everything. Caroline too. Or did you forget who helped you through your first full moon," Stefan growled, angry at Tyler for his blatant disregard for everything his two friends had done for him. Yes, they'd betrayed him, but they'd also done so much for him.

"It's all right, Stefan," Scarlett spoke up, both men turning to look at her, across on the other couch. "He does appreciate what we've done. He's not that much of a tool. He just doesn't think it makes up for all the lies." She offered Tyler a friendly smile. "But that's why we're here, to talk about it and get it all out."

Stefan leaned back then, a soft, but notably proud smile on his lips, as he leaned back against the desk once more. Tyler just scoffed, rolling his eyes as he looked back to Stefan. "I thought vampires and werewolves were enemies," he pointed out.

"That's some sort of leftover idea from another time. It doesn't have to be that way anymore," Stefan explained as he leaned over once more, friendly tone returning.

"Just look at Stefan and me," Scarlett agreed, jumping in while Stefan gestured over to her in order to back up her point. "We're friends. Heck we live together. And Sarah helped me through my first few months as a werewolf, like how me and Caroline helped you." Another unappreciated snort from Tyler. Scarlett saw Stefan's eyes light up in an irritated fire, but he kept himself still rather than threaten Tyler again. There was only so many times he could do it while claiming to be on his side, before Tyler caught onto the mixed signals and rejected them completely.

"All this is proof, that vampires and werewolves aren't enemies. All we need to do is be careful on full moons and everyone is happy," Scarlett concluded.

"Exactly," agreed Stefan before looking back to Tyler. "I mean, we go to the same school, we have the same friends, we keep the same secrets," Stefan listed off as he leaned forward, smiling when he saw that Tyler was slowly beginning to nod along with what was being said. "This can work, Tyler. I mean, it's your home, it's our home too. We want this to work."

Scarlett smiled, thinking that they were finally making some progress with the Tyler matter, when suddenly his phone began to ring. Silence fell between the three, as they all listened to Tyler's phone. Scarlett felt herself begin to tense, the calm before the storm. Stefan was watching Tyler, not denying him the right to answer but waiting to see how he would react, if he'd blink. He did.

Suddenly Tyler was up, phone being pulled from his pocket. Scarlett muttered a curse as she stood up and Stefan moved to snatch the phone form Tyler, but he was too slow. Tyler had already answered and was shouting, "Help! Help!" into the phone before Stefan snatched from him and ended the call. When Tyler then turned to run, Stefan once again grabbed him, hauling him back towards him, as he threw the phone over to Scarlett. She caught it, and instantly looked at the screen, seeing the number of the person that had called on the screen. It was just a number though, no name.

"Who was that that just called you?" Scarlett asked, frowning as she held the phone screen out towards Tyler. He just stared back, a hint of smugness to his lips. Only turning his gaze to Stefan when the vampire suddenly slapped his free hand against Tyler's chest, capturing his attention.

"Damn it, Tyler. We're trying to save your life, can't you see that?" Stefan snapped, but Tyler said nothing. Frustrated Stefan shoved him down onto the couch, telling him to sit and wait as he turned to Scarlett.

"So what now?" Scarlett whispered, lowly enough so Stefan had to use his supernatural hearing to pick it up. Of course Tyler would have been able to eavesdrop if he'd mastered his senses, but Scarlett already knew he hadn't and would struggle to hear what they were saying if he tried to use them.

Stefan thought for a moment, hands on hips as he bobbed his head slowly in thought. "We wait. Give it a few minutes then go back to trying to convince him."

"And if someone shows up to help him?" Scarlett asked with a mildly concerned look.

"Then we'll deal with it," Stefan said before walking behind the desk to stretch, giving Tyler and himself time to cool down before they took another run at trying to persuade him to play ball with them. Scarlett looked back to Tyler seeing him hunched over with his head lowered, avoiding them both. She let out a sigh, then threw his phone down onto the desk, before sitting herself back down on the couch opposite him. _Great. More waiting._

* * *

They ended up having a decent meal, with Sarah, Elena and Jenna on one side of the table while Damon, Alaric and John were on the other side. For the most part, John was smart enough to keep his mouth shut while the rest of the group made chit chat. Was it harsh to exclude him? Yes. Was it deliberate? Yes. Was everyone still mad at him for everything he'd done? Yes. And other than his presence, everyone had a good time.

After the quick one course meal, John excused himself to go and light a candle for those who'd died at a small marmoreal that had been set up by the Grill. Damon nodded after him and Sarah nodded in understanding before excusing herself. Though before she left, Jenna whispered that if she was going to punch John again to let her know. Sarah pointed out she was more likely to kick him, and not in the face, to which Jenna said she wanted a video of that. They laughed, and then Sarah walked off with Damon to have a word with John. Elena tried to follow, by Alaric, covered for the vampires and quickly got Elena engaged in a conversation between him and Jenna, preventing her from leaving temporarily.

John was just finishing lighting his candle, waving out the match, when Damon and Sarah approached from behind. "So, John," Damon said as he leaned over the man's shoulder. "Rumour has it that you know a lot, and won't say anything,." He kept his voice low, before moving around John to stand along side him, next to the table while Sarah stood at her brother's side, arms folded.

"How do I know either of you can be trusted?" John asked as he sat down the box of matches and turned to face the vampires. "Originals can compel vampires. And according to Stefan, that's why Katherine's still the tomb, because an Original compelled her to stay there."

"And I think we can all agree that's a good thing," Sarah said with an easy smile that lit up at the thought of Katherine's suffering.

"Besides," Damon said, smirking along with his sister as he lit a match – picking up a candle of his own to light as he continued, "That was only because all of the vervain had left her system. Whereas, Stefan, Sarah and I, on the other, are chock full." Having lit his candle, Damon then blew out the match in John's face, letting the whiff of smoke dance up between them, as John's face dropped into a frown.

"You guys are drinking vervain?" John asked, sounding uncomfortably surprised. And he ought to be, drinking vervain meant they were building up a tolerance for it, meaning he'd have to get his hands on more if he wanted to do any damage to them using the herb.

"It's an acquired taste," Damon said smugly, dropping the box of matches back onto the table.

"I personal take mine with a health dose of blood," Sarah added, licking her lips as she leaned in towards John, letting blood briefly fill her eyes for a moment before they returned to normal. It was enough though to make John step back, realising he wasn't as safe as he might think.

"And I don't see that magic little ring on your stitched finger," Damon began, leaning over as he whispered the rest to John, which Sarah listened in on. "So if you know something about Klaus, you better start talking, or we will kill you in your sleep," Damon warned before pulling back, smiling once again.

John smiled back, confident, which irritated bother the Salvatores. Nothing was more annoying than when you tried to intimidate someone and all you got was a flinch from them. "Is that any way to convince me that you and I are on the same side?"

Sarah let out a short and a quiet, hallow laugh, before then closing the gap between her and John. "We're not on the same side John. In fact, if I could, I'd build a wall between us, and make sure you were as far away from that wall as possible. And if I ever saw you near it, I'd kill you." When that didn't face John, Sarah got pissed, turning off the playful banter and throwing on her aggressive face. "The only reason I'm entertaining the idea that you might be helpful, is because I don't want Stefan to feel like he's wasted his time bringing you back. And the only reason I've not already killed you, is because Elena and Jeremy – although they hate your guts – don't want to see you dead. So start talking, or I'll start killing people until you do," Sarah growled in warning.

"Excuse me, I'm the psychopathic murderer in this family," Damon whined from behind as he pulled Sarah back, breaking her intense glare with John. "But like my baby sis says, start talking or we'll give you a reason to start."

Once again, John just stared at them both, doing an irritably good job of hiding his thoughts and emotions right now. "Once I know that I can trust you all, then we'll talk," John simply said, before walking away, leaving Sarah snarling and Damon glaring after him.

"Remind me again why we didn't just rip his head off?" Sarah growled, struggling to hold in her anger and frustration.

"Because Elena asked us not to," Damon sighed, clearly wishing he'd never agreed to go along with her peaceful ideas. "And if we're gonna keep it up, then I'm getting a drink," Damon decided, as he made his way over to the bar, leaving Sarah to glare daggers after John until she calmed down and rejoined Jenna and Elena. Not so subtly whacking John on the back of the head as she passed him to sit down. Petty? Sure, but it still felt good to Sarah. And she had to get her kicks somehow, since draining John dry of blood was off the table.

* * *

As the hours passed, Stefan and Scarlett continued to try and convince Tyler that they were all the same side and that they could work together. Before, he'd begun to open up to the idea of peace. Now that door had been well and truly shut. He was barely engaging with them, mumbling half the time while avoiding their eyes. Or rather he was looking at the windows and doorways, as if waiting for someone to arrive.

No one did, though Scarlett was still concerned about who'd phoned him earlier. Surely they must have known it was genuine, otherwise they would have called back to see what was going on. And yet no one had come by the Lockwood estate. If they had, Scarlett and Stefan would have heard them, but the property was silent. No one was coming to rescue him, and it was nightfall now, so he'd probably given up on that idea too. Thus why he was now trying to get rid of them both on his own. By lamely trying to convince them he was on their side.

"You want to be friends, great, we're friend. Will you go now?" Tyler sighed, as if that was all it should take to get them to leave. Of course, both Stefan and Scarlett knew he was just saying it for that reason, to get them to leave. He didn't mean it in the slightest.

"I don't know what else to say to you, Tyler," Stefan explained with exasperation, as he sat down along side Scarlett on the couch opposite Tyler. "I came back to this town because I wanted a life, I wanted to exist where I could have friends and where I could build a family. I have that here, and so does Scarlett, you've seen it. We can all have that," Stefan stressed, trying to make Tyler see the proof that was right in front of him. But he only shook his head, too far gone, too committed to his argument to turn tail and abandon it.

Hearing his phone buzz inside his pocket, Stefan shook his head also, frustrated with Tyler as he pulled it out. Scarlett glanced over, seeing it was Caroline calling him. Stefan motioned for Scarlett to watch Tyler and she nodded, while he stood up to answer the phone. "Hey. Is everything okay?" Stefan asked, going to walk out the room before he stopped at the unfamiliar voice that came down the phone.

"That depends. How badly do you want to keep her alive?" Scarlett frown, looking over to Stefan as he turned back, confusion in both their eyes.

"Who is this?" Stefan asked slowly, which then caused Tyler to look up, now interested in what was going on.

Not that he could hear it, but the woman on the phone then replied with, "Ask your brother. Where's Tyler?"

It clicked for Stefan before it did for Scarlett, but once he said the name, Scarlett realised how obvious it should have been. "Jules," he said, and Tyler sat up, frowning now just as confused as the rest of the room. "Where's Caroline?" Stefan asked carefully.

"You made a mistake, Stefan. I'm gonna give you a chance to fix it."

"Where is she?" Stefan quickly asked, frown deepening.

"Right here. Want proof?" Jules snapped back down the line, before the sound of a door opening drifted down the line. Metallic, car like. Scarlett tried to pick out other sounds but the connection wasn't that good and she'd only just heard the car door opening. It sounded like she was climbing in, but then the sound of footsteps followed before Jules' voice came back, but further away from the phone. "He needs proof."

A few seconds of silence, then a shot ran out, followed by Caroline's scream. Scarlett shot up to her feet, eyes flashing gold at the attack on her friend. Stefan began making his way back over, free hand landing on Scarlett's shoulder as to try and calm her down. Already he could see her werewolf features coming out, the extra hair, the canines. But the truth was he was just as angry. "What's going on?" Tyler asked, unable to follow the conversation and only able to see Stefan and Scarlett getting angry at Jules for some unknown reason.

"Hurt her again and you're dead," Stefan warned.

"I hurt her again, and she's dead," Jules growled back. "Bring Tyler to me, the clearing by Wickery Falls. You have twenty minutes until she dies," Jules then fired out before hanging up the phone. Stefan checked his phone to make sure the call had definitely ended, then looked sharply to Tyler, anger in his eyes.

"Get up," Stefan ordered plainly, not giving Tyler enough time to do it on his own before he grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

"Hold on, we're not just going to hand him over are we?" Scarlett asked with a frown to Stefan who was tightly holding onto Tyler.

"No, that's his choice, but we need him if she's going to give us Caroline, now come on," Stefan said as he shoved Tyler towards the door, following him out with Scarlett behind him.

"Hold on, will someone tell me what the hell is going on," Tyler shouted as Stefan gave him another shove.

"We'll tell you in the car," Stefan declared, before then muttering under his breath, "Then your new werewolf friends can give you either version." Scarlett didn't say anything. She knew Stefan was just venting, anxious and worried about Caroline. He had no beef with the werewolves, but if he had to drag Tyler there in order to save his friend, he would. After that he'd try the peace talk strategy again. Although, regrettably, Scarlett was thinking they'd gone beyond that point now.


	26. Werewolves Vs Vampires

_Review responses:_

 _Only Reviewer: Much like Damon and Stefan, yes, Sarah has a collection of leather jackets, lol._

 _With a title like this, I'd better have given you guys something good, right...? I may have shot myself in the foot with that one, but even so, been really looking forward to this part of the story, I love a good supernatural rumble! Enjoy, and I'll see you later!_

* * *

 **Chapter 26: Werewolves Vs Vampires**

* * *

While Sarah and Elena had remained at the table with Jenna, everyone else had left. Alaric had gone over to the bar, joining Damon for a bit before deciding he ought to go home and get some actual work done apparently. He bid everyone goodnight and kissed Jenna goodbye before then leaving. Damon had remained at the bar, nursing a new drink every half an hour or so. John had caught Sarah's hints and was staying clear of the ladies, as well as Damon, making conversation with whoever he could recognise inside the restaurant. He seemed to be quite the people person, providing you weren't related to him or were a supernatural.

"So, I've got a question to ask," Jenna spoke up, changing the topic of conversation as she turned to Sarah.

"Shoot," Sarah said, elbows on the table as she leaned forward.

"Is Damon seeing anyone right now?" Jenna asked, glancing over to the blue eyed vampire who had his back to them.

"My God you've finally snapped," Sarah declared without missing a beat.

"Should we start the intervention now, or just take her out back?" Elena asked before the two younger looking women started to laugh.

"Not for me you, idiots," Jenna snapped playfully as she glared at them both. "I have a friend that I think would be good for him."

Understanding what Jenna was now saying, Sarah shared a look with Elena before looking back to Jenna. Happiness no longer as bright as it had been a second ago. "Maybe some other time, Jenna. He just kinda got out of a serious relationship," Sarah explained solemnly.

"Wait, seriously? Sorry, I had no idea. Is he okay?" Jenna said in disbelief, looking to Elena as if wondering why she hadn't mentioned it. The reason she hadn't mentioned it was because she'd only found out about it the same day that Rose had died. There hadn't been time to tell Jenna or anyone else that didn't already know.

"He's Damon. If that answers your question," Sarah said with a shrug before sipping at her drink. Non-alcoholic of course. Once she'd had said sip, Sarah sat her glass back down, looking to Jenna once more. "I don't think he knew how serious it was, at least to him. It only lasted for a couple of days."

"Never imagined him as the type to fall for someone so quickly," Jenna said, glancing over at Damon, as if seeing him in a new light.

"He's an ass most of the time, but he does care. And when he loves someone, he loves them hard," Sarah explained, a knowing look to Elena who knew what he could be like.

The human girl had only experienced it briefly herself, before Sarah had _encouraged_ Damon to move on, but she'd see how far he would go with Katherine before it had been revealed that she'd played him. "Your friend's not looking for a fling, is she?" Sarah asked on the off chance, since that would possibly be good for Damon, help get his mind of things.

"No, she's looking for the real thing," Jenna explained.

"Then probably best you save her for later," Sarah said as she took another sip.

"Yeah…that might be a problem," Jenna said slowly, grimacing a little as Sarah and Elena turned to stare at her. She then directed them with her eyes to an approaching woman, dressed in casual suit like she'd just come from work.

"Hi, Jenna," the woman said before then waving to Sarah and Elena too, both of which lifted their hand in greeting, not quite sure what to make of her. "So, where's this guy you wanted to introduce me to?" Sarah looked her up and down, then turned to Jenna with a thin smile, which only made Jenna grimace all the more.

"Her?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah…" Jenna said, stretching out the word as she finished her grimace. "Andie Star, this is my niece–" Jenna gestured to Elena, who smiled on cue, but didn't have a chance to introduce her as Andie cut in.

"Elena Gilbert, yes, I know," Andie said with a friendly smile. "I don't know who you are though," Andie said, pointing to Sarah with a curious finger.

"This is Sarah Salvatore," Jenna introduced.

"The little sister of the guy you're looking to bang," Sarah said with a straight smile, taking Andie aback. Behind Sarah could hear Jenna facepalming and Elena stifling a laugh. "I'm just kidding, sorry," Sarah said as she look back to Jenna, grinning as her friend who shook her head while also smiling.

"He's over there," Jenna said, waving a hand towards the bar, which didn't really narrow it down, seeing as there were four guys sitting at various points along the bar on their own. "Although we might have to call it off."

"Oh, why?" Andie asked with a disappointed pout.

"He just got out of a relationship," Elena explained, arms folded on the table.

"Ah, okay," Andie said, before pausing as she thought it over. "Still, there couldn't be any harm in meeting him, right?" She looked to three women sat before her, waiting to see if any objected as she raised an intrigued eyebrow. Sarah looked back, finding Jenna's curious gaze on her. She obviously wanted to do it, she apparently thought she'd found the perfect match for Damon.

"Why not," Sarah shrugged, as Jenna and Andie smiled. "Might as well give it a shot. What's the worse that could happen?" Sarah did not miss Elena's pointed look, but she sent her her own look that said she wouldn't let it get out of hand.

"All right, let's go Andie," Jenna said as she stood up, escorting her friend over to Damon.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Elena asked, moving across to Jenna's seat so she was sat next to Sarah, nodding after her aunt and friend as they approached the deadly vampire.

"It's a distraction if anything. He could use that right now. And you never know," Sarah said, sipping her drink after another shrug to Elena.

"You really think he's going to fall in love with her?" Elena asked skeptically.

Another shrug. "It happened with Rose," Sarah pointed out, before finishing her drink and placing down the empty glass.

"So what about you then?" Elena then asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

"Is there any romance on the horizon for Sarah Salvatore?" Elena asked with a cheeky grin. Sarah turned away slightly, eyes widening. It wasn't a subject that she often gave much thought to, thus why she'd been caught of guard. She rarely thought about relationships unless she was in one herself. Her brothers' relationships were a different story of course, she'd pry into them no matter what her relationship status. She was their sister after all. But recently, no, there hadn't been anything. Sure she'd made out with a few guys and slept with a couple on that Whitmore trip, but that was just scratching an itch. There was no romance to any of it.

"Doubtful," Sarah said as she looked down into her empty glass, just about able to make out her faint reflection in its surface. "I think I still need time to get over Ronnie."

"Sorry," Elena said sympathetically, before Sarah found Elena's hand on her own. She looked over, finding a soft smile and comforting eyes greeting her. "I'm sure it'll pass soon. You're just too awesome to stay single," Elena explained, smile growing.

It made Sarah smile too. "You're a good friend, Elena Gilbert."

"I know. So are you," Elena said before she let out a chuckle, leaning back in her seat as she pulled back her hand.

It just so happened then, as the two were finishing off their conversation, that Damon had finished blowing off Andie. The two looked over to see Damon walking away, drink in hand as Jenna rolled back her head, sighing as Andie turned to talk to her. "You all right there, Brother?" Sarah asked as he approached the her and Elena.

"Dandy," Damon spat out. "And for future reference, don't encourage Jenna to send her single friends my way."

"Why not?" Elena asked with a frown.

"Because then she won't have many friends left," Damon growled, before taking a swing of his drink. He was still hurting, and being hit on was only reminding him of Rose. Sarah should have seen that coming.

"Sorry," Sarah and Elena both said, realising their mistakes.

"It's fine," Damon said, to both their surprise, as he shook off any lingering thoughts. Then as he finished off his drink, Elena's phone started to ring. She answered it while Sarah kept an eye on her brother.

"Stefan, hey, what is it?" Elena said into the phone, before Sarah and Damon before began to eavesdrop, frowning at what Stefan was telling Elena. As the conversation between Elena and Stefan went on, it became clear they needed to move somewhere privet, so Sarah began to lead Elena towards the bathroom with Damon following. They checked they were alone, by which point the call had ended and Damon was once again annoyed for being kept out of the loop. Though considering his reaction, he really ought to know why he was being kept out.

"Why am I just finding out about this now?" Damon exclaimed, standing before Elena and Sarah with wide, irritated, blue eyes.

"Hey, I'm only find out about all this right now as well," Sarah pointed out, but Damon hardly cared. This was his time to be mad, and he was hardly going to share the spotlight with his little sister.

"Look, Stefan was just worried that you'd–" Elena started to explain before Damon cut in.

"That'll I'd what? That I'd kill him? Of course, it's what needs to happen," Damon growled.

"Oh, so we're back on the werewolf killing train again, because that's worked out so well in the past," Sarah pointed out sarcastically, something which Damon didn't not appreciate.

"I don't know who elected you the Werewolf Preserver, but you've filled your quota with the dog that's living in our house. Every other wolf in this town in fair game," Damon snapped towards his sister who rolled her eyes in response. She knew where he was coming from. A place of anger and hurt. He wanted vengeance, someone to take his grief out on for what had happened to him and Rose, and the werewolves were the ideal targets. But Sarah wasn't going to let him make the same mistake twice, at least not in a row.

"Are you listening to yourself, right now?" Sarah asked rhetorically. "This is exactly how it started last time, before Rose died."

"Yeah, only this time there's no full moon, so I'm the one that gets to do the biting," Damon snarled, blood hot with rage. Sarah could see it wasn't going to be easy calming Damon down now.

"Damon, please, too many people are dead," Elena begged. "Just help Stefan and Sarah save Caroline, then drop it. It's not worth starting a supernatural turf war over."

"You've used up your allotment of favours tonight by asking me not to kill that father of yours," Damon snapped, turning on the brunette.

"He's not my father," Elena growled in warning, surprising Damon for a split second before the door behind him burst open. He looked over, and Sarah and Elena looked past him to see John having entered the bathroom, door now swinging closed behind him.

"Do you mind?" Damon said with a glare to John before turning back to the two women.

"What's going on?" John demanded, as if thinking he was actually going to get an answer.

"Nothing," Elena snapped at him.

"It doesn't look like nothing," John said back.

"Well guess what John, trust works both ways. Get out," Damon snapped, glancing back at John once more before turning back and expecting him to leave. He didn't, but the three continued the conversation as if he had.

"Look, we don't have time for this. We need to get Caroline back," Elena pressed.

"She's right," agreed Sarah, backing up Elena's pressing look.

"Okay, fine, here's the plan. You and I," Damon said with mocking enthusiasm as he pointed to himself and Sarah. "Are gonna go and skin a bunch of mutts, while you," he pointed to Elena. "Stay here and try to go five minutes without doing something stupid that might end up getting you killed. Now come on," Damon said, grabbing his sister's arm and shoving her ahead of him as he left with both women protesting. As he shoved Sarah past John though, Damon stopped, looking to John as he said, "First dad duty; ground your daughter. Keep her here."

"Damon!" Elena shouted as he walked past John. She tried to follow but John held her back while Damon continued to shove his own sister out the bathroom.

"Have I told you yet today that you're an ass?" Sarah growled rhetorically, not liking being pushed around by her brother. It was reminding her far too much of when they were kids and they were out of sight of their parents.

"You usually do before breakfast so I'm going to say, yeah," Damon said as the door closed behind them, which was when Sarah finally shoved her brother off of her.

"You can't seriously leave Elena here with John," she exclaimed, pointing back to the bathroom.

"No, actually, I'm leaving her here with him, and the aunt who'd probably scream bloody murder if he tried to leave with her right now. Trust me, I've thought this all through," Damon explained, plastering on a smile that all but convinced Sarah he hadn't thought anything through. As usual.

"All right, so what are we going to do with the werewolves?" Sarah asked, refusing to move or let Damon past until she got an answer she liked.

"Simple, we're gonna kill them all," Damon said with a smile.

"No," Sarah replied, to which Damon's smile dropped.

"We're not running a damn dog sanctuary, Sis," Damon growled, stepping towards her.

"We're also not going to slaughter any werewolf we come across for the rest of our lives! This is not the way to handle this."

"I am done, with the hippy dippy werewolf peace talks!" Damon snapped angrily, temporarily letting his emotions get the better of him. "They killed Rose. So now I'm going to kill them," Damon explained, as if it were that simple.

"No, you're not," Sarah declared.

"Try and stop me," Damon challenged to which Sarah shoved him back into the wall.

"Don't make me, Damon. Please, don't," Sarah said, firmly, but with enough feeling to let him know that she would if he pushed her. "I've already lost one friend over all this. I'm not going to lose you or anyone else I care about. So we're going to do this my way. And _I'm_ going to do the talking. If you don't like that, then I'll snap your neck, leave you with Elena and if you even try to start something I'll through your ass in that family crypt so fast you'll think you've lost your head."

She paused, catching her breath and letting herself calm down. "I know you're hurting, I know you're upset even though you won't admit it…and that's okay. But I'm not letting you endanger more of our friends and family, just because you want to do something stupid. I think we both did enough of that last night."

He stared into her eyes then, realising that while he'd been out doing bad things, so had she. "So if you're coming, you follow my lead. We talk, get Caroline back through the least violent way possible, and then part ways. The rest _I'll_ deal with later. But you, you are done dealing with werewolf problem until I say so, got it?"

He hesitated before finally bowing his head in understanding. Once he did, Sarah nodded, backing up and releasing Damon. Now she could go back into the bathroom and grab Elena, but Damon was right, they'd be better on their own. So with nothing left to be said, the two walked out and drove to the meeting point which Stefan had told Elena about.

* * *

Scarlett had contemplated changing before they went into the forest, but Stefan had advised against it. The werewolves would already be on edge and if they saw Scarlett coming in wolf form, it no doubt make negotiations all the more harder. So the two went in on foot, with Stefan hold Tyler's arm the whole way.

As they'd been told, Jules was waiting in the clearing, a caravan behind her with the door open and another car parked by the front of the RV. She was looking right at them as they approached, having been listening and sniffing for them. Scarlett could smell her now, as well as several other werewolf like scents that were lingering around the area. But the wind was blowing towards Jules and was making it harder for Scarlett to determine whether the scents were fresh or not. In fact, because of that wind, Jules had probably smelt them coming before she heard them.

"Where's Caroline?" Stefan asked, stood in between Tyler and Scarlett, his hand still on Tyler's arm.

"Locked up tight," Jules answered, arms folded as she matched Stefan's gaze with an unblinking stare.

"Let her go, and we'll release Tyler," Stefan explained.

" _We'll_?" Jules said with a raised brow and a pointed look to Scarlett. "Don't tell me you've sided with the vamps?"

"They're my friends," Scarlett explained, holding her head up as she met Jules gaze. "And Caroline's Tyler's friend too you know."

"You can't be friends with a vampire. None of our kind can," Jules said firmly, eyes moving onto Stefan as a growl slipped into her voice.

"Well, there goes my negotiation strategy," came the voice from Sarah, as she and Damon sauntered onto the scene. Scarlett looked over along with everyone else, smiling a little when she saw the other Salvatores arrive. That said, she had to admit, maybe bringing Damon wasn't the best of ideas, but she trusted Sarah enough to believe in whatever she had planned. "Guess I'll have to come up with something else," Sarah continued with a smile and shrug, as she and Damon stopped at Tyler's other side, sandwiching him between the Salvatore family. "How about we start by talking to each other?" she suggested as non-threateningly as she could.

"Let go of Tyler first," Jules replied sternly, apparently not taking into account the superior numbers she was now facing. Although Scarlett was pretty sure she knew the reason why, as the wind changed direction.

"We'll let go of Tyler, as soon as you agree to talk," Sarah said calmly.

"I'm not talking to a bunch of vampires," Jules spat out.

"Why not?" Sarah asked calmly, trying to figure out how best to approach this discussion.

"None of us are looking for a fight," Stefan added in an equally calm tone, trying to defuse whatever was about to happen.

"Maybe, but I am," snarled Jules.

"Okay, I agreed to let my sister do the talking, but I really feel I ought to point out, that if you came here looking for a fight, you probably should have brought some back up," Damon said, smugness increasing with each word while ignoring the glare Sarah was sending him.

And that was when the scents in the air became a lot clearer to Scarlett, and she realised just how close they all were. "Eh, guys…" she started to warn them, before Jules cut her off.

"I did," Jules said with a smirk, before whistling. She then resumed her folded arm stance as her fellow werewolves proceeded to step out of the shadows, surrounding the Salvatores. Looking around, Scarlett could see they were all armed with stakes, crossbows and a few even had what she guessed were portable flamethrowers. All you needed to kill a vampire, or three.

It was hard for her to tell how many there were without looking like she was counting. She tried to add up the scents but they kept moving and changing, making it impossible to keep track since she didn't know them all that well. That, and the wolf inside was no longer tracking its prey. It had now found itself in a trap, backed into a corner, and was readying itself for a fight.

"I tried to warn you," Scarlett muttered beneath her breath.

"Shut it, Scrappy," Damon bit back, only to receive another glare from Sarah as he rolled his eyes. To no ones surprise, Damon was not very good at keeping his mouth shut, even when he promised to. In fact, this probably was him trying to keep him mouth shut.

"Now, last chance," Jules growled. "Give us Tyler."

"Have you ever considered asking Tyler if he wants to go with you?" Sarah suggested, a tad more aggressively than Scarlett presumed she'd meant to be. "Maybe he's happy here, maybe he doesn't share your hatred of vampires, maybe he's will to talk to us and agree to a mutual understanding?" Jules' look said she very much doubted that. So Sarah ignored her and turned to Tyler, who looked like a deer in headlights. "So, come on, Tyler. Choose, us or them. Your friends, or the werewolves you hardly know. It's your choice."

Tyler just continued to stare, mouth opening and closing but unable to form an answer. His heart was pounding, Scarlett could see that. He didn't want to pick a side, or maybe he though he already had, and that if he made the wrong decision now he'd be stuck with no one. That wasn't true, but Scarlett and Stefan had tried to explain that to him and he just wouldn't listen.

After another minute of Tyler struggling to answer Sarah's question, she let out a tried and frustrated groan. "Oh for God's sake, just go over there," Sarah grumbled, yanking Tyler from Stefan before shoving him over towards Jules. He found his footing, and made it the rest of the way before turning around when he got past Jules. "There, now will you give us Caroline?" Sarah asked.

"Send Scarlett over too," Jules then said to Scarlett's surprise.

"She's got nothing to do with this," Sarah shot out defensively.

"She's a werewolf, so yes, she does have something to do with this and she belongs with us," Jules stated plainly.

"Like hell she does," Sarah snapped angrily, the protective nature in her flaring.

"Now who's upset," Damon mumbled, earning the deadliest glare yet from Sarah. So bad that Scarlett genuinely thought Sarah would snap his neck here and now just to shut him up.

"What happened to, 'it's your choice?'" Jules asked, a smug smile playing at her lips as Sarah turned back to glare at her.

"I'm staying with my friends," Scarlett declared firmly, stepping closer to the Salvatores as they huddled up.

"You can't be friends with vampires," a skinheaded werewolf near Jules said, easily the tallest and most built up of all the werewolves around them.

"Yeah, I already heard that line, thanks," Scarlett said snidely, with a narrow eyed look to the werewolf in question as he glared back angrily at her. Scary thing was, his face didn't even flinch, the increase in anger came solely through his eyes.

"It's the truth," the werewolf stated firmly, an angry growl to his voice. "They're parasites, using you for their own gain."

"They're the closest thing I've currently got to a family," Scarlett snapped back, her eye's transforming into golden spheres across a black canvases. "So if you come at them, you come at me, 'cause I'm staying right here," Scarlett declared with a growl as she firmly planted her feet into the dirt next to Stefan, while all the Salvatores stared at her. The brothers taken aback, and even Sarah a little.

"Then your a traitor, and you'll die with them," the werewolf stated simply, eyes once again showing the increase in rage. With that said, it seemed to be the final straw, as some of the werewolves around them began to move closer, flexing their hands and tightening their grips on their weapons. The Salvatores responded by moving around a little, readying themselves for an attack from any side.

"Before we get started," the near bald headed werewolf spoke again. "Which one of you killed Mason?"

"Nobody answer that," Sarah said to the group, and Scarlett thought she might just kick Damon then, in order to stop him from answering. But then that would have identified him as the one that killed Mason, so it was luckily that for once Damon listened and kept quiet.

"It doesn't matter," the werewolf declared, twirling his stake confidently. "We'll just kill you all anyway," he said, as the werewolves began to close in for the kill.

"We can take them," Damon said confidently, the most relaxed out of the four, while Stefan was on alert and Sarah and Scarlett had adopted subtle fighting stances.

"I don't know about that," Stefan said not so confidently as he looked around at the amount of werewolves they were facing.

"For the last time, we don't want to fight," Sarah said, slowly looking around as if to perpetuate her state meant to all the werewolves, not just their leader.

"We just want Caroline," Stefan added, eyes flicking quickly from wolf to wolf.

"And we just want Tyler and Scarlett," Jules responded, cool as a cucumber while her Pack continued to advance towards the vampires.

"She doesn't want to go with you," Sarah snarled, eyes locking with Julies, who still didn't flinch.

"Which means you'll have to kidnap me," Scarlett said, eyes flashing as she turned to growl at some werewolves who were getting too close for her own comfort. The wolf inside her wasn't too happy about it either. They stopped advancing, but didn't step back. Waiting for another window to close in or pounce.

"Don't think that's too much of a concern for them," Damon pointed out, making light of the situation. "After all, they did already kidnap Blondie."

"Please, just back of, and let's talk–" Sarah tried to reason.

"We're done talking," the strongest werewolf cut in again, conviction in his eyes. The same as every other wolf around them.

"Good, so am I," Damon declared before he ran at Jules. Sarah went to call out his name but by then there was little point. Jules had leapt back, grabbing onto the side of the caravan before flipping off it and landing behind Damon, separating him from the others.

From of to the side, Scarlett caught sight of a flame, her eyes drawn to it like a moth. Hearing growls from all around, she knew this was it, the Pack was about to pounce. But even if they were supernatural, they weren't faster than Scarlett and the vampires. As demonstrated by Stefan who quickly got behind the flamethrower wielder, taking control of him and the flames as he grabbed the man from behind. When the others tried to get close to help him, Stefan turned the flames on them, quickly making them back up for fear of getting burned.

However, Scarlett and Sarah didn't have the protection of the flames, and while three werewolves waited for their window to attack Stefan, another four began to close in around them. "Any idea how many there are?" Sarah asked as she and Scarlett went back to back.

"A lot," Scarlett offers, glancing back before focusing on the two werewolves ahead of her. She could feel Sarah rolling her eyes from behind, but now wasn't the time to start bickering amongst themselves, which was probably why Sarah wasn't complaining aloud.

Then suddenly the werewolves were attacking them, one swiping towards Scarlett's feet while the other threw a stake towards her – despite the fact she wasn't a vampire. Her enhanced reflexes allowed her to catch it though, and her advanced supernatural speed allowed her to move faster than the attacking wolf – so when he went to claw at her leg, she swung down with the stake, piercing his hand and trapping it against the ground.

Unleashing a growl, Scarlett then used the bent over werewolf as a stepping block, leaping off of him as she jump kicked the second wolf. He fell back, and as Scarlett went down, she swung with the force of gravity at her back and knocked the down wolf out.

Behind, she heard Sarah fighting off her own two problems, with fast and precise hand to hand combat moves. Scarlett turned to see if she needed help, and it was a good thing she did, because the wolf she'd stabbed through the hand was back up, stake in hand and ready to stab Sarah in the back. But Scarlett wouldn't let that happen, as she pounced forward, landing behind the unsuspecting werewolf and kicked his feet out from under him. He collapsed, and then Sarah called out Scarlett's name before throwing one of her attackers over her shoulder and towards her ward. Because of the heads up though, Scarlett was ready, and before the werewolf had a chance to recover, Scarlett grabbed both his, and the other werewolf's head, before smashing them together.

The distinct sound of a crossbow firing suddenly caught Scarlett's attention, and she turned to find a stake heading right for her head. But then it stopped midair, as Stefan appeared in front of her, hand outstretched as he caught the wood in mid flight. He then threw it up, catching it again so that the pointy end was now facing the other way and then threw it back at the werewolf who'd fired it, catching him in the thigh as he went down.

When Stefan looked back at her, Scarlett nodded in thanks. He nodded in understanding before then side stepping a werewolf who came at him with another stake. He took another swing, only this time he over stretched and Stefan tripped him up, before then shoving him towards Scarlett. The teenager then ran at him on all fours, before leaping up above him and shoving him down towards the ground, face first as she spring boarded off of him.

It wasn't the most graceful of lands as she stumbled, but Sarah appeared to steady her. "Thanks," Scarlett said as she found her footing.

"Looks like that move could still use some work," Sarah said with a grin, to which Scarlett nodded in agreement, before catching something against the moonlight, as it sailed through the air towards them. Acting quickly, Scarlett stepped around Sarah, catching the vervain grenade, only to throw it back at the two werewolves where it exploded. It wasn't big enough to do any major damage, unless you were a vampire, so they would heal, but for now they were out cold.

Then one of the bigger werewolves charged towards them both. As if it were instinctive, Sarah pushed Scarlett behind her, ready to protect her from the danger, but Scarlett didn't need protecting. So once the werewolf was close enough, she grabbed Sarah's shoulders and hoisted herself up into the air, throwing herself over and slashing at the bigger werewolf's face with her claws. The attack caught him off guard, leaving no room to defend, only stumble back as he clung to his scratched and bleeding face.

Then as Scarlett landed, Sarah ran in and landed a series of punches into the bigger werewolf's chest, until he swung at her blindly with one arm. Sarah sped backwards to avoid it, but even then still had to lean back to dodge the attack. She then ran at him again, grabbing his arm while Scarlett grabbed the other, yanking it from his face as she used her claws to dig in and get a good grip. Holding an arm each, the two women forced the bigger werewolf back against a tree trunk before both uppercutting him in unison and knocking him clean out as blood continued to spit out of his face.

The two shared a moment of united triumph, before a groan caught there attention and they turned to see Stefan going down, another werewolf having stabbed him in the back with a wooden stake. It hadn't touched his heart, so it wasn't fatal, but with two other werewolves closing in around him, the next one would be. Neither Sarah, nor Scarlett, hesitated in running over in a blur to save Stefan.

As she ran, Scarlett jumped on the werewolf before her, digging her claws into his back as she forced him down. Sarah wasn't as kind to the werewolf that separated her from her brother, punching right through the woman's chest, before yanking out her heart. She then saw the werewolf that had stabbed Stefan, about to stab him again, and rushed him, catching his stake wielding arm in mid swing. She then tightened her grip, crushing his arm until he dropped the stake. Then she squeezed some more and broke his arm as he yelled in pain.

That was the last thing Scarlett saw before she was tackled off the wolf she'd pinned. She felt a wooden stake pierce her side and she bite down on her lip to keep herself from screaming, however she must have had to bite pretty hard, as she felt blood fill her mouth. Though that was nothing compared to the pain in her side, which then proceeded to double when the one who tackled her yanked out the stake. He went to stab her again, this time in the heart, but Scarlett caught the stake in her hand, stopping it above her chest. She growled lowly at the werewolf above her, her eyes glowing before she swung with her other fist, knocking the werewolf off her.

Already her side had healed and within a second she was on top of the werewolf who had attacked her, stabbing him with the same stake he'd stabbed her with. Only she stabbed him in the shoulder, instead of the side. Then while he was hollering in pain, Scarlett knocked him out.

She only had a split second to catch her breath though, as the next second gun shots were going off all around her. Instinct and fear for her life made her duck, hands going to shield her head from any passing bullets. She counted maybe five or six shots before the gun fire stopped and the fighting suddenly seemed to slow down. She unwrapped her hands from her head, lifting it up to see what had happened. She saw Stefan, as he was, on the ground struggling to move from the stake he'd taken to his back. It seemed to have done more damage than Scarlett initially thought. Sarah was now on the ground too, breathing heavily as Jules marched towards her, gun in one hand and stake in the other.

It then clicked in Scarlett's head, that they must have been firing wooden bullets. However, Sarah hadn't been the only one hit, as Scarlett could also see a downed Damon by the caravan, where the skinheaded werewolf was getting ready to finish him off. Caroline had somehow escaped, but two werewolves had her shoved up against the side of the caravan, a third ready to run her through with a stake. And all while Tyler stood watching from the door to the RV.

Scarlett was now the only one left standing, despite the fact she was kneeling. All the vampires had either been injured by wooden bullet, stake, or pinned down, leaving Scarlett the only one who could fight. But how could she take on a Pack of werewolves by herself? True she was stronger than them individually, but they had the numbers, and they knew so much more about all of this than she did. Her necklace might give her the powers they didn't have, but they had everything else, including her friends.

She watched Jules, straddle Sarah, stake raised while her guardian struggled to move because of the wooden bullet that had momentarily paralysed her. She was going to die, she was defenceless against Jules, who had a straight shot at the vampire's heart. Scarlett had to act, but there was only so much she could do in the time before Jules killed one of the few people who'd ever given a crap about her. Before she knew what she was doing, she was on her feet, the wolf inside howling at her, until Scarlett roared out, "STOP!"

The whole forest went still. Everyone now looking towards Scarlett. For her friends, it was nothing they hadn't seen before, except for Caroline, but even she'd known Scarlett was capable of this. However, seeing it, and being told about it, were two different things.

As for the werewolves and Tyler, they were all staring at her, frozen in whatever they were doing as they stared on in awe. Before them all, Scarlett had shifted – now half girl, half wolf – and was something more monstrous than anything they'd ever seen before. They all had the ability to turn into wolves, but none had been aware this was an option, the ability to shift into something between the two extremes. Something both human, and wolf. Something like what Scarlett was now.

"Oh, my God," Jules breathed out, still trying to work out just what Scarlett was as she stared at her. She was obviously a werewolf, her scent said so. But this…this thing she was doing right now, it was like nothing Jules or anyone in her Pack had ever heard of. She was literally doing the impossible right now, shifting into a state that consisted of both halves of who they were.

For a second, Scarlett thought she might just have ended the fighting – through seer shock factor alone. But then she saw the werewolf over Damon, lifting his stake once more. "NO!" Scarlett screamed out, though it sounded like more of a roar, though not as strong as her last one. The werewolf ignored her, as all eyes moved to him, and the two other Salvatores began to shout also.

But then suddenly the stake dropped form the werewolf's hand, both of which then grabbed his head as he began to groan in pain. Face screwing up like the other werewolves around him. Then Scarlett saw that it was happening to them all. Every werewolf was groaning in pain, holding their head and falling to the ground. Some began to pass out instantly, others took a bit longer, but the result was the same. Until finally the only ones still awake were Scarlett, Sarah, Stefan, Damon, Caroline and Tyler. Everyone else was collapsed in a heap around them, out cold.

"What just happened?" Caroline asked quietly as she stepped towards her friends. Leaving Tyler alone in the trailer doorway as he took in the sight of the downed pack all around him. Scarlett tried to think of an answer. _Had it been something she did?_ But if so why hadn't it effected everyone else, and if it was only werewolves, then surely Tyler would have been hit by whatever it was too? And if it wasn't her and it was something else, how did they know which wolves to attack and which not too?

It was as she moved over to Sarah and Stefan, that she saw part of her answer. There was a man making his way down the dirt road towards them. His hand extended at his sides, head lowered, eyes closed, and he appeared to be chanting as he walked on to the scene. He seemed to stop however, as Scarlett helped Sarah up. She was still in pain because of the wooden bullets inside of her, but now that she was on her feet, she was able to move again, though she couldn't hide the grimace that came with every little movement.

She too was confused by what was going on, staring at the stranger who'd arrived and apparently saved them all. The man was an adult, but by the way he looked around at them all, he seemed a lot older than his face might suggest. After looking at everyone who was still awake individually, he looked towards Sarah, Stefan and Scarlett, who had grouped up as they walked towards the stranger. Caroline having moved to Damon's side, as he was the closest to her. "Elijah and Amelia made a promise to Elena. I'm here to see it's upheld. You need to go," the man explained.

"You're one of the witches that works for them?" Sarah said, reminding Scarlett of just what Elena's deal with the Originals was. As she'd been told, the deal was that the Originals would protect Elena and all of her friends and family, provided she helped them deal with Klaus. And if this was anything to go on, they took that promise very seriously, consider none of Elena's friends had been hurt by this guy when he took out a good dozen people.

"I work with them, not for them," the witch corrected, staring solely at Sarah now. No one spoke after that. They did move however, once Sarah began to gently move Scarlett. She didn't argue, and let Sarah lead her over towards Damon and Caroline, with Stefan behind them. Once they were all together, the witch said to them all, "Get out of here. Now."

Scarlett had full expected an argument to break out, especially from the ever opinionated Damon. But to her surprise, he merely nodded along as he lead the group away from the caravan site. The rest followed after him, Sarah staying close to Scarlett, partly for comfort and partly for support as her arm hung around Scarlett's shoulders. Caroline remained with Stefan, comforted by his hand on the small of her back. She'd looked terrified when Scarlett first saw her emerge from the trailer, but she seemed better now that she was surrounded by her friends and the fighting was over.

None of them seemed terribly concerned about Tyler. None of them looked back to see if he was even following them either. Metaphorically he was in the process of making his bed, sort of speak, though he still had time to switch sides. For now, that was his problem, and his alone. The rest of them were tired, and ready to call it a night. If he could get through the night without making any stupid decisions, they'd talk to him again tomorrow. Until then, he was on his own, because they had temporarily given up on him. For now, they were only interested in looking after those, who they knew, were on their side.

* * *

When they got to the cars, the group split in two. Stefan taking Caroline home in his Porsche, while Scarlett rode in the back with Damon and Sarah as they returned to the Salvatore boarding house. Once home, Damon proceeded to march himself down to the cellar, presumably to get a blood bag. He was pissed off, Sarah could tell. Whether it was because he got his assed saved or because he didn't get to kill as many werewolves as he wanted, she wasn't sure. But he was most definitely mad.

She decided to leave him alone though, figuring he'd burn himself out by morning, when he'd be thinking a bit more rationally. Until then she and Stefan could take turns in making sure he didn't do anything crazy like returning to fight the werewolves on his own. For now, he was occupied with filling his stomach and healing up after the fight. He'd be gearing up for round two, but it'd be a good hour or so before he was back in top shape, even if he was drinking blood by the gallon. And while he was doing that, Sarah and Scarlett made themselves comfy in the living room, grabbing one of the large couches to share after deciding their bedrooms where to far away to be worth visiting.

"Here," Sarah said, holding out a glass to Scarlett as she stood in front of her. The teenager looked up, skeptical at first before taking the glass and staring down at it. "It's bourbon, not poison," Sarah explained with a chuckle to herself as she sat down next to Scarlett. "You seem like you could use it."

"I thought you were my guardian, doesn't that mean you're supposed to stop me from doing things like underage drinking?" Scarlett pointed out with a teasing look towards the vampire beside her.

"After tonight, I'm willing to make an exception," Sarah declared before taking a drink from her own glass. "That said, I'm honestly shocked you haven't turned to drinking yet, considering that amount of the stuff we have around here."

Scarlett made a face that suggested she too was surprised by this. However, then she drank from her glass, and her face contorted in disgust. "You sure about this not being poison?" Scarlett croaked out, staring at her glass while she let the burning liquid uncomfortably slide down her throat.

Sarah smiled at her ward's disgusted face, offering up an explanation, "It's an acquired taste." Scarlett snorted, choosing to disagree with the century old vampire on this. At that Sarah let out another chuckle, before then looking down into her glass, as she swirled the brownish liquid around for a moment. The silence stretched out until she spoke again, more serious now. "Are you happy?"

"What?" Scarlett asked, frowning as if she didn't understand what Sarah was asking.

"Are you happy?" Sarah repeated, turning to look at the blue eyed wolf. "Here, with me, Stefan and Damon?" she clarified, watching as Scarlett looked off into the distance for a moment to ponder the question.

"It's not always easy, I guess," admitted Scarlett as she turned back to Sarah, gazed lowered however as her glass rested on her lap, one leg folded in as it sat on the couch with her while the other dangled off the side. "You guys are vampires after all. That seems to bring a certain amount of death, blood and chaos with it. Plus Damon's just really annoying." At her light hearted joke, Sarah laughed a little, and Scarlett joined in before continuing.

"Thing is, I own you a guys a lot. You especially but your brothers as well. The way things were, I probably would have become a werewolf, even if you hadn't compelled me to kill my uncle. I was close to doing it, even before I met you. I honestly think you just accelerated the process of it all," Scarlett explained before she began to brighten, gloom look turning into a soft opening smile.

"But that's not all you did. You and your family let me stay here. You gave me a chance at something better. You protected me and kept my secret and helped me as best you could, you still are. And now, I have friends. I have Jeremy. I've even got a family, I guess…" Scarlett trailed off as her head lowered again, exposed blue eyes hiding behind her brunette hair that had dropped down like a shield.

Then she felt Sarah's hand on hers, and bravely looked up to find the vampire's kind green eyes there to meet her. "You do have a family. Your last name might not be Salvatore, but we're your family. No matter what anyone, including my brothers says." Scarlett smiled gratefully, which in turn made Sarah's own smile grown. "And I promise, I'll always be here for you…even if you want to go and join the rest of the werewolves." The vampire's smile dipped a little at the spoken idea, but she clearly meant what she was saying.

Even so, Scarlett snorted, rolling her eyes. "They're dicks," Scarlett stated plainly, making Sarah laugh once more before her ward took another sip of bourbon. Only this time when she swallowed it, her grimace was restrained, more in control now that she knew what to expect. After swallowing, she looked back down at her glass once more, tilting it from side to side as she said, "I think this stuff's actually starting to grow on me. Kinda like Damon." Another round of laughs before their phones started vibrating.

As their laughter died down, they looked at the phones, finding it was a message from Stefan. He had a request for them, followed by a list of instructions. After reading through it, Sarah looked to Scarlett with a rise brow. "You wanna do it?"

Scarlett met Sarah's gaze with her mirthful blue eyes, smiling as she said, "Hell, yeah."

So, as per Stefan's instructions, they gathered up what things they'd need for the night and then texted him to come and get them. He pulled up while they were waiting outside before the pair piled into the red sports car. From there Stefan drove them into town, where they found a store that was in the process of closing. The owner was resistant to give them what they were after, until Stefan compelled him to be okay with it. He was fair though, handing over the money for what they took, plus a little extra because he was the nice one.

After that, Stefan sent another text of to party number two before driving them to their destination. Another car was already there when they arrived, and as they got out their car, so did those in the other car. Silently they greeted one another, before watching from a suitable distance as Stefan approached the front door of the house they'd parked outside.

He politely knocked, and then Caroline answered the door, dressed in a bathrobe. "What's going on?" Caroline asked with a frown after the two exchanged a quick greeting.

"I was a bit worried about you, after everything you went through tonight," Stefan explained with a soft and understanding smile.

"I'm fine," Caroline sighed, as if she already had this conversation with him. But Sarah could tell just like her brother, it was a mask she was putting on. She was in fact hurting, she was in fact scared, she just didn't want to be either of those things, especially not in front of her friends.

"Good," Stefan said with an accepting nod, until he started to grin. "But, just in case, I brought some back up." He nodded over his shoulder before stepping aside, as Sarah and the other stepped up onto Caroline's porch.

Elena was at the front, with Bonnie behind her and Scarlett and Sarah after that. "We're gonna slumber it," Elena said softly as she walked into the house, the others filing in after her as Caroline stepped back, moved to tears by her friends actions. The simple act of being there was all she'd needed to break, showing that they cared.

"We haven't done it in ages," Bonnie added with a smile of her own.

"We figured we'd come to," Sarah said, gesturing between herself and Scarlett who were stood at the threshold to the house. They were both able to cross it, but Sarah just wanted to be sure that Caroline wanted them there before she stepped in. Sometimes in states like this, people only wanted their most inner circle of friends with them, and Sarah wasn't quite sure if she and Scarlett were in that group for Caroline. "But we can leave if you prefer."

Before Caroline had a chance to say anything, Scarlett cut in with a firm, "Speak for yourself. I've never had a slumber party before."

"You haven't!" Caroline screeched out, before dragging Scarlett inside and pulling her into a hug. "You poor thing!" Caroline exclaimed, as the tears burst out. Everyone was aware that they weren't for the fact that Scarlett had never had a slumber party, but they were happy to pretend they were if that was what Caroline wanted.

For now, they all just gathered around her, joining in the hug. "And what are you doing out there, Sarah Salvatore? Get in here, now," Caroline said through a haze of tears and blubbering lip. Sarah didn't need to be grabbed like Scarlett though, and stepped in to join in the hug as per Caroline's request. Tonight was going to be about them being there for one another, because they all maybe needed a reminder of that, but none more than Caroline.

"We have so much to do!" Caroline declared as the hug broke, wiping off her tears as she focused on her control freak nature. "We have to set up my bedroom, we have to pick what movies were going to watch, what games we're going to play – obviously we'll do all the traditional stuff for Scarlett. Truth or dare, makeovers–"

"What about food?" Scarlett cut in, to which Caroline gave her a wide eyed glare – which seemed even more magnified than usual, thanks to the tears still lining her eyes.

"After the mess you left my room in last time I gave you food, you'll be lucky if I give you water," Caroline scolded.

"Good thing, I know where the fridge is," Scarlett sang out, as she ducked beneath Caroline's arms and made a dash for the kitchen.

"Wait! Scarlett, don't you dare!" Caroline shouted, tears already forgotten as she chased after Scarlett while the other three girls and Stefan laughed.

"Come on, let's get set up in Caroline's room," Bonnie said, rolling her shoulder as if to say 'follow me' as she made her way into the bedroom. Sarah began to follow, before noticing Elena wasn't. She looked back, and saw that the young doppelgänger was sharing a moment with her brother. Sarah left them alone, going after Bonnie to help set up until Elena then joined them.

Stefan's car then roared, before he drove off back towards the boarding house, and the five girls were left alone for the rest of the night. Staying up into the small hours as the ate, talked, drank and played games. All of which provided the perfect distraction for them all, as they got the first chance in a while, to just be a bunch of normal human friends. Something they'd all almost forgotten how to be as of late.


	27. Crying Wolf

_Review responses:_

 _Only Reviewer: Unfortunately we're still not done with Jules yet, and they still have many problems to deal with including her. And yes, Elena did do that...as well as some other things in this chapter... ;)_

 _I'm sure some of you are going to love this opening, and I sure as hell enjoyed writing it! Tensions are still raising, so please let me know what you think on how the story is progressing. Every review is super helpful in knowing I'm doing something right and that you are all enjoying the story. So please, review and I'll see you next week!_

* * *

 **Chapter 27: Crying Wolf**

* * *

After a night of games and laughs, Sarah and her friends were all rudely awoke by a ringing phone. Caroline was the first to start groaning and moaning, followed swiftly by Scarlett and then the other three joined in. Up until the phone started ring, they'd all been in a blissful state between awake and asleep, all feeling comfy and none aware of their surroundings. The phone had shattered that illusion, and now they all realised just how uncomfortable they were.

"Elena, could you get off me," Sarah moaned as she whacked at Elena's foot that was hanging in front of her face. But no matter how much she whacked it, or how hard, it remained stubbornly in front of her. Sarah was just grateful that Elena cleaned her feet, honestly, she'd had much worse and disgusting feet in her face before.

"Shut up," Elena groaned out in return, before her head dropped down into a pillow that was between Sarah's legs. "I'm trying to sleep," Elena said into the pillow, her words muffled.

"Which would be a lot easier if some one answered their phone," Bonnie complained, rolling over to find Caroline who seemed to have Scarlett in a head lock. "Caroline?" Bonnie asked with a frown, the phone continuing to ring irritably around them.

"It's not mine," Caroline snapped defensively.

"Okay, but I was more wondering about what's going on between you and Scarlett," Bonnie said, lifting her brow at the situation beside her.

"See, Caroline," Sarah said as she slapped the blonde's shoulder. "Told you you'd get over Tyler soon enough."

"As if I'd date her," came the combined voices of Caroline and Scarlett, before both looked to each other and shouted, "Hey!"

"You'd be lucky to have a girlfriend like me," Caroline argued.

"Oh yeah, what's not to love, despite the fact you threatened to wire my jaw shut if you caught me eating in your room one more time," Scarlett replied angrily.

"That's because you were leaving crumbs all over the place and in my bed. And I was joking about wiring your jaw," Caroline said defensively.

"Thus why when I got up for a snack, you yanked me back down and put me in a headlock!" Scarlett pointed out, before she began to struggle, sliding from Carline's hold before giving her a shove. "Get off!"

"You get off!" Caroline snapped back before returning Scarlett's shove and sending her off the end of the bed.

A thud followed, before a seconds pause, then Scarlett drawled out an, "Ow."

"Yeah, well, you deserved it for leaving crumbs all over my bed," Caroline pouted as she rolled over towards Bonnie, treating her like a cuddly toy as she wrapped her arms around her best friend.

"I didn't leave any God damn crumbs in your bed!" Scarlett snapped, sitting up on the wooden floor as Caroline threw some dried up remains of a cookie at her face. With her statement proven wrong, Scarlett shut up, and fell back against the floor as the phone yet again rang. "Will someone get the damn phone already!"

"Since your down there, Scarlett, how about you answer it," suggested Sarah.

"Not mine," Scarlett answered.

"Then who's is it?" Bonnie asked.

"Mine," Elena answered, face still in the pillow as she lay on to of Sarah.

"Then answer it," Sarah groaned as she whacked away Elena's foot for the umpteenth time.

"Can't," Elena answered before lifted her head just enough to look back down and Sarah and grin. "Too comfy."

"I can fix that," Sarah declared before shoving Elena off of her and down onto the floor at the side of the bed. "Comfy down there?" Sarah asked teasingly, grinning over the side as Elena glared up at her.

"Hate you," Elena growled with a pout as Sarah rolled away to make herself comfy next to Caroline.

"No one cares," Bonnie mumbled, before Caroline and Scarlett before shouted out, "ANSWER THE PHONE!"

"All right, all right, all right," Elena repeated, still grimacing from the ache in her ears, as she made her way over to dresser where her phone was ringing. Grabbing it, Elena didn't even bother to look at who was calling before answering with a curt, "Hello?" This was then instantly met by all four other girl's groaning and moaning until she crawled her way over to the doorway so that she could leave her friends to rest while she talked.

"How was the slumber party?" Stefan asked form down the phone.

"Good, and much needed," Elena answered as she leaned against the wall separating Caroline's bedroom from the hallway. "When can you and I have one?" Elena then asked, a tad more flirtatiously.

"Never," Sarah called out from the bedroom, before the other three shushed her.

"Despite what my sister says, I'm sure we can arrange something," Stefan replied teasingly down the phone.

"No you can't," Sarah called out once more. "She's started snoring since she last stayed over, and she's far to loud to share a house with." Another thud sounded from Caroline's bedroom, and Elena looked in to find Sarah now on the floor, rubbing her head.

"You can come back in the bed when you shut up," Caroline declared before rolling back over to cuddle Bonnie as Scarlett jumped back up onto the bed. "Oh, God, your back," Caroline groaned as Scarlett began to bounce on her knees next to Caroline.

"Damn, right," Scarlett declared before she began lifting up pillows. "Now where's that chocolate bar I hid?"

All of a sudden Caroline was sat up, glaring wide eyed at Scarlett as Bonnie now fell out the bed. "You put a chocolate bar in my bed!" Caroline roared.

"Several actual–" Scarlett got out before Caroline tackled her off the bed and proceeded to playful strangle her. Or at least Elena hoped it was playful. In any case, Sarah and Bonnie were already on the scene, separating the two as they continued to try and claw at one another from the floor of Caroline's bedroom.

"For the record our slumber party would not end like that," Stefan pointed out, apparently having heard everything.

"Shut up, Stefan!" Sarah shouted from the bedroom, before Caroline elbowed her in the face and lunged for Scarlett once more.

As the fighting seemed to be intensifying, with no signs of dying down either, Elena got up and made her way into the Forbes' living room for a little more privacy. "Sorry about that," Elena said with a chuckle as she sat down on the couch.

"It's fine," Stefan assured her, as Elena ended up pulling her legs onto the couch with her, leaning back against the surprisingly soft cushions. Maybe she should have slept out here instead of on top of Sarah. Though that had been an experience she wouldn't soon forget.

"Where you serious about that slumber party though?" Elena asked hopefully.

"Of course."

"Well, instead of having it at yours, could we have it somewhere else. Like somewhere outside of Mystic Falls," Elena suggested with a dreamy smile, letting her fantasy run wild in her head.

"You really want to leave, even with everything that's going on?" Stefan asked skeptically.

"It's because of everything that's going on, that I want to leave for a little while," Elena explained with a sigh.

"And you're sure this has nothing to do with dodging your father who just got into town?" Stefan asked, honing in on the real reason why she wanted to go away.

"Uh, this has everything to do with that," Elena admitted.

"Well, in that case, where would you like to go?" Stefan asked with a smile to his voice that made Elena smile too. She was about to answer when another thud, louder than the other ones, came from Caroline's room. The whole house shaking with it this time.

"Eh, can I call you back with an answer to that?" Elena asked sheepishly as she got back up to return to Caroline's room.

"Sure, speak to you later," Stefan said in farewell.

"Bye," Elena added before she hang up and walked in to find Sarah on the floor and against the wall, rubbing her head as bits of plaster floated down off the wall above her. Where there was now a decent sized crack in the wall.

"Great, now look at what you did to my room!" Caroline exclaimed as she went back to glaring at Scarlett.

"Me? It was you who threw her!" Scarlett argued.

"All right!" Bonnie shouted over them both. "I think we can all agree this has gone far enough."

"It's her fault," Caroline snapped, pointing at Scarlett, "She's the one who turned my bed into a picnic blanket."

"And you're the one who's so stuck up she can't stand a little mess!" Scarlett snapped back.

"And I'm the one-hundred-and-sixty-one year old vampire, whose decided she's had enough," Sarah declared as she stood up, still rubbing her head as she glared at the squabbling blonde and brunette. "So if you two want to have another around of vampires vs werewolves, you can do it without throwing me into a wall."

"Sorry," both girls mumbled, before they lowered their heads. Each still glaring at the other through the corner of their eyes.

"You know I think there might be some truth to that vampires hating werewolf thing," Bonnie teased, sharing a grin with Elena while Sarah rubbed her neck.

"I think it's just them," Elena said before she turned to Sarah. "You all right?"

"Fine," Sarah answered. "But I'm going home to take a bath. You coming?" Sarah asked as she looked over to Scarlett.

"I was thinking of going to see Jeremy," Scarlett answered, to which Sarah nodded. "Is it okay if you give me a lift?" Scarlett asked, looking to Elena who nodded in agreement.

"Sure, of course." After that the five girls began cleaning up their mess from last night. First the guests gathered up their own stuff, with the assistance of Caroline, before dumping it all in a pile by the door. Next, they all returned to Caroline's room, or as Scarlett dubbed, 'Ground Zero for the sleepover'. It was where they'd spent most of the night, and it was where most of the mess was. Including the fresh crack in Caroline's wall. With in half an hour, they had it all cleaned up though. Vamp and werewolf speed helped with that, even if the three using it were less than enthusiastic. For the crack, Caroline found an old poster from her childhood that she used to cover it up. Of course that had then lead to Scarlett teasing her relentlessly for five minutes, until Caroline literally threw her out the front door. The other three quickly filed out after that, shouting goodbye while also blocking off Scarlett entrance back into the house. Elena and Bonnie had then quickly led Scarlett to their car, each carrying a pile of their stuff under one arm each, before they drove off with Scarlett sticking her middle finger up at Caroline as they left. Sarah remained to make sure Caroline was all right, but once she assured her she was feeling a lot better, Sarah ran off at supernatural speed towards her home.

When she arrived, she found Alaric pulling to a stop outside the garage, where another car was already parked. As Alaric was climbing out, Sarah approached him, everything she'd taken to the slumber party tucked under one arm. He took one look at her and began to frown, unable to understand why Sarah would have things like a sleeping bag. "And what were you up to last night?"

"Slumber party at Caroline's," Sarah explained, watching as Alaric began to smirk. "What? You think I can't do slumber parties?" Sarah accursed with a tilt of the head as she gave Alaric a wide eyed look.

"I never said that," Alaric quickly responded. "It just won't have been my first guess."

Deciding she no longer wanted to talk about it, Sarah opted to move the conversation along, jerking her chin in the direction of the car parked next to Alaric's. "You know who's car that is?"

Alaric looked back, eyes going to the license plate before he shook his head. "No."

"Well, this could be interesting," Sarah said dryly as she made her way towards the front door with Alaric following her lead. As usual, the door was unlocked. However, unlike normal, Sarah found Damon with a woman, sharing a big long kiss between their lips. "Eww…" Sarah said with an exaggerated shudder, as Damon and his lady friend pulled away from each other. "Now I've got another reason to take a bath."

"Grow up," Damon said with a lazy smile and roll of the eyes.

"Already have, you should try it some time," Sarah snipped back with a perky grin before looking at the woman whose lips had been locked with Damon's not a second ago. "Andy, right?" The woman smiled and nodded. "Nice scarf," Sarah then said pointedly, eyes examining the scarf around her neck before look to Damon who smiled back at her. "We should totally have you over for dinner–"

"Great idea, Sis. We'll do it when you're at you next sleepover," Damon said smugly, before lightly pushing Andy's waist towards the door. "And you, are already late," Damon said to Andy before they shared a quick kiss.

"You're right," Andy agreed, kissing Damon again before beaming back at him. "See you later. Great seeing you again Sarah."

"Like wise," Sarah said with a smile as the woman bounced on by.

"Oh. Hey, Alaric," Andy said, as if just noticing him while she strode out the house, flashing them all one last smile before she headed over to her car.

"New girlfriend already?" Sarah asked, turning to her brother with a questioning look.

"Well she's on Action News, how could I say no?" Damon replied smugly, deflecting like he always did. It was another distraction, Sarah could see that. But to be honest, as long as he wasn't killing her, messing with her mind too much, and shared her blood if it was good – then Sarah was fine with it. If this was what he needed to do to get over Rose, so be it.

"It's not called action news," Alaric pointed out as he and Sarah gave Damon odd looks.

"I know. I just like saying it, come on in," Damon said, waving Alaric in before he closed the door. While Damon lead Alaric into the living room, Sarah took the stairs towards her room. While the slumber party had been fun, having Elena lying on top of her throughout the night had not been. That combined with a cramped bed and everybody elbowing one another through the night had left Sarah with a rather tense and sore body. Now vampire healing had relieved her of most of that, but a nice bath would help wash away what remained and any lingering negativities of her fun night.

Once in her privet bathroom, she drew her bath, stripping down and throwing aside her old cloths. While the bath was running, she prepped what she would wear that day, nothing outside of the ordinary there. It was a long grey green top with thin straps that would be hidden under her leather jacket and blue jeans. After that she returned to the bathroom, her cloths laid out upon the bed.

She went through her morning rituals, brushing her teeth and so on, before tying her hair up in a bun and sinking into the warm soapy water. A natural sigh found its way out of her lips, before they then closed and she submerged them beneath the water, so that only the top half of her head remained above the surface. She lay like that for a while, letting the hot water work its magic. Her muscles loosening, knots untying, and all while she blew out bubbles right beneath her nose.

It was nice to finally catch her breath after everything that had been going on. She'd genuinely thought things might quieten down after Katherine. But then Elena had been kidnapped by Rose, they found out about the curse, then they made the deal with the Originals – or rather Elena made a deal and Sarah was keeping quiet about the specifics – and then the werewolves had come into town. It was all exhausting, and more than Sarah had been expecting after locking Katherine away.

She smiled, like she always did when she thought of Katherine locked away in that tomb. If there was ever proof of karma, that was it. She was finally getting what she deserved, after everything she'd put Sarah and her family through. She was rotting away, alone, in the dark, and would soon be forgotten by the rest of the world. Give it a few centuries and Sarah was sure that she'd be able to completely rid Katherine Pierce from her mind, and that, would be her final victory over _The Bitch_.

As her mind began to run wild, thinking of all the ways in which Katherine was suffering – her relaxation took on a new level. Apparently she'd gotten a little too comfy, as her supernatural hearing slipped out of her control. She began to hear the sounds of the forest outside, the cars in the distance passing by. It could easily happen to any vampire when they got a little to comfy. It was like a muscle Sarah and every other vampire had to constantly keep under control. Lose your concentration for just a second and suddenly every sound for a mile can fill your ears.

Trying to get it back under control, Sarah began sorting through the sounds, a simple way to regain control, to focus on one sound and push the others away. She focused on her breathing and the bubbles that rose from the water with a pop. The usual sounds went by, fading into the distance. Tweeting birds, snapping twigs, rustling leaves, car engines. The radius of hearing slowly shrinking back in towards her bathroom. It was all going swimmingly until she caught the sound of fast running water.

Sitting up in the tub, she began to frown. The running water continued and Sarah began to look around. Like she'd thought, she'd turned off the water to the bath. The shower wasn't on either and the sink was off too. But it was definitely coming from inside the Salvatore house.

Sarah assumed it was just Damon are Alaric getting a drink of water, but then she realised two things. One, Damon was never going to be drinking a simple glass of water – at least not in a house filled with bourbon – and two, the water had been running far too long for a simple glass of water.

She waited a little while longer, seeing if the running water would stop, but it never did. And in a house full of people with supernatural hearing, that meant one thing. Damon was trying to keep something privet.

And just like that Sarah's relaxing bath came to an end. With a displeased look now permanently plastered onto her face, Sarah rushed through the cleaning process and then dried off as fast as she could. Once done, she threw on her cloths and marched down the stairs to confront her brother. She found both Damon and Alaric in the living room. One smiling away with his usual mischievous look about him and the other looking not so confident with his hands on his hips.

"Why did you have the water running, Damon?" Sarah wasn't wasting any time beating around the bush. She could tell something was up, and with Damon involved, it was hardly going to be anything good.

"Paranoid much," Damon scoffed, rolling his eyes as he went to take a sip of his drink, only to then see it vanish from his hand as Sarah snatched it.

"With a brother like you, it's hard not to be," Sarah replied, setting the drink down on the coffee table before sitting herself down on it, now opposite Damon. "Now, tell me what you're planning."

"Who says I'm planning anything?" Damon cut back.

"You're always planning something." At that Damon smirked, as if taking it as a compliment. "Plus you have him over," Sarah pointed out, nodding towards Alaric who was stood behind her. "And since you're not really the social type, I'm going with, 'you're planning something'," she summarised, staring at Damon and waiting for him to fess up.

"I am to the social type," Damon said in mock defence, before straightening up. "In fact, I'm going to the Historical Society get together at the Lockwood's today."

"Why?" Sarah asked instantly.

"Well, to socialise obviously," Damon said as he stood, now looking down at Sarah. They locked eyes, battling through them before Damon then broke away to pick up his drink. He took a long sip, pondering what he was about to say before then pointing to his younger sister. "You know, you should come with. Jenna's gonna be there with Alaric and it'll give you a chance to introduce me properly to Elijah and Amelia."

Thinking she had his game figured out, Sarah said, "I'm not introducing you to either of the Originals."

Damon shrugged. "Fine. But I would have thought it'd be easier to keep an eye on me if you came with me," he pointed out, much to Sarah's annoyance. He was obviously trying to manipulate her. He wanted her there with him, for some reason or another – which probably had something to do with Elijah and Amelia. But he was also right in saying that it was the easiest way to keep an eye on him. That's what made it all so irritating. He was right, and making her do exactly what he wanted.

Seeing that he'd won – even if Sarah wasn't vocalising it – Damon turned to walk away, only to find his sister had appeared in his path. "You know I don't like being played, Damon," Sarah growled.

"Then don't make it so easy," Damon teased back with a grin.

"I mean it Damon, try anything–"

"You already used all your threats up last night with the werewolves," Damon cut in. "I tried the whole playing nice thing. I'm done with that. Now, we're doing things my way." He finished off his drink then strode past Sarah, placing his empty glass down on the small bar by the couch. "See you later, Ric. You can show yourself out. And you–" Damon said before looking back and pointing to Sarah. "–Put on something a little more appropriate."

Sarah rolled her eyes, masking how annoyed she was with him. He'd won this round. But she did have an idea of what he was up to now because it had something to do with the Originals. The most obvious was that he was planning on killing them, but since they all knew that didn't work he had to be working another angle. But what? There was only one way to find out. So once Alaric left, Sarah phoned Jenna to see what this Historical Society get together was really about.

It was a tea party which Carol Lockwood had put together, and the reason for it was to do with Elijah and Amelia. Or rather Mr and Ms Smith, as was their alias. Apparently they were doing research on the area around Mystic Falls and had asked if there was anyone in particular they could talk to. And since the Historical Society comprised mostly of Founding Family members – like most social groups in Mystic Falls – they were all more than happy to gush over their town and its history.

Sarah would admit she was curious about what Elijah and Amelia were up to, but she wasn't about to go up and ask them. Their deal was that they would take care of everything before then calling on Elena to help them draw out Klaus. Elena, Sarah and everyone else was to have nothing to do with the prep work, which, while it hadn't been clear, was heavily implied. So Sarah was keeping her nose out of it…by following Damon's nose in so she could pull it out.

She was starting to feel like this was going to end badly. But then again, when didn't these things go wrong for her and her family?

After her talk with Jenna, during which she'd asked what would be appropriate, she decided she was fine with the outfit she had on. Sure it would tick off Carol Lockwood, but there were far worse outfits she could show up in. Besides, she'd never say anything openly. With these kinds of people it was all about talking behind your back, and Sarah honestly didn't care what they said behind her back. She was younger (looking anyway), smarter and more capable than any of them. She'd like to see any of them wrangle in two brothers like hers and defeat their archenemy by locking her away in a tomb for the rest of her life.

She had set the bar rather high.

To her surprise, Damon then came to get her when it was time to go, and he drove them both over to the Lockwood estate. The 'party', if you could call it that, was already in full swing when they arrived. Sarah was grateful for that, made it easier for them to slip in without having the spotlight shone down on them. If that had happened, she would have lost Damon quickly in the dramatic hellos of the other Founding Families, and until she could speak to Amelia or Elijah herself, she preferred to remained by her brother's side. Obviously just so she could keep him from doing something stupid, it wasn't like she enjoyed the pleasure of his company. Or rather she wasn't enjoying it, since he'd won their last fight for dominance over one another.

 _Smart ass._

Walking out of the main hall after a few pleasant hellos, Damon led Sarah into what appeared to be the main room of the Tea Party. Both started looking for the Originals the second they stepped through the doorway, but quickly stopped when Jenna stepped towards them.

"Sarah? What are you doing here?" Jenna asked, smile mixing with a confused frown as she greeted her friend.

"Babysitting," Sarah answered with a 'what can you do' shrug.

"Babysitting who?" Jenna asked, even more confused than she had been.

"Him," Sarah answered, jerking her head towards her big brother as a smirk broke out across her face.

Jenna chuckled and Damon slapped on his cocky grin as he pretended to laugh along. "My sister the comedian," Damon said dryly.

"So what's the baby dragging you here for?" Jenna asked casually, as if Damon really was a baby incapable of understanding her.

"For your information, it was _my_ girlfriend who dragged _me_ here. She's just here for…" Sarah was curious to see how that sentence was going to end, but Jenna cut in luckily for Damon with a question of her own.

"You have a girlfriend? Since when?"

"Hi. You came," came the grateful of Andie, as she strode up to join the small group, notepad in hand.

"Hi," Damon greeted sweetly before sharing a short kiss with Andie. Once they broke away Damon turned back to a wide eyed Jenna, smug smile returning. "Thanks for introducing us, Jenna," Damon said, eyes motioning to Andie as his eyebrows bounced up and down for a second. "Now, if you two fine ladies will excuse us, me and my sister have some prearranged mingling to do." With that, Damon placed his hand on Sarah's shoulder and directed her towards the two Originals across the room, who were talking to Carol Lockwood. Fighting the urge to sigh, Sarah allowed her brother to push her in their direction, before looking back and waving bye to Jenna.

"I'll catch up with you later." Frown once again lining her forehead, Jenna waved after her friend, before she turned to Andie to find out what had been going on behind closed doors. Of course, she'd only find out what Damon allowed Andie to tell her, but knowing her brother, Sarah was sure that he'd let her share some of the dirty – none supernatural – bits.

"Damon," Carol greeted when she saw the two Salvatore coming her way.

"Carol," Damon replied, slightly pushing his sister so that she was at his side when he leaned off to kiss Carol on the check.

"And, Sarah, how are you?" Carol asked, turning her ever happy housewife smile on the youngest Salvatore.

"Fine thanks," Sarah said, offering her a smile that didn't reach her eyes. Carol didn't seem to notice though, as she quickly moved the conversation on.

"Oh, Elijah, Amelia, I want you both to see Damon Salvatore, and his younger sister Sarah." The two Originals turned, both wearing the same cloths that they always seemed to wear. Elijah in his suit and Amelia in her raincoat, both presenting friendly smiles as if they'd never ran into either of the Salvatores before. "Their family is one of Mystic Falls' founding families," Carol Lockwood continued, happy to blabber on about anything Founding Families related.

"Such a pleasure to meet you," Damon said, not so charmingly as he locked his blue eyes with Elijah's brown.

"No, the pleasure's ours," Elijah replied appropriately, shaking Damon's hand with a firm grip. Damon then went on to greet Amelia in the appropriate manor, kissing her cheek while she kissed his before all three parted and Sarah let out a silent sigh of relief. Things seemed to be going well so far, or at the very least they were all remaining civilised. But Sarah wasn't a fool. She knew it wasn't going to last, much to her annoyance.

* * *

Walking into the Grill, Scarlett quickly spotted Caroline sat alone in one of the booths. The blonde vampire had texted her an hour ago, asking if she could help her and Bonnie deal with Luka, who was the son of the witch that had saved her and the others from the werewolves the other night. Apparently Bonnie had been meeting members of her own kinda just like Scarlett had. She'd even been getting along well with Luka, from what Scarlett had been told, until he stole the moonstone from her. Now Bonnie was looking for some payback, in the form of using Luka for information, which Scarlett was down for helping with.

She'd admittedly been feeling a little guilty over her lack of support or involvement on the Originals matter, but she had had her hands full with Tyler and the other werewolves. And there was that other thing that had been weighing down on her conscious…that thing she continued to ignore even now. It was becoming surprisingly easy to ignore. Almost scarily easy. Before she couldn't even be in the same room as Jeremy without thinking of what she'd done. Now she was holding hands with him, walking through the Grill without a grey cloud in her mind. She tried not to think about how bad that sounded.

"You brought Jeremy?" Caroline asked, a little surprised as Scarlett and her boyfriend slid into the seat opposite her.

"He saw the text," Scarlett said simply. It hadn't sounded that dangerous anyway, at least from what Caroline had told her, so she saw no reason to get into an argument with Jeremy over it. Letting him come was just simpler, and it made him happy, to know that he was helping his sister.

"So where is this Luka guy?" Jeremy asked, looking around before Caroline had another chance to critique his involvement in their latest plan.

"Over there, with Bonnie," Caroline said with a subtle nod towards the direction of the pool table. Scarlett and Jeremy both looked over, spotting Bonnie with another dark skinned boy her age with really short hair. He was too busy talking to Bonnie to realise that the couple were staring right at him, getting a good look before they turned back to Caroline.

"He doesn't seem so tough," Jeremy said casually, trying to sound tough himself and almost making Scarlett laugh. It came out as a snort though, and Caroline giggled herself. "What?" Jeremy asked innocently.

"It's just…cute, when you try to sound tough," Scarlett answered, fighting to keep her smile from growing as she looked to Jeremy.

"Well…" Jeremy said slowly, before looking back over to Luka. "He's skinny," he said, as if that justified his claim at being able to take Luka in a fight.

"And has witchy powers," Caroline pointed out.

"Even we would have a hard time against him if he went full out," Scarlett added, waving a finger between herself and Caroline.

"Although…" Caroline said, leaning over to get a better view at Bonnie and Luka. "I don't think we'll have to worry about that now." Scarlett and Jeremy turned too, watching as Luka began to stagger, leaning on the table as if suddenly dizzy. While Bonnie helped him remain up, she looked over to her friend's table and nodded. "That's our cue," Caroline declared, grabbing her bag as the three left their booth.

They quickly strode across the restaurant and over to the pool table where Jeremy and Scarlett got to Luka before he could fall over. Taking him from Bonnie, they each slung one of his arms around their shoulders before carrying him towards the exit. As they moved past the pool table, Scarlett saw the milkshake Bonnie had given Luka. She could only just smell the herbs that Bonnie had added to it, and that was with her sensitive nose, but had she not been looking for it, she probably wouldn't have even noticed it.

"What kind of witch roofie was that?" Jeremy asked, apparently feeling the weigh of the 'skinny' Luka on his side.

"A strong one," Bonnie said smugly as they walked out, evidently a lot stronger than Scarlett had realised. And while she was glad Bonnie was on their side, she'd have to watch out for the witches that weren't in the future.

* * *

With the small talk concluded, and Carol Lockwood having moved on to converse with some of her other guests, the two Salvatores and the two Originals moved into the study of the Lockwood house to continue their conversation in privet. Despite Sarah's subtle objections, Damon had unsurprisingly ignored her and the two Originals didn't seem to mind further talk about the deal they had with Elena. Of course Sarah knew her brother didn't want to talk about the deal, he'd never reveal his intentions so easily to his enemies, which made Sarah worry all the more about what he was really after. She was in a delicate situation, and she had to be smart. Smarter than both her brother and two Originals.

"So what would you like explained, Damon?" Amelia asked pleasantly, not a hint of condescension in her voice as she and Elijah stood side by side. Sarah was behind them, having been the one to close the doors and Damon was near the desk, watching his enemies closely.

However before he could ask any questions, Elijah cut in. "Before we get to that though, I'd like to know the whereabouts of Elena."

"I bet you would," Damon replied, challenge in his eyes as he met Elijah's.

"She's with Stefan," Sarah answered, trying to defuse the situation before anything…uncivilised occurred.

"Laying low," Damon then added. "You know, bit of a werewolf problem."

"Oh, yes, we heard about that, didn't we Amelia?" Elijah replied, smugness seeping into his voice as he grinned. Amelia did not reply, remaining still with her hands in her raincoat pockets, observing much like Sarah was from behind her. _Did she suspect something? Was she aware of what Damon was up to? Would she kill him for it?_ Sarah wondered, before remembering that it would break their deal with Elena. Then again, Sarah was also certain the two Originals would only take so much back talk before they reconsidered their deal.

"I'm sure you did, since it was your witch that saved the day," Damon said, continuing the conversation when Amelia failed to, or rather chose not to.

"You are welcome," Elijah replied, with the same smugness again.

"Although," Damon said, face tightening in mocking thought as he waggled his finger. "While I am grateful, I can't help but wonder why you're here," he said as he leaned back against the desk.

Elijah's brow lowered slight, enough to let Sarah know he wasn't happy, or appreciative of Damon's questions. Luckily he didn't get a chance to say anything more on the matter, as it was Amelia who spoke up next. "Now, Damon, I understood that you asked us in here to talk about our deal. That question has no relation to the aforementioned deal with Elena, and therefore we do not feel obliged to answer it."

"Well, I'd appreciate an answer anyway," Damon said with a playful shrug.

Amelia smiled politely, but there was a darker warning behind it, while Elijah continued to mildly scowl at her side. "Like I said, we're not obliged to answer, nor shall we." Damon's playful smirk vanished as he scowled back unhappily. "So, if you have no other questions to ask about our deal, we'll just be leaving," Amelia continued as she turned leave, although Elijah remained where he was, eyes still on Damon. "You can rest assure we'll do everything in our power to stop Klaus once and for all."

She walked towards the door, Sarah ready to move aside until Damon appeared between her and the Originals. He was right up in Amelia's face, forcing her to stop in her stride as he leaned in towards her. "Not good enough," Damon said in a low voice only to then find himself behind the desk and shoved up against the wall by Elijah who had him by the throat.

After the initial fright of the sudden attack, Sarah went to assisted her brother, only for Amelia to raise a hand in front of her. That hand alone was enough to stop Sarah, who then looked over to the Original's blue eyes and saw a clear warning. _Do not intervene._ Sarah decided to heed that warning, and stood down as Amelia turned to face Elijah and Damon, Sarah now at her side.

They both watched as Damon tried to fight back, grabbing Elijah's throat in turn. It did nothing to him though, as he merely lifted his free hand and ripped Damon's hand from his throat with superior strength – and while still holding Damon against the wall. "Young vampires, so arrogant," Elijah said, irritation thick in his voice as he released Damon's hand from his hold. "How dare you come in here, mock us, challenge us?" Elijah snarled, tightening his grip on Damon as he slowly choked him. Sarah was almost tempted to intervene, but could tell that if she tried the same thing would happen to her, at the hands of Amelia.

"You can't kill me, man. It's not part of the deal," Damon croaked out, knowing he wasn't going to die.

"Silence," was all Elijah replied with, before grabbing a pencil from the desk and jamming it into Damon's neck.

"Elijah!" Amelia snapped, although her voice was mildly drowned out by Damon's yelp of pain. At his sister's voice however, Elijah released Damon, letting him stumble towards the desk as he yanked the pencil out of his neck, still groaning in pain.

"We are Originals," Elijah said, wiping his hands with the handkerchief from his pocket, moving on as if he hadn't just be scolded by his sister. "Show a little respect," he said, holding out the handkerchief for Damon to take. He snatched it, placing it against the still healing wound on his neck without so much as a thank you.

Amelia then stepped forward towards the desk, while Elijah stepped back, moving into the spot where his sister had been next to Sarah. Taking over her watch while Amelia now had a word with Damon. "I must apologise for my brother," Amelia said as she began subtly rearranging the desk before her as she spoke. "He does tend to get a little over excited sometimes. Although in this case I think it's helped make our point." Done with her rearrangement of the desk, she looked up, her own blue eyes locking with Damon's as he hunched over the desk. "So, just to make sure we absolutely understand one another, I'll remind you. The deal is, we allow Elena to live her life as normal, provided she assists us in killing Klaus. In return, we'll protect all her loved ones, and make sure none of you die. However…"

She paused, leaning in towards Damon like he had with her before, only now she was in the position of power. "If you should continue to provoke me or my brother with these tiresome little games of yours, we might just have to renegotiate our deal." Both Sarah and Damon, caught the threat in her tone. "So if you like the current deal, you'll do well to do what we say, and stay out of our way." With that she pulled away, straightening up before turning to leave. "Sarah, a pleasure as always," she said in parting before striding out of the room along with Elijah, leaving Damon and Sarah alone in the study.

Once the doors shut behind them, Sarah turned to see her brother glaring after them. "So, should I say I told you so, or…?" Sarah said before Damon let out a growl of rage as he threw the handkerchief across the room, his wound having now healed. All things considered though, it hadn't nearly gone as bad as Sarah thought it would. But knowing her brother, he was far from done, and this little incident had more than likely just aggravated him even more. It was a never ending stubborn battle, with Sarah and her eldest brother.

* * *

"We only have, like, an hour or two before my mom gets home – and these were all I could find," Caroline announced as she walked back into her living room, two armfuls of candles cradled in each of her arms. They were scented bathroom candles, Scarlett could tell, but Bonnie seemed happy with them so the werewolf kept her mouth shut. Even if the things did stink in her opinion, and they weren't even lit yet.

At Bonnie's order, Scarlett got up from the chair she'd sat down on when they first entered Caroline's house, and took two candles from Caroline. Jeremy took another two, leaving Caroline with the last couple, before the three set them around the room according to Bonnie's instructions. While they did that, Bonnie remained on the floor next to the unconscious Luka, who was in the centre of the circle they'd created with the candles.

"So, how does this work?" Jeremy asked, eager to learn as he placed his last candle down, looking to Bonnie who nodded to confirm he'd done it right.

"I'll put him in a trance and ask him questions. It's like hypnosis," Bonnie explained, before gesturing to the candles as she continued. "The candles are to help me, I'll be able to draw power from the flames."

"Oh, matches," Carolines said, as if suddenly remembering.

"I got it," Bonnie said as Caroline turned to leave. She then closed her eyes, and the candles were alight before Caroline had even turned back. Unfortunately for Scarlett, who'd been leaning right next to one of the candles, she got singed on the elbow.

"A little warning next time," Scarlett groaned as she pulled at her arm, trying to see the burnt part of her elbow.

"Sorry," Bonnie said with a sheepish smile, though the burn was already healing.

"I'll get you something for that," Jeremy said, making his way into the kitchen before Scarlett could point out there was no need.

"While your in there, could you grab me a bowl of water too?" Bonnie called after him.

"Sure," Jeremy shouted back, before Bonnie once again closed her eyes and began to mumble foreign words to herself.

A few seconds after Bonnie began, Caroline made her way around the two witches and over to Scarlett who was stood near the wall, having taken a few steps away from the candle that singed her. "Hey, can I ask you something?" Caroline asked once she was next to Scarlett.

"As long as it has nothing to do with last night's sleep over, sure," Scarlett said with a grin.

Caroline rolled her eyes, a laugh mixing with a sigh before she went quiet. Quiet enough to let Scarlett know that whatever she was about to talk about was bothering her. "Have you heard from Tyler at all?"

"You mean since his new besties kidnapped you and we got caught up in a vampire vs werewolf grudge match?" Scarlett asked sarcastically, before earning herself a pointed, serious, and concerned look from Caroline. Scarlett readjusted her approach after that. "No, I haven't," Scarlett sighed, looking to Bonnie who was lost in her chanting while Jeremy continued searching for the unnecessary first aid kit in Caroline's kitchen.

"I had a run in with him at the Grill. He bumped into me and I kinda…bit his head off," Caroline said, to which Scarlett's head swung around to her. "Oh! No, not like that! No. I just snapped at him is all, no fangs," Caroline explained with a halfhearted laugh at the end.

"Still mad at him then?" Scarlett asked.

"Definitely," Caroline said in a pouty manor, but Scarlett was sensible enough not to make a joke about it at a time like this. "And him pestering me isn't helping."

"If he keeps it up send him to me," Scarlett said before changing her mind. "Or maybe just ask him to call me. If he comes by the house Damon might rip his head off. That's if I don't do it first." This time it was Caroline who sharply turned her head to frown at Scarlett. "Kidding," Scarlett exclaimed. "Mostly," she then muttered, earning a wide eyed glare from Caroline. In her defence though, he had turned against her and all their friends. At the very least he deserved a stern talking and a kick up the backside.

There was then a moment of silence, as Bonnie continued with her chanting. The only other sound was the occasional one that came from the kitchen as Jeremy finally found the first aid kit. Having what he needed from that, he then went to collect the bowl of water Bonnie had asked for. It was only when he turned on the faucet that Caroline then spoke up again, asking a question that Scarlett didn't think twice about.

"Have you told Jeremy about Mason yet?"

"He already knows Mason's dead," Scarlett pointed out casually, as if it were common knowledge at this point, which it basically was. Plus Jeremy had been there when it happened anyway, which further confused Scarlett about why Caroline was asking her this.

"No, I mean about the other thing," Caroline corrected, frowning when Scarlett looked her way. And for a split second, Scarlett hadn't known what Caroline was talking about. But then it hit her and she remembered what she'd done with Mason. However, what was more horrifying now, was how easily Scarlett had forgotten about it. How when Caroline had brought up the matter, Scarlett had genuinely thought she was talking about something other than her betrayal.

The realisation of how easily she'd managed to forget about it was what scared her. _Did that mean she was okay with it, that she'd found a way to live with what she'd thought would burden her for the rest of her life? Would she be able to so easily keep lying to Jeremy, even when she'd sworn she'd tell him?_ Elena hadn't been talking to her recently, too busy with all the sacrifice and Original stuff to worry about her little brother's girlfriend. But that wasn't an excuse, she shouldn't have needed anyone to pressure her into telling the truth, she should have done it by now. It had been over a month and she hadn't said a word to him. She'd just been burying the fact inside her mind, until this moment when she'd forgotten about it and that it'd even happened.

And it had all been so easy. She'd just needed time to get over it. But she shouldn't have gotten over it, she never should have felt guilt free. But she had. And that was why she was facing Caroline, with her mouth hung open, shock and worry consuming her face as Caroline stared back, realising she'd scared her friend in some way. She backed up, apologising for bringing up such a sensitive matter.

Scarlett had no voice to respond. She was to busy trying to swallow the lump that had reformed in her throat, the lump that had reappeared stronger than ever and was quite literally choking Scarlett.

She was still speechless when Jeremy returned, plaster and bowl of water in hand. He handed the bowl to Bonnie who thanked him, moving to the head of Luka as Scarlett stared towards Jeremy, still in a state of shock.

It was only when he finally spoke to her, that she snapped out of it, practically jumping at the sound of his voice. "Here you go, I found this for you," Jeremy said, removing the cover from the blue plaster before taking Scarlett's arm and carefully applying it on the once burnt area of Scarlett's elbow.

"You…You–You didn't have to do that," Scarlett mumbled out, some how managing to hid the shame in her voice.

And Jeremy, he just smiled. Like nothing was out of the ordinary as he took Scarlett's face in his hands. "I like doing things for you," Jeremy said sweetly, before planting a kiss on her forehead. She didn't have the heart to point out that her elbow had already healed. Instead she just lowered her head into his chest, hiding her self hating eyes from him, until she was able to get a grip of her self.

Once she did, they all gathered around Luka, Bonnie sat at his head – which was held in both her wet hands. Scarlett felt Jeremy's hand slid into hers, but she didn't dare look at him, instead watching Bonnie as she started the spell, and all the candles around the room flared. She could only hope that whatever it was Bonnie was doing, would prove more interesting to Jeremy than her. She didn't need him noticing how distraught she was.


	28. Their Choice

_Review responses:_

 _Sarcasm15key: I don't think I should answer that just yet, but I will say I have some twists planned for the ending of this season. And some events in the up coming chapters that might give you an idea of which way I'm leaning towards on your first question. As for her humanity, in present day it'll be a while before I have her humanity turned off. Doesn't mean she won't do bad things of course. But I'm thinking I might try and find a place to put in some more flashbacks, that could show her when her humanity is off?_

* * *

 **Chapter 28: Their Choice**

* * *

"Today was a bust," grumbled Damon from his seat. Sarah couldn't help but smile from behind her glass. "Shut it," Damon then added, before finishing off what remained in his own glass.

After their meeting with Elijah and Amelia, Sarah had remained in the study with Damon for a further half an hour, trying to clean up the blood. When that proved to be too much of a challenge, she broke his nose. He hadn't been happy about it, but with blood coming out it, a nose bleed – an extreme one maybe – was an easy way to explain the blood and allow them to leave without too many questions.

Alaric had followed though, now sat next to Sarah on the couch in the study. He'd been watching them from outside the Lockwood study and had seen them both the second they came out. So he'd apologised to Jenna and gone to the Salvatore house with the brother and sister to find out what had happened. He'd been as amused as Sarah had expected him to be, which in turn added to her own amusement.

"How's the throat?" asked Alaric, fighting a grin which he hid well, even if the girl next to him wasn't trying in the slightest to hide her own.

"Sore," groaned Damon.

"Yeah. Those two Originals are definitely scary. But at least Elijah has great hair," Alaric pointed out as he turned to Sarah.

"Oh, definitely," agreed Sarah with a nod, before she smiled. "Although it could use a bit more style. Maybe if he spiked it up?"

"Yeah, well, he's got more style than Amelia, that's for sure. You know she never took that raincoat off," Alaric pointed out, at which Sarah frowned.

"Now that you mention it, I don't think I've ever seen her with it off," Sarah stated.

"Makes you wonder what's beneath," joked Alaric, to which Sarah shot him a sarcastic warning look.

"Do I need to warn Jenna about competition on the horizon?" Sarah asked, grin slipping through when she heard Alaric sigh tiredly.

"No. There is no attraction there. That woman scares me just as much as her brother, and I for one, will be staying clear," Alaric said as he sat himself upright, preparing to stand after he'd sunken into the couch.

"Now if Jenna can just get you to fear all other women that way, she'll have you all to herself," Sarah pointed out teasingly.

"With all the scheming that goes on in this town, it would surprise me if she's already got a plan for it," agreed Alaric, to which Sarah laughed as he stood up. "Either of you want another?" At his request, Sarah held up her empty glass, smiling as he took it to refill. Damon did the same, holding up his glass which Alaric took before walking around the couch and stopping at the bar.

"They're going to be hard to kill," Damon mumbled out, moody after his most recent – and fully anticipated by his sister – set back.

"Well, here's an idea, don't kill them, and don't risk ruining the deal Elena's made with them," Sarah argued from her seat on the couch. "Besides, it's not like they're normal vampires anyway. A stake to the heart isn't going do it."

"Yeah, but I've got so many more methods to try," teased Damon with a smug grin to his sister while Alaric filled up their glasses. "I've got heart removal, decapitation, and I'm sure they'd both appreciate a bathtub full of vervain."

"You're going to get yourself killed," Sarah said plainly as Alaric rejoined them, handing off the two glasses he returned with, apparently not wanting another for himself.

"Eh, well, at least I know I'll get some time on the news. If I die there's no way my new girlfriend won't report it," Damon said with a grin, sinking a little further into his chair as he happily drank his bourbon.

"Yeah, speaking of, what's up with you and her anyway?" Alaric asked, brow lowering just enough to let Sarah know he was genuinely concerned about this while she drank. She was as well, but if Damon wanted a distraction, she wasn't going to get involved and upset him. So long as he didn't kill her, it was all fine with her for now.

"She's got spunk, huh?" Damon said with a smirk, eye brows lifting.

Alaric turned to look at Sarah, who shrugged, before he then looked back to Damon. "Just don't kill her, please."

"If I did, who would report her death?" Damon joked, shrugging off the idea as he drank.

"Just don't do it, all right," pressed Alaric, to which Damon rolled his eyes. "She's friends with Jenna, and it's bad enough that I'm lying to her about everything else. I hate the lies," Alaric explained before sighing at the end. Sarah thought about comforting him, asking how it was going with Jenna, but by the time she'd committed to the idea, Alaric had fished out his phone and was standing up once more.

"I got to go. I got to pick Jenna up," Alaric said as he put away his phone, now on his feet.

"What for?" Sarah asked curiously, sipping at her drink while Alaric answered.

"She's spending the next couple of nights at mine. Since Elena's spending a weekend away with Stefan. Although I'm pretty sure it's just to get away from John," Alaric explained, dread in his voice at the mere mention of the irritating father of Elena. Sarah felt the same way.

"So I guess Jeremy will be coming here when he's had enough of his crap then?" Sarah surmised with a raised eyebrow, thinking of how everyone in the Gilbert house was pairing up to get away from John. First, Elena and Stefan, now Jenna and Alaric.

"Over my dead body," grumbled out Damon, who was now leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed.

"You're already dead," Sarah pointed out.

"Fine, over his dead body," Damon retorted, to which Sarah smirked, before looking back up to Alaric.

"A weekend together sounds like it'd do you both some good," Sarah said with a friendly smile.

"Hopefully, although I'll be happy if I can just get through it without having to lie to her," Alaric sighed. "Anyway, I'll show myself out," Alaric said, pointing to the doorway out of the study as he began to work.

"Good luck," Damon called after him.

"Tell Jenna I said, 'Hi.'" Sarah added, before then returning to her drink. She didn't get more than a mouthful down though, because just after Alaric had left, both she and Damon heard a noise from the front hall. It sounded like a painful yelp, mixed with the sound of something smashing. The two siblings were quickly out of their seats and marching out into the hall, where they found Alaric struggling to stand. A stake through his stomach. He turned to look at them both, then collapsed onto the floor. Dead.

"Alaric?" Sarah said, quickly kneeling down at his side with Damon beside her. He was dead, no doubt about that, but he had his ring on. Meaning, if it was a supernatural that had killed him, he'd be back in no time. But as it was, there was no one around, and while that might suggest supernatural, it didn't confirm it. At least it didn't until someone dropped down from roof inside the living room.

Sarah and Damon turned, Damon quickly back up to his full height as he stood. The man before them was young looking with a beanie, and was spread out on all fours. If that wasn't a dead give away, the speed at which he lunged at Damon was. The guy was a werewolf. But he was at a huge disadvantage, since there were two Salvatores and only one of him. That didn't help them initially though, as the young man proceeded to duck under Damon's punch and then climb onto his back like a monkey.

Damon tried to get him off on his own, backing away from Sarah who rose back up to her feet, but then the werewolf pulled a syringe and jammed it into Damon's neck. Vervain was the obvious guess, and from the way Damon screwed up his face, it probably was. But he and his siblings had been building up their immunity, like Katherine had. It was going to take more than a half dosage to subdue him.

He went back to trying to shake the werewolf, slamming his back and the werewolf against the hallway walls. Sarah was about to join the fight when the front door was kicked open. Sarah swung finding not just one other werewolf, but the entire Pack that she and her family had gone up against the other night, with Jules at the front, and a shot gun in her hands.

"Wait!" Sarah shouted, throwing out her hands and stupidly taking the diplomatic approach when she should have been running for cover. Jules fired, wooden bullet ripping through Sarah as they dug into her. The initial force threw Sarah off her feet, throwing her down onto the ground next to Alaric as she groaned in pain.

Out of her control, her head rolled to the side, were she saw Damon collapse onto the ground, the werewolf on his back having given him another dosage of vervain. "Whew! Damn, you're strong. It took the whole syringe," the werewolf who'd been on Damon's back said cheerful, having beaten his opponent. Sarah would have cursed, but she didn't have the strength, feeling spasms of pain as the wooden bullets shifted around inside of her. And to make it worse, they were laced with vervain.

The sound of Jules walking in along with her pack followed, as Sarah slowly rolled her head back, looking up to find Jules stood over her. A satisfied smile on her lips as she stared down at the defeated vampire. "Hi, Sarah. Nice to see you again," Jules said in greeting.

"Jules…Jules, just…just listen to…" Sarah croaked out, unable to speak without feeling the sheer sting of the wood and the vervain from inside of her.

"Oh, I'm done listening to your kind," Jules declared as she propped the shotgun up against her shoulder. "It's time for payback." Sarah tried to talk to her, to reason with her and the other werewolves, but since she couldn't form a complete sentence, that was a little tricky. She did try though, even when members of Jules' Pack picked her up and dragged her, a now unconscious Damon, and a dead Alaric, through into the study.

Alaric was left on the floor in the middle of the room. Presumed dead and unimportant. Hopefully he'd remain that way until this was all over, otherwise they might start asking questions about how he came back to life. Questions they could probably play of as a vampire in transition. But if he came back to life a second time, they'd catch on to his little trick, and that could lead to him being killed permanently. All Sarah could do though was hope that he didn't wake up too fast.

She herself wasn't looking to good either. She and her unconscious brother, had been chained up two chairs. The heavier than usual metal wrapped tightly around her arms, legs and even her chest – pressing against those bullet wounds that made Sarah struggle to even breath without feeling waves of pain. The bullets were still inside her, and the wounds were taking longer to heal because of the vervain. It was a good thing she'd built up a tolerance like Damon and Stefan, otherwise the pain would have been unbearable.

And then there was the crude device that was around her and Damon's necks. A ring made up of short wooden stakes that connected to a chain that was held by the werewolf who'd attack Damon, and Jules. Sarah had already experienced how it worked. When pulled on – in her case by Jules – the ring around the neck tightened and thus the stakes dug into the neck until released. Jules had been particularly happy to use it every time Sarah tried to speak and reason with her, until Damon finally woke up. Then he received a mini lecture from the werewolf who'd attack him about the device, before he demonstrated it on him personally.

After that, it was down to business. "So, I hear you have the moonstone," Jules said to them both, clearly after it.

"You shouldn't believe everything you hear," Damon pointed out as casually sounding as he could, before the werewolf holding his chains gave a tug, shutting him up as he winced in pain.

"Where is it?" Jules growled.

"Wish I could tell you," Damon groaned, face contorted as the stakes continued to dig into his neck.

"We don't have it anymore," Sarah explained.

"So who does?" Sarah wasn't sure how to answer that. The assumed truth was the Originals had it thanks to their witch who'd conned Bonnie out of it, claiming to destroy it instead. But Sarah didn't know that for sure, and even if it was, throwing the Originals under the bus was hardly going to help the strenuous relationship they already had with them. With that in mind, Sarah tried a differently approach.

"Look, Jules, I'm sure if we talk about this we can come to some under–" After rolling her eyes, already tired of Sarah's speech, Jules gave a sharp pull on the chains around Sarah, digging the stakes around her neck further in and cutting her off as she screamed. _So, this is where the diplomatic route takes you?_ Sarah thought to herself, deciding that after this, she should really give Damon's method of dealing with problems another go.

"You can't talk or bargain your way out of this one. We want the moonstone, and then we want Scarlett," Jules explained darkly, to which Sarah responded with a darkened glare of her own.

"I already told you, she doesn't want to go with–" Once again she was cut off, as Jules pulled on the chains. It was only when Sarah's scream died out, that everyone began to hear Damon's soft amused laughter.

"What's so funny?" growled the werewolf holding Damon's chains.

"Oh, if you only knew the irony," Damon chuckled out as he lifted his head, before going serious as it lowered once more. "Let me tell you how this is gonna go. You're gonna torture us, we're not gonna talk, someone's gonna lose a heart. Last time it was your boy Mason." Sarah tried to tell him to shut up, to stop provoking them, but the stakes in her neck made it impossible to speak as Jules stepped towards them.

"This time, it'll be you," she growled towards Damon. "And then your sister."

* * *

"How long is this gonna take?" grumbled Caroline, now sat next to Bonnie who was in the middle of performing her spell. On the opposite side of Luka, Scarlett sat next to Jeremy, cuddling up beside him with his arm wrapped a little protectively around her waist. She didn't mind, and leaned against him as they waited, although it felt like they'd been waiting for a while now, hence why Caroline was complaining.

"I don't know. He's fighting me," Bonnie explained through a tight jaw, trying hard not to waist energy on an explanation and instead focus it on the spell. From within her grasp, Luka's head moved around, trying to break free of whatever it was Bonnie was doing to him. His eyes unfocused, his voice dazed as he spoke. But Bonnie didn't let up, holding on to the sides of his head with both hands, refusing to give in.

"Please stop. Please," Luka mumbled. Bonnie responded with a more intense…whatever it was she was doing, closing her eyes and lowering her head. The rest of the room then watched as Luka's eyes rolled up into his head, the fight leaving him as his head dipped back.

"There," Bonnie breathed out, apparently having completed her spell at last. She then looked down, along with everyone else around her, as she began the interrogation. "All right. Why are you working with Elijah and Amelia?"

"Klaus," Luka mumbled, eyes now closed as he answered without delay. "We all want him dead."

"You want to kill Klaus, too. Why?" Bonnie continued.

"Because he has her…we have to get her away from him," Luka answered in the same tone as before.

Bonnie began shaking her head, not understanding. "Who are you talking about?"

"My sister," Luka answered, to which Jeremy then frowned. He too was doing this all to save his sister, Scarlett realised.

"His sister?" Jeremy murmured, before Scarlett placed her hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly. She knew he appreciated it, but it wasn't enough, and they both wanted to remain focused on Luka for now anyway.

"Why does he have her?" Bonnie asked sadly. Despite what was going on, it was obvious to Scarlett that Bonnie still cared about Luka, to some degree. Enough to feel sorry for him right now at least.

"He's searching for a way to undo the curse without the doppelgänger. He's forced generations of witches to help him for centuries." As he spoke this time, Bonnie's eyes opened, sadness in them. Sadness at her own kind being enslaved. Scarlett felt bad for her, but at the same time was suddenly very afraid. She'd seen how powerful Luka's father was. Whether he was the most powerful or not, there were undoubtedly others out there, like him, that could do what he could, and he'd taken down an entire werewolf pack, on his own. So how unbelievable strong was this Klaus, that he could enslave entire generations of witches? The same witches as powerful as Luka's father.

"What did Elijah and Amelia promise you?" Bonnie then asked, moving on.

"If we help them kill Klaus, they've promised to return her to us," Luka explained.

"And how do you kill Klaus? How do you kill an Original vampire?" Bonnie pressed, before suddenly Luka's eyes opened, his eyes once again dazed and confused as he tried to fight the spell.

"They'll…They'll kill me…if I…tell you… Don't…make me…please."

"Bonnie…" Caroline began in soft concern, reaching over towards her friend. Like them all, she could hear the fear in Luka's voice, but she could also see the battle going on inside her friend, the strain this was putting on her physically, mentally, emotionally. Like any real friend, she didn't want to see this go on. So she reached over to take Bonnie's hand, but the witch snapped and Caroline's hand pulled away as she jumped.

"No! No," Bonnie said, voice going from a snap to a whisper. She then focused her energy once more, and Luka's eyes once again rolled back, as his head dropped, eyes closing. "How will you kill Klaus?" Bonnie repeated now that Luka was back in his trance.

"After the sacrifice, Klaus will be vulnerable, weak. It's our only chance," Luka said, before everyone in the room started to frown.

"After the sacrifice?" Scarlett and Caroline exclaimed at the same time. Scarlett then looked to Jeremy, seeing a small, glittering, sliver of tears in his eyes. She squeezed his hand tighter, before looking to Bonnie when she spoke.

"What do you mean, after?"

"Klaus will be vulnerable," Was all Luka said.

"But Elena will be dead," Bonnie pointed out, before all eyes went to Jeremy, watching as he shook his head, trying to wake up from this nightmare. Again Scarlett squeezed, as if that might help break the illusion, or the break the nightmare, make everything better. But she knew better by now.

"Yes. Elena has to die," Luka said.

Silence then followed, until the faint whisper from Jeremy caught everyone's attention. "No…no…" He was shaking head now, wishing for this to all be a dream, a lie. Scarlett had her arms around his neck before anything else could happen, pulling him in as she rubbed his back and let him cry into her. Not to long ago he'd lost his parents, and now he was going to lose his sister. The world wasn't fair to Jeremy Gilbert, Scarlett knew this. And unfortunately, all she could do right now, was try and comfort him, while Caroline and Bonnie sat beside them, both equally saddened by the revelation that they might be losing their best friend.

* * *

Jules was getting impatient. Or at least that was what Sarah assumed when the Alpha of the werewolves in her study began pointing a shotgun at her chest. The same shotgun she'd already been shot by. And then came the question she was getting sick of hearing. "Where's the moonstone?" Sarah had to fight the urge to roll her eyes, she knew it wouldn't help. Especially when she was trying to reason with them.

"Look," Sarah sighed, fighting to keep the irritation from her voice. "I already told you, we don't have it, so here's my suggest–" A loud bang cut Sarah off before her screams filled the room.

"I don't want to hear your suggestions, I want to know where the moonstone is," Jules repeated, pumping the shotgun before taking aim once more at Sarah. The vampire with the shotgun in her face, had now stopped screaming, bitting down on her lip with tremendous will power to stop herself. She actually amazed herself. Jules had shot her right in the left kneecap, and while she could feel it already healing, the vervain and wooden bullets were making it painfully slow. Another shot like that and she'd probably lose the leg.

"We don't have it you idiot!" Sarah snapped, throwing her head back as she fought the urge to scream, her leg causing her so much pain and torment that she actually thought cutting it off in that moment might be a better option. "Tear apart the damn house and you'll see that!"

"Maybe I'll just ask Scarlett," Jules snarled.

"Yes, please do! Because she'll tell you the exact same thing, we don't have it!" Sarah screamed, unleashing some of the built up pain into her voice. She was trying, really she was. Trying not to make things worse, but after getting your leg almost blown off, it can be hard not to shout and scream and overall sound pretty anger.

"Then who does?" Jules snapped back.

"That would be us," came a calm voice from the back of the room. The werewolves spun around, finding Amelia – who'd spoken up – and Elijah stood by the entrance to the room. Amelia, was prominently holding the moonstone for all to see in her hand, the other in her raincoat pocket, with Elijah stood just ahead of her. "We hear you're after the moonstone." Jules didn't reposed verbally, she only growled, her pack backing her up as she glared at the two vampires ahead of her.

"Now, is that any way to start of negotiations?" Elijah said with a hint of mocking cheer as he stepped over, now positioned halfway between his sister and the werewolves.

"You see, My Dear," Amelia said, addressing Jules. "You've put us in quite the predicament. We have a deal with a certain young lady, who shall remain nameless, that if she helps us then we will protect her friends and family." Amelia then gestured towards Sarah and Damon with the moonstone. "Those two fall under that description. So we really must stop all this if we are to keep our word."

"Which we are fully intent on," Elijah spoke up, adjusting his cufflinks.

"Precisely," agreed Amelia before continuing. "However, at the same time, believe me when I say we have no intention on handing over this moonstone to you," she said, holding up the moonstone. "So perhaps we can come to some other arrangement."

"I wouldn't hold your breath on that one," Damon mumbled.

"Well then, what's it going to be?" Amelia asked, patiently awaiting the werewolves' answer. She didn't have to wait long, before Jules nodded to one of her pack. He rushed forward at supernatural speed, going around Elijah and towards Amelia. He didn't get far, Elijah swiftly cutting him off before ramming his fist through the werewolf's chest and ripping out his heart.

Another two then ran at him. The first took the head's on approach, stopped once again by Elijah's fist, that found its way into the werewolf's chest. The second however, flanked around him, running towards his blind spot with a stake raised. He went to swing it but his arm stopped in mid swing, wrist tightly grasped by Amelia, who was behind him now.

"You know, I do loathe creatures who prefer to use their fists rather than their mouths," Amelia said, voice calm and in control but with a clear edge to it. She then squeezed the werewolf's wrist, making him scream as he released the stake in his hand. As it fell, Amelia slid around the wolf, claiming the stake with her free hand before plunging it into his chest, killing him.

Another two werewolves attack – half of the remaining total. Amelia stepped in front of her brother, hands in her raincoat once more. One firmly holding the moonstone. The first one that got to her she took out by kicking his legs out from under him. She stepped, avoiding his fall before then stamping on his back with such force his spin snapped, paralysing him. The second swung for her, but she simply leaned to avoid it, before lunching her head forward like a cannon ball and slamming it into the werewolf who dropped down unconscious.

A swift and powerful kick to each of their heads had their necks snapped. By which point Amelia looked up to find only one werewolf remaining. The woman whom she'd been addressing, having fled without her pack apparently. In Amelia's mind, she wasn't much of a leader then.

The last remaining werewolf crouched down, pulling up his hood as if to hid from the two Originals that approached him. "What about you, Sweetheart, hmm?" Elijah then asked, before pulling the werewolf up to his feet. This had been the one who attack and tortured Damon. "You want to take a shot at me or my sister?" The werewolf frantically shook his head. "Yes? No? Yes?" Elijah mumbled, hold never loosening while Amelia turned to the chained up Salvatores.

"Where did their leader go?" she asked, looking around the room in case the Alpha decided to make a heroic return.

"Out that way and then about three – four miles I'd imagine," Damon said casually.

"Hmm. Your choice in leaders obviously isn't very good," Amelia declared, turning her attention back to the wolf in her brother's hands. "I've never understood that about werewolves, how they could follow someone so spineless and cowardly."

"It doesn't really matter," Elijah pointed out. "It's not our concern."

"You're right," agreed Amelia, before then watching as her brother punched the werewolf across the face, snapping his neck in the process.

"You should get that looked at," Amelia continued, making her way over to Sarah as she pointedly look at her destroyed kneecap. Without another word, she and Elijah then yanked off the chains binding Sarah and Damon in perfect unison. Once done, both stepped back, each looking down at the Salvatore in front of them, while Damon and Sarah looked at them in turn.

"You do realise this is the third time I've saved your life?" Elijah pointed out to Damon, a smug grin on his lips as he stepped back. Amelia followed his movements, before both turned and strode out off the study.

"Thank you," Sarah dryly called out after them, before wincing at the shock of pain that struck her when she tried to move her leg. With the Originals and Werewolves gone, Damon quickly got himself untangled from the chains. He then did the same for his sister, carefully removing her restrains before he begun removing the wood from within her body. He had to put on a pair of plastic gloves for that, because of the vervain. He got her several blood bags to feed on while he worked, helping her to replenish her energy. He started with her knee before then moving onto her chest. By the time he was done, Sarah's knee had really began healing. But even so, Damon wrapped some bandaging around it and got her a walking stick. He joked about it all while he was doing it, but Sarah knew he genuinely was worried about her. It would be fine though in a day or two, provided she had plenty of blood, which Damon had started to provide her with.

Once he was done with her, he moved her over to the couch – after laying down a blanket of course. He already had enough blood to clean up as it was. So while Sarah lay back on the couch recuperating, Damon dealt with the clean up. That had been her turn to tease him.

Her teasing however, took a pause when Bonnie phoned with an update. While Damon continue to work, Sarah remained on the couch with her phone on speaker, both listening as Bonnie told them about what she and the others had been up to that day with Luka, as well as what they'd found out.

"So he planned to kill her all along," Damon summarised as he moved a chair back into its original place on the blood stained carpet he was going to have to clean.

"Yeah. The sacrifice is part of their plan," Bonnie said in reference to the Originals.

"Got it, loud and clear," Damon said, looking to Sarah as if to say, 'hang up now.'

"Thanks, Bonnie," Sarah said when she couldn't think of anything else, before hanging up. She'd been quiet throughout the phone call, especially after the reveal that Elena was going to be sacrificed. A fact which Sarah herself had already known.

A groan from beneath her caught both her and Damon's attention. She looked over the side of the couch, to where Damon had moved Alaric, finding that her high school teacher was finally coming back to life. "Finally. You missed all the fun," Damon said unsympathetically, as he pulled up a series of bloodied chains and took them out the room.

"What am I doing in floor?" Alaric asked as he sat up, looking around before running a hand down his tried face.

"You're there because I got the couch," Sarah said simply, sipping on her blood bag.

"Gee, thanks," Alaric groaned as he stood up, only to then collapse purposefully into one of the nearby – none bloody – chairs.

"Hey, I'm injured," Sarah said, pointing to her bandaged leg. "Plus I was awake, you weren't. My comfort trumped yours." Alaric, to tired and exhausted from dying, didn't bother to response as he made himself comfy for a moment. It didn't last, especially not after Sarah spoke up again. "So what are you going to tell Jenna?"

"Oh, God! Jenna!" Alaric groaned as he remembered, running his hands down his face.

"You should probably call her," Sarah suggested.

"No, I should definitely call her," Alaric argued as he leaned forward. "The problem is I'm going to have to lie to her and I'm…"

"I know," Sarah said with a sympathetic smile. "And honestly, I wouldn't hold it against you if you told her the truth."

"Really?" Alaric asked, as if trying to justify it to himself.

"No. I admit, I'd like to tell her myself. But it's not my place. You however, do have a case, same as Elena and Jeremy," Sarah pointed out.

"Meaning?" Alaric asked with a frown, not understanding what Sarah was saying.

"You love her, don't you?" Sarah asked.

"Yes," Alaric asked without hesitation which made Sarah smile.

"Then I say you go and talk to Elena and Jeremy. If you care about her that much, then you have a say in all this too."

"I don't know," Alaric said, shaking his head uncertainly. "I think it's better if I leave it up to them."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "All right, let me ask you this, if they weren't in the picture, and it was just Jenna, would you tell her?"

Alaric had to think about it for a moment. "By now…possibly."

Again Sarah smiled. "Like I said, talk to Elena and Jeremy about telling her the truth." She paused taking a sip of her blood bag through a straw. "But first you should call Jenna, let her know your okay." Silently agreeing, Alaric pulled out his phone and called Jenna as Damon walked back in, rolling up one of the blood stained rugs that needed to be removed. While that was going on, Sarah watched, and eavesdropped on Alaric and Jenna's conversation.

"There you are. Are you okay?" Jenna asked right away.

"Yeah, sorry. I–I…I've just been grading papers," Alaric said before instantly grimacing at his own lie, silently cursing himself. Sarah sent him another sympathetic smile, before her eyes then widened at what he said next. "Honestly…" He looked over, seeing Sarah watching him with bated breath. But in the end he couldn't go through with it either. He hated lying, but his respect for Elena and Jeremy stopped him from telling the truth. To him, it just wasn't his place. "I fell asleep," Alaric then finished. Sarah's chest lowered, letting out the breath she'd been holding, before she went back to drinking her blood.

"I'm sorry, Jenna. I'm a jerk," Alaric then proceeded to apologise.

"No, it's fine. I'm just glad you're okay," Jenna replied.

"Listen, tomorrow I'm all yours, okay?" Alaric said, trying to reassure his girlfriend and make up for what had happened.

"Sure. Sounds great," Jenna said happily.

"All right. Good night, Jenna," Alaric said in parting.

"Good night," Jenna replied sweetly, before Alaric hung up the phone and sighed. He left shortly after that, going home to sleep while Damon finished off his cleaning. Once he had, credit to him, it looked as if nothing had ever happened. Then again, they'd all had plenty of practise at cleaning up after themselves.

After that, Damon grabbed himself a glass of bourbon and dropped himself down into a chair. After a long moment of rest and silence, he pulled out his phone to call Stefan with the news. While he did that, Sarah remained silent on the couch. But having finished her blood bags and unwilling to get up and use the walking stick Damon had given her, all she could do was watch and listen as Damon went over what Bonnie had said. "It was straight from the witch's mouth. They were gonna go through with the whole sacrifice. You should probably just keep her away a little longer," Damon said into the phone, while Sarah watched and tried not to think about the fact she'd known all along.

"Be careful, both of you," Stefan said from down the phone. "Try not to get yourselves killed."

"Don't worry, Brother," Damon said with a forced smirk. "We'll be fine. Sarah's on bedrest and I'm playing nurse." He glanced over, waiting for Sarah to protest or say something witty, but instead she just looked away. He frowned, before then going back to Stefan and signing off. Once he had, he turned his attention back to Sarah, lips pursed in thought. He took a drink, still watching her before then removing it from his lips.

"That's unfortunate about Elena, huh? Wonder how she'll take the news," Damon said carefully, watching his sister who continued to avoid his eyes. Not necessarily in a guilty way, more like she was looking off into space and reflecting. "You're uncharacteristically quiet," he then pointed out, setting down his drink as he stood up. At that Sarah looked up at her brother, meeting his blue eyes with her knowing green. _The secret would be out soon enough_ , she thought. Elena would spill it all to Stefan, so she might as well tell Damon herself.

"What do you know?" Damon asked suspiciously.

"Same as you," Sarah answered without missing a beat. "That Elena was to be used in the sacrifice so that Elijah and Amelia could kill Klaus."

Damon nodded slowly, still eyeing her suspiciously. "And how long have you known that?"

That one made Sarah hesitate. "Since Elena made the deal," Sarah answered honestly.

"And you didn't think to maybe mention this?!" exclaimed Damon, throwing his arms out angrily.

"Elena made me promise not tell anyone. She'd known all along to what she was agreeing to," Sarah said as calmly as she could, trying not to lower herself to her brother's emotional state.

"And you let her do it! You didn't think to try and stop her, or tell me and Stefan?" Damon shouted, bring his outraged arms in as to point at him.

"It's her life, Damon," Sarah pointed out. "We can't control her, and if this is what she wants then I'll let her do it. Because it's her decision," she explained plainly, hitting her brother with a pointed look that he ignored without a second thought.

"You know," Damon snapped, marching over to Sarah, who was still laid down on the couch injured, accusing finger stretched out to aim at her. "You're just using her."

"I am not–" Sarah began to protest before her brother swiftly cut her off, continuing on himself.

"You're manipulating her to get your own way. You're being selfish, letting her sacrifice herself so you can save the people you want and more importantly yourself." He shook his head angrily, before then adding spitefully, "You're just like Katherine." And after that, the calm Sarah was out the window. Now she was just as emotional as he brother was. Because being compared to Katherine Pierce was one thing Sarah Salvatore would never stand for.

"I am nothing like that Bitch!" Sarah snapped, sitting up as far as she could. She would have jumped up to her feet had she been able too, but for the time being, this was the best she could do in terms of squaring up to Damon. "She wouldn't give Elena a choice in the matter, it would be her way or no way. I'm not forcing Elena to do anything, and if she changed her mind, I'd be fine with it. But I wasn't going to pressure her into either choice," Sarah shouted.

"What kind of friend are you? Actually, what kind of friend would let her throw away her life?" Damon shouted, throwing his arms outwards his sister again.

"The same kind that lets her make her own decisions! The same kind that supports her and her choices and doesn't make her do things against her will!" Sarah shouted back, anger flaring along with her brothers. The fighting went on for what felt like hours, Damon pacing and throwing his arms around, while all Sarah could do was follow him around the room with her eyes. Neither conceding in their arguments, no matter what angle they took.

In the end, Damon stormed out after what was probably two minutes at most. They were at an impasse, and since Sarah couldn't storm out effectively with a walking stick, it was a good thing Damon left when he did, grumbling as he went outside and drove off to vent.

Sometime after Sarah made her way into the living room, grumbling and complaining to herself the whole time about her leg. She was definitely done being diplomatic from now on, especially if this was her reward. She grabbed herself a book and sat down on the couch with her leg up, reading with the fire lit as she made herself comfy. An hour or so later, Scarlett came in. Jeremy wasn't with her. He'd gone home since Jenna was now staying at home instead of Alaric's. Scarlett had offered to stay the night but he said he'd be fine, knowing that for now, his sister was safe. So Scarlett had come home, where she then found Sarah in the living room.

It hadn't been hard for her to miss the bandage around her leg, to which, Sarah told the girl about her day. Some of it amused her, like when Damon got pushed around by Elijah. She wasn't so thrilled about what happened with the werewolves, including the whole business about Tyler and another werewolf going after Elena. Sarah had learnt about that during her and Damon's conversation with Stefan. And then Scarlett had been down right apologetic when she heard about how Jules had shot Sarah. Sarah made it clear it wasn't her fault, before snarkily adding that she was done looking out for werewolves. That had lightened the mood, at least until a knock at the door came.

"I'll get…" Scarlett said, standing before trialing off, her nose having flared.

"Who is it?" Sarah asked, knowing her ward must have recognised the scent of whoever it was. Scarlett then told her who it was. Sarah told her to sit down, before she herself stood. Taking her walking stick, she kept her head high as she hobbled over to the door and opened it.

"Hi," said a nervous Jules.

"Hey," Sarah replied, leaning against the door she had half open.

"May I come in?" Jules asked politely, but there was still a nervous tone to her voice.

"What do you think?" Sarah asked coldly.

"I'm sorry about your leg," Jules apologised, looking down to the bandage. But she then lifted her gaze back up, looking Sarah in the eye so she knew she was telling the truth. "But I'm on my own this time. And I just want to talk to Scarlett, I promise. I'm not going to hurt you or your family or try to take her against her will. I'm just hoping to talk."

Sarah lingered in silence, letting the Alpha stew for a moment before she opened the door the rest of the way and stepped aside. Without a verbal cue, Jules hesitantly stepped in, but stopped the second she was inside as Sarah began to speak. "If you try anything, you'll wish you'd taken my leg," growled the vampire, to which Jules nodded in acknowledgement, before proceeding in with a limping Sarah behind her.

They entered the living room, Scarlett sat on the couch Sarah had been. Before Jules said anything, Sarah pointed to the opposite couch, motioning that she sat over there. Jules complied, and waited for Sarah to sit as well. When she didn't, and made it clear she was going to remain standing by the archway that lead into the hallway, Jules turned her attention to Scarlett.

"I don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm Jules," she began, introducing herself in as friendly a manor as she could.

Scarlett, sat opposite her, was unimpressed, her arms folded. "Really? Because I know you as the woman who kidnapped my friends and shot the woman who's been looking after me in the leg," Scarlett pointed out angrily, with a nod towards Sarah when appropriate.

Jules lowered her head respectfully. "Okay, that's understandable."

"You're damn right it is!" snapped Scarlett as she sat up, anger boiling inside of her.

"Scarlett," Sarah said suddenly, catching both the werewolves' attention. "Just let her speak." Like she told Damon, Sarah didn't want to deny her friend's options, and whatever they chose, she'd support. That was the only reason she was letting Jules speak to Scarlett at the moment, because she knew she was going to make her an offer and Sarah wanted Scarlett to hear that offer. After that she could let off as much steam as she wanted, but before that she would hear what her options were.

Like a moody teenager after being scolded by her parents, Scarlett folded her arms once more, and threw her back against the couch. Silently glaring across at Jules. The elder werewolf was a little taken aback by this sight, and so took a moment to gather herself before continuing. "I don't know if Mason already said this to you, but I just wanted to let you know, that I'll happily take you with me if you want, since I'm leaving town tonight." Scarlett looked like she was ready to say no, but waited for Jules to finish before she did. "If you come with me, I can train you, educate you about our way of life. Show you what it's like to be part of a Pack."

When she was done, Scarlett looked to Sarah before leaning forward and looking back at Jules. Seeing that she was all right to speak, Scarlett asked, "What is a Pack?"

"Well, it's what a group of werewolves is–"

"No," Scarlett said, sensing she wasn't going to get the right answer from the woman. "I mean, what is it, _to you_?"

Jules took a second to think before responding with the answer she'd always thought of as the truth. "They're my family."

"Well in that case, I already know what it's like to be in a Pack. Because I've got a family right here, with friends too. And they've been helping me far more than you have. They've earnt my trust. You've done nothing to do that. So I'll be staying her, with the people I trust," Scarlett said plainly, leaving no room for misunderstandings or arguments.

Seeing that, Jules nodded. "Fair enough," she said as she stood up. "I'll be going then." As she made her way towards the front door, with neither Sarah nor Scarlett following to show her out, she stopped to look back. "If you ever need help though, call me," she said before pulling out a piece of paper and holding it out. Sarah being closer, took it from her, while Scarlett remained seated. "If you need me, for whatever reason, I'll come back."

"I'd wouldn't do that," Sarah warned her as she glanced over the number written on the paper. "Since Damon will likely kill you the second you step foot inside this town." She then looked to Jules before adding, "You're just lucky he's not here right now, otherwise this would be a very different conversation."

"All right," Jules said quietly as she made her way into the hall and opened up the door. She lingered, waiting to see if anything else would be said. When nothing was, she stepped out and closed the door behind her. Once gone, Sarah wobbled her way back over, and sat herself down next to Scarlett.

"Here you go," Sarah said holding out the paper to Scarlett.

"I don't need it," Scarlett said.

"Take it," Sarah ordered firmly, before then softening as she added, "Just in case." Reluctantly, Scarlett took the paper before jamming it into her pocket along with her phone. "You know, you might be the grumpiest werewolf ever," Sarah smirked as Scarlett turned to glare at her.

"It's like your asking me to hurt you," Scarlett pointed out dryly, before Sarah laughed.

Scarlett didn't stay up to much longer after that. She wanted to go to bed. She asked if Sarah needed anything though before going, even if it was just help getting up the stairs. Sarah insisted she was fine though and remained in the living room, reading while Scarlett drifted off to sleep.

When she then grew tired of reading, she pulled out her phone and made a call. She'd been expecting to get voicemail, but even when to her surprise the phone was answered, she still was the first to speak. "So, how'd Stefan take the news?"

"Badly," Elena sighed into the phone. "He's sulking down stairs, refusing to come to bed until I'm asleep."

"That bad, uh?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, yeah," Elena answered. "What about Damon, did you tell him yet?"

"Oh, yeah," Sarah said, repeating the way in which Elena said it. "Not surprisingly, he's pissed off and annoyed."

"Are you?" Elena then asked.

"I get why they're mad," Sarah answered with a shrug.

"No, I mean, are you mad at me?" Sarah had to think about that one.

"No. I don't think I am. It's your choice after all." She paused before then adding, somewhat hesitantly, "Although maybe you should think about it, and everything it involves."

"Please, Sarah, I don't want to fight you too," Elena sighed tiredly.

"You won't," promised Sarah. "I'm on your side, Elena. No matter what choice you pick, I'll back you up. I just think you should be absolutely sure first. Think about everything you'll be losing, or more accurately, everyone that will be losing you. Think about how it will affect, Jenna and Jeremy."

"I will," promised Elena, although another tired sigh did follow after that. "And thank you for standing up for me."

"What are friends for," Sarah said with a smile. "See you later, call me if Stefan gets to be too much for you."

"Got it, thanks," Elena said with a smile in her voice before hanging up.

Now with nothing else to do except go to bed, Sarah was left with gruelling task of climbing up stairs to her bedroom. It took her a few minutes, but eventually she got herself moving with the walking stick. Though she stayed close to the wall the whole way, just to be safe and leaned heavily on the railing while going up the stairs. And then when she arrived at her bedroom, she found Damon waiting for her, sat on her bed. "So much for nurse Damon," Sarah muttered as she walked over to her bed and let herself fall onto it, next to Damon. "And I don't need your help undressing so you can go now. Anything you have to complain about can wait until morning," she added as she removed her leather jacket. Only to then feel a prick in the neck.

She tried turn but couldn't, and then she felt it enter her. The burning sensation that quickly began to over power her. The vervain. The needle was pulled from her neck, and she turned, vision already going blurry as she stared at Damon. It had been an extremely high dosage, so much so that even with her resistance built up, she couldn't fight the effects that were sweeping through her body. Already she was losing balance, falling before she realised it. Damon caught her though, holding her against him as he spoke. "Sorry, Sarah. But it's the only way," she heard Damon say, but he'd sound so far away, even though her head was just below his. She tried to fight the effects of the vervain, but it was too much, and she was still healing from earlier. She held on for another few seconds, before forcefully drifting off.


	29. Tomb of Memories

_Review responses:_

 _Only Reviewer: Yeah, Damon just likes to get his way, usually because he thinks he's way is the right way. And Jules is done, at least for now._

 _Guest: Thank you for the review! Glad you're enjoying the story!_

 _Okay, so some of you might remember a while back I said I was having to rework some future chapters and what I had planned. Well this is the beginning of those troublesome chapters, in which I had to completely tear apart what I'd done and rework it to be more in line with certain characters and were they are at this point in the story. I also made some changes in hopes of making it shorter...it didn't work, as you'll soon find out._ _But otherwise, Hooray! We're in the final act of season 2, Act 3! So much stuff coming up that I'm looking forward too, the least of which includes Klaus! I've rambled enough for just now though, so enjoy this chapter and the beginning of Act 3, and I'll see you guys next week for another update!_

* * *

 **Chapter 29: Tomb of Memories**

* * *

It was strange, how different the piano sounded now that she was a vampire. Before, each key had moved smoothly into the next as people went up and down the scales. Now, it felt like there were several missing, un-hit, notes. Notes that the humans had no knowledge of. And yet Sarah could still recognise the tunes that were played.

But it wasn't just her ears that heard the sounds of the piano. Her very body felt it. Everything was so much more…sensitive. She could almost feel a taste to each of the many keys on the grand piano, as the vibrations in the air moved through her, making the unnoticeable hairs on her body sway with the sound. It truly was magical, how the once so simple item, that had laid in the corner of the room, now gave of such a symphony of sensitive arousal.

However, all that vanished into the background, the second Sarah's tastebuds got a hit of the one things she truly desired above all else. Blood. Sweet, delicious, incomparable, blood. It was better than the tastiest thing she'd ever eaten in her life, more nourishing than the milk all babies needed to grow. The blood gave her life, and pleasure.

As Sarah pulled away, liking her lips of the smeared blood, she glazed down at the body beneath her. A young lad, though not much younger than herself, was sprawled out beneath her. In a blissful daze, somewhere between his conscious fantasy and his dream fantasy. But he was sliding closer into the dream, and Sarah wasn't ready for that. "No, no, no," she sang out to the tune that was being played, from the sleek black piano beneath them both. "You don't get to go to sleep yet. I want you wide awake."

She wasn't quite sure if the compulsion was working or not. His eyes widened, but other that there was no other signs that he was awake. His breathing was still weak, as if in sleep, and his heartbeat was slowing down from inside his chest. Sarah began to frown, not liking this result. "Well, that doesn't look very awake," she mumbled out. She'd thought she'd finally been getting the hang of compulsion. Up until a few days ago, her brother had to do all the compelling, because apparently she just couldn't do it.

Then suddenly she brightened up, devilish smirk forming along her lips. "Ah, I know what the problem is. It's this beat, it's too slow, isn't it?" Taking a hold of the young lad's chin, Sarah moved his head up and down in a nodding motion. "Glad to see you agree." She looked up, eyes falling on the young woman playing the piano she was currently atop. "Do pick up the tempo, my friend here is falling asleep." The young woman laughed at that, before she began to pick up the speed of her tune. Sarah smiled in gratitude, before she grinned down and returned to her meal. Teeth sinking into the other side of the young lad's neck. She'd already ruined the right side, having torn it apart while she was feeding. She could have kept feeding from there, but there was something satisfying about breaking through a clean bit of skin, and getting at the untainted blood beneath.

"Now that's more like it," cheered Stefan, raising from the couch as he snapped his fingers to the faster beat. Coming up for air, Sarah glanced over, smiling as she saw her brother dancing with two other women. A third laying limp on the couch, next to where he'd been sitting. Dried blood sticking to her wrists and neck, with bite marks still visible.

Dead.

It was a shame, that they had to kill. But Sarah had quickly come to terms with it all. She realised what it meant to be a vampire. Katherine had shown her. Through her demonic actions and her mind games. The woman might have been the devil, but that made her the best demon in the world. And that's what Sarah was now, a demon. So what better example could she follow, than the one laid out for her by Katherine Pierce. Or rather, the late Katherine Pierce.

That thought made her smile. Knowing that Katherine was dead. But the taste of the blood as she returned to her meal, that made her groan with pleasure.

A similar groan came from behind her, and Sarah could tell Stefan had begun to feed on one of the two dancing woman. Recently the only thing that shut him up was blood. And while Sarah loved her brother, dearly, he was beginning to get on her nerves with his running commentary. He never used to be like that…then again, he also never used to be a vampire. She was probably different too, she just didn't see how yet. Maybe her brothers did.

"Sarah?" _Oh, great. Big brother's home._ Sarah groaned, pulling away from the young lad, his heart beats now more than three seconds apart. Rolling off the dying body, Sarah sat up, glaring as Damon stared in horror back at her. He did not approve of her attitude towards feeding. He didn't approve of anything she did now. She wished she could ignore it like Stefan, and just get on with things, but it bothered her how over protective he was being. She could look after herself now. And it wasn't like he'd done anything to help her while Katherine was around.

"Sarah, what are you doing?!" Damon exclaimed marching into the room and towards Sarah and her human sized meal.

"Having dinner, you should try it some time, Brother," Sarah drawled out as Damon strode around the side of the piano, checking the young lad's heart signs while Sarah rolled her eyes.

"You told me you were going stop doing this," Damon said, checking the young lad's eyes before trying to find a pulse on his mauled out neck.

"And you said you were going to lighten up and have some fun," Sarah pointed out, starting of condescendingly before turning feisty as she rolled her head towards her brother, grinning at him.

"You can't keep doing this," Damon argued, meeting her teasing green eyes with his concerned blue. Then suddenly they vanished and he was glaring over at Stefan, pointing towards him as the younger brother pulled away from woman he was feeding on. "And you need to stop encouraging her. If you both keep this up we're going to get caught."

"So, who cares," Stefan said with a grin and a shrug, before returning to his meal. He'd didn't get to have much more though, as Damon rushed over to him, with his new powerful speed, and shoved Stefan away from her.

He then took her, turning her and compelling her in an instant. "Leave this place. Never think of it again," he ordered, before then doing the same to the next one. Sarah rolled her eyes, trying not to seem impressed by her brother's mastery of compulsion in such a short time. She was annoyed though. Annoyed that she seemed to be taking so much longer to pick up on things like compulsion. She couldn't even enter a human's dreams yet. It was infuriating, especially after Katherine had been so good at it all. She needed to be better, be better at being bad, at being Katherine.

That idea only added to her already warming blood. She'd hated Katherine with everything she'd had, even when she'd been compelled to love her. But if she was going to survive and thrive as a vampire she was going to have to become like Katherine, no matter how much she hated the woman.

In a moment of blind rage, Sarah shoved the young lad next to her, pouting like a child as his body rolled off the side of the piano and onto the floor. With her brothers looking over, she glanced over the side, at the dead eyes looking back up at her. She looked back over to her brother's, bored expression on her face as she said, "Oops." Stefan let out a chuckle while Damon stared on in horror. Not apparently liking what his sister was becoming.

"Would you please take that stupid look of your face," Sarah said, rolling her eyes yet again towards Damon. "It's ruining our lovely evening."

"The Founding Families will be ruining our lives if you two don't calm down," Damon snapped, advancing towards Sarah before he turned back towards Stefan. "We have to more careful than this," he pleaded, looking between his two younger siblings. "More clever. Like Katherine was."

"And look where that got her," Stefan pointed out with a growl towards his brother, not liking what he was doing. However the tension between the pair last nothing more than a second, as Sarah suddenly burst out into laughter. She wasn't entire sure why she had. She'd found what Stefan said funny, but not that funny. At least she didn't think it was that funny until she started laughing. That had been happening a lot to her recently. She was just over reacting to everything, without any sense of control. Sometimes it was good, like just now with her laughter. But there were times when she was alone, away from her brothers, and she just couldn't stop crying, for no apparent reason.

"It's not funny, Sarah!" Damon snapped angrily, his emotions getting the best of him as his blazing blue eyes turned on her.

Despite her brother's obvious anger at the touchy subject, it still took Sarah several long seconds to cease her laughter, and even then she was still beaming away like it was the best day of her God damn life. "I know," Sarah said, wiping her the joyful tears from her eyes. "It was hilarious." And just like that she was laughing all over again. Even Stefan was smirking, taking enjoyment from his sister and brother's individual reactions.

Then Damon turned on him, glaring as he growled out the words, "I'm done here." And just like that Sarah's laughter vanished. Her once joyful eyes, turning to those of a frightened little girl, as she sat up on the piano. "I'm done with you, both of you… I'm leaving town."

"You can't," Sarah whispered, terror filling her voice like that of when she'd first seen him leave for war. He looked back at her, recognising something then. Their eyes connecting like they'd used before, when they were human. But they weren't human anymore, and Damon could see what they were becoming, even if his siblings couldn't.

"I'm sorry," was all he said to his little sister, before he made his way towards the door. Stefan chased after him, but Sarah could tell it was no use, that it was too late. It had been in his eyes. Those eyes that looked different now that they were vampires. Sarah could see details in them she'd never been able to before. Deeper and lighter shades of blue that made her brother's eyes sparkle like brilliant jewels.

And now she was never going to see them again.

She began to weep, listening as Stefan argued with Damon in the other room, begging him to stay. Damon shoved him off, continuing on as Stefan followed, determined to change his brother's unchangeable mind. Not long after that, Sarah broke down into tears. She hid behind her hands, for some reason worried about what the compelled human at the piano might think. But that was a background thought. Her main focus was on the growing hole inside of her, the one that was filling her with pain unlike anything she'd felt before. It was so big, that it took everything Sarah had to stop herself from screaming so loudly that all of Mystic Falls would hear. She couldn't understand what was happening to her, why she was feeling like this and why she was in so much pain and so, so sad.

She needed help…but she had no one to turn to.

* * *

A familiar pounding filled Sarah's head as she awoke, her own groan following suite as she stirred. She couldn't remember exactly what had happened, but she could guess vervain had been involved, especially by the way her body was itching and by how dry she felt. She needed blood. But before that she needed something for her head, and then some light so she could actually see.

Feeling a sharp pain from her head, Sarah went to rub it, when her hand hit something. Something solid. She opened her eyes but they were still adjusting. She tried moving her hand a different way but came up against the same problem. Something solid was stopping her. She tired her other hand but the same thing happened. Sick of this, she lifted her head only to hit it off solid stone. She groaned in pain, head falling back as it hit of something a lot harder than her bed.

She was completely and utterly bewildered, until her eyes adjusted to the none existent light and she realised where she was. She was in a tomb, a tomb made of solid stone. She quickly pressed her hands against the stone slab above her and began to push. She felt it shift but not nearly enough to move it. She gave it everything she had but it moved no further. She didn't have the strength, and wouldn't until she had more blood, which was unlikely in her current predicament. She was trapped.

And that was when she remembered, Damon. She remembered going to bed, remembered finding him waiting, remembered the needle he'd used on her. _What's the idiot up to now?!_ Sarah shouted internally. Needing something to hit in frustration, she settled for the stone walls around her, slapping her palms against them as she gridded her teeth against each other. He'd taken her out of the equation, locked her away because of their disagreement and now he was going to do something completely stupid and probably get them all killed!

 _Oh, Damon. This time you've really done it…_

* * *

Scarlett had gotten up early for once, just in case Sarah had needed her help getting up after having her leg partially destroyed by a werewolf. She'd already been told not to feel guilty, but Scarlett just couldn't shake the sensation and as such, felt obligated to help Sarah until her knee was better. If she started complaining, she'd just say it was her way of paying back rent. Although on second thought, maybe she shouldn't bring that up. If Damon caught wind of that, he'd end up milking it for all it was worth.

However, when Scarlett arrived at Sarah's room, already having showered and dressed herself, she found her guardian's room empty. Her bed was already made too and there was no sign of her being inside. Assuming she'd just gotten up even earlier, Scarlett shrugged it off and made her way towards the kitchen, ready to join whoever was down stairs for breakfast. However there was no one downstairs, the place was empty.

Now this Scarlett found suspicious. She knew Sarah would still be injured this morning, she'd been told her knee wouldn't heal over night. Though knowing Sarah, she could have easily made her way down for breakfast on will power alone. She could have also gotten around the house on her own too, albeit slower than usual. What Scarlett very much doubted, was that Sarah could get up earlier than her, when she'd gone to bed after her, and then get up a good couple of hours earlier than her – which meant Sarah probably only had about four or five hours sleep, which on that kind of injuring seemed unlikely – then got herself bathed, dressed and made her bed on her own, only to then come down, have breakfast and then head out without needing any assistance what so ever.

And how did Scarlett know Sarah hadn't had any assistance? She could hear Damon in his bedroom, having finished his own breakfast as he sent his new girlfriend, Andie, on her way.

With his distraction, as he liked to call it, out the house, Scarlett made her way back up stairs, ready to ask Damon about his missing sister, until she heard him on the phone. "Well, I showered. I shaved. I had breakfast. Over all I'm feeling very relaxed," admitted Damon as Scarlett waited by his door, listening and waiting for his conversation to end.

"That makes one of us," replied Stefan from the other end of the phone.

"I did hear one piece of good news though. Tyler Lockwood ran away from home last night," Damon said eagerly, while Scarlett could only look down at her feet. Her guess was that Jules made him the same offer she'd made to her, only Tyler had taken it, rather than stay with their friends. She felt sad about that, but it was his choice, and he obviously needed help with his werewolf baggage. Scarlett had thought she and Caroline were helping him with that. Apparently she'd been wrong.

"How do you know?" Stefan asked.

"Well, I heard it from Sheriff Forbes, who heard it from a very distraught Carol Lockwood, thus ending our werewolf chapter, brining us to…"

"…Killing Elijah and Amelia," Stefan finished for Damon. Scarlett wasn't entirely surprised by this. After she, Jeremy and the others discovered what the Originals were really planning to do, it made sense that Damon and Stefan would want to kill them both. After all, their grand plan to kill Klaus and protect Elena, involved the sacrifice of Elena. What had shocked Scarlett the other night, was the fact that Sarah had known about this the whole time, as did Elena, who was okay with this and more than willing to go along with it.

This left Scarlett in a rather odd position. She wanted to support Sarah who was supporting Elena's decision to sacrifice herself and save her family and friends. But at the same time she wanted to support Jeremy who…well, didn't want his sister to die.

"Well, it's not going to be easy. They're crafty," Stefan pointed out as Scarlett heard Damon flip something over his his hand.

"Well, I've got a couple crafty little daggers," Damon countered confidently.

"They're Originals. We don't know what all that encompasses," Stefan added, a layer of concern in his voice.

"Oh, trust me, Stefan. I'm gonna dot all my t's. I don't want any surprises."

"Yeah, well, I think you should expect more than a few. After all, Sarah's hardly just going to go along with all this, it risks ruining Elena's deal with them and she's on her side about all this, remember?" Stefan pointed out, a little annoyance in his voice.

"Oh, don't worry, Brother. Like I said, I'm doting all my t's, and that includes our baby sis," Damon said smugly.

"Damon, what did you do?" Stefan asked slowly.

"I've just put her somewhere safe and out the way until all this is over. Trust me, it's for the best and this way, everybody wins," Damon explained in sarcastic brightness.

"You do realise she's going to kill us, right?" sighed Stefan.

"Doubtful. Besides, I prefer to think of it as she'll be thanking us when this works perfectly," Damon said with a grin. "Got to run, I'll catch you later. Gotta murder to plan. Busy day," Damon sighed off, before putting away the phone, right as Scarlett kicked open his door. He frowned at her, but he didn't open his mouth as the teenage werewolf charged towards him before abruptly stopping right in front of him.

"Where is she?" Scarlett demanded out right, glaring heatedly up towards Damon who was irritably taller than her.

"Where's what, your favourite chew toy?" Damon asked, frowning at her as if he knew nothing.

"I heard you talking with Stefan, Damon. I know you've locked Sarah up somewhere so just tell me where," Scarlett said firmly.

"Why, so you can let her out. Kinda defeats the point of me locking her up, doesn't it?" Damon pointed out smugly, before quickly changing his tune when he saw how pissed Scarlett was. As well as the determination in her eyes. With a simple sigh, Damon managed to effortlessly switch between his aggravated approach to Scarlett, and his friendly approach – something which he very rarely used.

"Look, don't worry about it," he reassured her with a lazy grin that probably worked on way too many women. "She's perfectly safe, and more than likely comfy…assuming she's unconscious." His joking was not helping, so he quickly moved on. "Besides, it's only for a couple of days, until I kill Elijah and Amelia. Once I off them both, I'll let her out. It's just a precaution, to make sure she doesn't muck everything up."

"You mean stop you," Scarlett countered, still glaring intently at Damon. She might be conflicted in her feelings about what was going on with Elena, but she knew in her heart she was not okay with what Damon was doing to Sarah. If they were all taking sides on this, then there should be a discussion. But then again, Damon didn't do discussions. He did it his way, and kicked everyone else that wasn't on his side out of the way.

"Exactly," Damon said, as if Scarlett was agreeing with him, rather than accusing him.

"You know I can sniff her out right?" Scarlett pointed out as she backed away from Damon, giving them both more space. "Or I can go to the Originals and just tell them what you're planning. I'm sure they'd love to hear about it, and since they have to protect Sarah, they can help me find her. Or of course I can just beat her location out of you."

Damon snorted, obviously not taking her threats seriously.

Groaning in frustration, Scarlett turned away, ready to storm out the room and begin her search for Sarah, when Damon grabbed her wrist and pulled her back around with his vampire strength. She was whirled around back towards him, but the second her eyes started to glow, Damon lifted his hands off her, raising them in peace. "Listen, Scrappy, Elena is Jeremy's sister. Now I'm pretty sure you don't want you boyfriend's sister dying, right?" Damon pointed out with knowing blue eyes.

"Obviously," Scarlett spat out, as if Damon was an idiot for asking. If only he was.

"Well then, _obviously_ you'd want to help save her, right?" Scarlett was already to respond, until she realised he was right. _Damn, he was a smart ass,_ Scarlett realised as she backed down reluctantly and Damon grinned back at her. He knew just what buttons to press to change Scarlett's mind, or at the very least make her think over what he was saying. And he was right, she did want to help save Elena, if anything just to spare Jeremy from more pain. But at the same time she couldn't leave Sarah in whatever prison Damon had locked her in, not after everything she'd done for her. Even if letting her out meant not saving Elena and then causing Jeremy even more pain.

The confliction must have been obvious on her face, as Scarlett squirmed from beneath Damon's irritably persuasive gaze. "Shouldn't we at least talk to Sarah about this, try and make her see it like that?" Scarlett suggested, trying to find a way in which she could both rescue Sarah and help protect Jeremy.

"She won't. Trust me, I know my sister. Besides, remember how stubborn she was about keeping you around," Damon said with a roll of the eyes. Despite his rude tone, Scarlett could see his point. Sarah was stubborn, after what Damon had just pulled, she wouldn't be easily swayed.

"But locking her up. Doesn't that seem a little, extreme?" Scarlett offered out shakily, still not sure about this course of action.

"Well, yeah, but desperate times, right?" Damon answered, before he saw that he was now losing Scarlett. "And like I said, it's only for a couple of days. The second I've dealt with fancy dress one and two, I'll let her out."

Scarlett began chewing on her lip, thinking over Damon's idea while trying to justify it to herself. Finally she made a counter offer, which she thought would at the very least be better for her own conscious. "No, not a couple of days. One day. Exactly. You let Sarah out tomorrow morning, or I go and find her myself right now," Scarlett declared.

Damon grimaced, obviously wanting more time without having to worry about his sister. But he couldn't risk taking Scarlett on. One stray bite and he'd be dead, and he couldn't count on her not to fight back if he tired to pull the same trick on her as with Sarah. He had to be smart about this, and having her on his side would certainly help. Even Originals had to be effected by werewolf bites. It might not kill them but it probably did something to them.

"All right, fine," Damon sighed, before then perking up as he realised something. "Does that mean you'll help me?"

With a sigh of her own, Scarlett nodded. She hoped Sarah would forgive her, but she had to do this for Jeremy. She couldn't let him lose another family member, that just wouldn't be right. At the very least she had to try, and she'd given Damon and herself a time limit to go on. Tomorrow morning, whether Damon helped her or not, she'd find Sarah and let her out, hoping to God that she'd forgave her for what she'd just done. But she couldn't ignore this chance to save Elena and in turn Jeremy. To her this was the right decision, even if her conscious was nagging away at her as she left Damon's room.

* * *

Time quickly became a lost concept to Sarah. After all, there was no way of telling it. She had no watch or light, only the darkness that sat with her in the stone prison. She didn't have anyone to ask either. In fact she could have been knocked out for a matter of days without even realising it. Although thinking about all that had made her head hurt, so she changed her focus to getting out of her prison.

A few hard shoves against the stone wall above her, and Sarah realised her situation hadn't improved. She was still just as weak as before, when she last tried to move the slab above her horizontal body. She needed blood, even a little would probably be enough to give her the strength she needed to free herself. Another defiant push against the slab, but still it didn't budge.

Her body went lax, arms moving to her side as they gave in and she sighed in defeat. The physical method of escape obvious wasn't going to work, so she turned to her mental abilities. Unfortunately though, there wasn't a lot of room for smart tricks and deception when you were trapped in a stone cell with six walls. And it wasn't like Sarah had some kind of psychic vampire ability that allowed her to move things with her mind. _If only_ , she thought.

With her options more or less exhausted, she started thinking about who outside her prison could help her. She crossed Damon off her list right way, he was the one who put her in here after all. Stefan was a possibility but he was away with Elena, and hardly likely to rush back when he might agree with Damon. Plus he wouldn't risk bringing Elena back, or risk leaving her on her own after what just happened with the werewolves. So that crossed both him and Elena off the list.

There was Caroline, but while she'd come far since becoming a vampire, Sarah wasn't holding out hope on that one. Her better bet was Scarlett, what with her nose and supernatural tracking abilities. Bonnie would also be able to find her, but like Stefan she might not want to, since that meant Elena might end up getting sacrificed. The same went for Caroline, possibly even Scarlett since Elena was Jeremy's sister.

Sarah was suddenly realising that maybe she'd picked the wrong side in regards to this whole Elena sacrificing debate. After all, it was only her and Elena that were on that side, which meant only someone that knew nothing about it would save her, like Jenna. But then why would she be looking for her. If she was, Damon would just lie and she'd believe him for at least a while. The same went for the Originals, if they even cared to ask. And technically Sarah was safe inside her prison. It wasn't like anyone was going to kill her, so the Originals were under no obligation to rescue her.

There was Lexi…but she was dead. Even then, she would have only noticed if she was in Mystic Falls. Technically she still was. Her body had been burnt in Mystic Falls after all.

"Well, any ideas, Lexi?" Sarah suddenly asked aloud before frowning. "My God…I'm already talking to myself." She chuckled, imaging her friend laughing with her. Then shuffling over to one side of her prison, as if to make space for her, Sarah rolled her head towards the empty space next to her, imagining that Lexi was right there with her. Even if it was a little cramped.

"And to think, I used to call you insane," Sarah said to Lexi, chuckling again before going silent.

Her smile then dropped into a sad and longing look. "I miss you Lexi." She turned her head back towards the stone ceiling in front of her. "I know it was months ago but it still feels…it feels like yesterday. And I really could have used your help over the past few months.

"You would have been great with Scarlett. I think the only reason I'm so good with her is because of how you were with me. And you probably would have handled the whole werewolf incident a lot better than I did too. And the tomb vampires wouldn't have given you as much grief. You're older than most of them after all…" Sarah paused, sniffing before she continued as tears started to prick her eyes.

"And I could have really used you after what happened with Ronnie… But then…" That was when the real tears started coming, as Sarah realised something that she'd been thinking about for some time.

"I'm sorry, Lexi," Sarah sniffed. "But Katherine, she…she got inside my head. She made me think you might have been working for her this whole time. And… And now I can't ask you! I can't ask you because your dead and I…I just really need an answer Lexi," Sarah bellowed out, the tears flying from her eyes as she squeezed them tightly, desperately trying to hear Lexi's voice, to hear her answer. "I need to know that you weren't working for her like Ronnie was, I need to know that you were my friend and not… Please, I need an answer!"

But none came, and none ever would. That doubt would always be with her now, because she'd never get a straight answer out of Katherine. Even if she told the truth Sarah could never be one-hundred percent sure, and because of that Bitch she now had all of her wonderful memories of Lexi tainted. She would never know if they were all just a lie, or if she really had been one of her best friends and that those had been some of the happiest moments in Sarah's life. She would never hear her best friend's defence, never hear her deny it, or even worse, confess to it. All she would hear was her own tears, wishing Lexi could just answer that one question and wash away the doubt, along with her tears.

* * *

She was alone, like she had been ever since Damon declared he was leaving them forever. Sure, Damon had still been around the house, he tried talking to her, but Sarah had barely heard or acknowledged him. She was much the same with Stefan, only talking with him when he brought home people for her to feed on. She appreciated that. She was in no mood for going out and dealing with her hunger. In fact, ever since Damon's announcement, Sarah hadn't stepped one foot outside the house, for fear that if she did, she'd come back to find her brother gone. At the very least she wanted to say goodbye to him, although the more she thought about that, the more she thought about trying to stop him. Locking him away so that he would never leave her or Stefan. _It's the kind of thing Katherine would do surely?_ She done it to all of them with her compulsion, but Sarah couldn't use that trick on Damon. She would find another way though, just like Katherine would. She might have hated her guts, but she was a model vampire, and Sarah needed to be like her now. That meant making sure she always got her way, no matter what.

Her thoughts of Damon leaving and how she should be more like Katherine, then began to drift away at the sound of voices and the front door opening. Sarah turned her head listening to Stefan. The next voice was a woman's, presumably the dinner he'd said he'd bring home. Deciding she wanted to get her half before Stefan took it all, Sarah quickly ran into the front hall, stopping before the woman who was stood in front of Stefan. She was only just shorter than both herself and Stefan, blonde hair in large bun at the back of her head with two lose strands on either side of her pretty face.

Done examining her meat and deciding all was well, Sarah bared her fangs, hissing as her eyes filled with blood. She threw herself forward, going to bite into the woman's neck, when a strong hand grabbed her throat, halting her movement. Then in a burst of speed she was against the wall, the woman's pretty face in hers as her serious brown eyes filled with blood.

Seeing this, Sarah's vampiric features washed away as she stared in awe at the woman before her. "You're like me," she whispered, as the woman released her hold on Sarah's neck. Her features then returned to normal just as Sarah's had, and she stepped back to provide each of them with a little more space.

"That I am," agreed the woman, before she looked Sarah up and down, taking in the dress she'd been wearing for two days now and the blood that stained almost every part of it. In the beginning it had been white, it wasn't anymore. And this woman could tell. "How long has it been since you've had a bath? Or changed your cloths for that matter?"

Sarah sneered at the woman, before then looking to Stefan who had been watching the whole exchange from the front door, which he'd closed. "Where's my dinner? You promised me you'd bring something back," Sarah said with a glare to her brother, her irritated green eyes meeting with his cold ones.

"Something came up," Stefan said before looking to the woman who shot him an unappreciated look. "I ran into this vampire."

"Lexi," the woman introduced herself, looking back to Sarah. The younger vampire let out a huff of air before marching past her back into the living room. Lexi remained where she was, blinking twice before breathing in and out. Young vampires could be such hard work, the older thought to herself as she turned, only to then stop after her second step when she saw several dead and bloodied bodies scattered around the Salvatores' living room.

As Lexi stared into the room, Sarah sat herself down on one of the couches, pulling a dead body towards her before she bit into his neck, trying to drink what little blood he had left. Turning back to Stefan, a little shocked, Lexi asked, "Did she do all this?" Stefan shook his head as she stepped in line with her.

"No. She did that one there," he pointed to the dead body at the side of the piano. "The rest were all me," he said rather proudly before seeing Lexi's horrified gaze still on him. He back-pedalled quickly, hand running along his forehead as he began to apologise. "I, um…I meant to dispose of those," he explained, gesturing around the rooms to the dead bodies.

"My God, you're a ripper," Lexi sighed, looking back to the amount of dead bodies that lined the room. A room that looked as though it was in the process of being repainted. Furniture and all.

"A what?" Stefan asked, frowning.

Turning to Stefan, Lexi began to explain. "There are good parts of being a vampire and there are bad parts." She paused, turning back to give a pointed look at the room full of dead bodies. "You're the bad parts."

A laugh erupted from across the room and Lexi leaned in to find Sarah, having finished with her leftovers, laughing from next to the dead body as she wiped the dried blood from her mouth. She looked to Lexi, laughing some more until the older vampire stepped in, stopping in front of her and looking down disapprovingly. "What's so funny?" Lexi asked calmly.

"The fact that you think there are good and bad parts to being a vampire," Sarah snorted. "There are only bad parts. We all know that. We're monsters, demons, we feed on blood for God sake! What's more evil than that? You say my brother's the bad parts, but this is what we're supposed to be," Sarah exclaimed humorously as she gestured around the room.

Lexi smiled sadly at the naive and young vampire. Lexi wasn't under any false pretence, she knew how evil some vampire could be, and how bad they must look to humans who don't know them as people. They were just monsters when at a distance, even the good ones. But seeing this new vampire like this, looking into her soft, delicate, green eyes. Lexi knew she could be one of the good ones. Obviously though, she was having a rough time of it, struggling with the transition. It wasn't always easy, as Lexi knew from her own experiences.

"Well, I say you're wrong," Lexi replied with a simple smile. Sarah rolled her eyes, snorting. "And you're going to help prove me right by helping your brother."

"No thanks," Sarah muttered, standing as if to leave before Lexi grabbed her arm and halted her.

"Of course before any of that, you need a bath and a clean change of cloths," Lexi instructed, as if Sarah hadn't all ready denied her.

"Excuse me!" snapped Sarah in outrage, but Lexi paid her no heed, turning instead to Stefan while keeping a hold on his sister's arm.

"Now, while I appreciate the hospitality, I refuse to stay in a beautiful home like this if your just going to let it go to waste. You'll start cleaning immediately," Lexi instructed Stefan, who shrugged as if he had nothing better to do. "You can make a start in here while I attend to your sister. Once we're done in the bathroom, you'll do the same. First bathe and put on some fresh cloths, then come back down here and help us continue with the cleaning. If we work hard we should be finished by sunset."

"You're mad if you think we're doing any of that!" Sarah snapped, but still Lexi kept her attention on Stefan.

"Where's the bathroom?" she asked.

"Upstairs on the left," Stefan answered, pointing his arm in the general direction.

"Thank you," Lexi said with a nod. "Now come along, Sarah," she then said, pulling Sarah by the arm when she refused to move of her own free will. "I expect you to have at least the bodies disposed of by the time we're finished," Lexi called back to Stefan before she started climbing the stairs with a struggling Sarah behind her.

Within no time she had Sarah in the bathroom, stripped down and a bath of hot water running. When Sarah still refused to get in, Lexi conceded. Or at least she pretended to while she slid her foot behind Sarah and then shoved her backwards into the bath after tripping over her foot. Sarah had not appreciated that, and tried to get out until Lexi shoved her completely under the water. She held her there for a moment before letting her come back up for air.

"You're completely insane!" Sarah shrieked, wiping aside her drenched raven hair that stuck to her face.

"Yes I am," Lexi said proudly, pulling up a stool next to the bath before she set to work on cleaning the young vampire. Sarah continued her struggles for a while, but in the end gave in, seeing that there was no way out of Lexi's personal code of hygiene.

For a while there was silence as Lexi worked her magic with Sarah – who was feeling like a child as she sat in the tub, allowing the mature adult, Lexi, to wash her. There was a hint of embarrassment inside her, but an odd sense of tranquility seemed to over power that, along with every other emotion inside of her. It might have been the first quiet moment her emotions had had since she became a vampire.

"So, tell me about yourself," Lexi suddenly said, while working on the knots in Sarah's hair.

"Why do you want to know?" Sarah grumbled, moving her hands about the water as she watched the small tidal waves collide with the wall of the tub, sending ripples bouncing back towards her. A never ending cycle of cause and effect. The more she moved her hands, the more ripples formed and came back to her in tow.

"I'm nosey," Lexi answered honestly. "Now come on, start talking."

Sarah let out a huff, remaining silent until she asked, "Is it always this sad?"

"Is what always sad?" Lexi asked, voice a little distracted as she worked on a particularly hard knot.

"Being a vampire?" Sarah clarified.

"No. It'll just be your heightened emotions. When your sad, you'll be really sad. But when you're happy," Lexi explained before pausing, stopping her work to lean down towards Sarah. "Are you sad right now?" she asked, and Sarah turned to look at her. The answer was in those big green eyes of hers. She nodded for clarification though. "What's making you sad?"

Sarah turned away as she answered. "A lot of things."

When she went silent, Lexi said, "Well, I find talking about things helps."

"Of course you would, your nosey," Sarah pointed out, to which Lexi laughed. Sarah turned at the sound, and found it to be genuine, which made her smile. Then her smile faded and she turned away again, thinking about all the things that made her sad.

"My brother says he's leaving me and Stefan," Sarah said quietly.

"Damon? Yes, Stefan told me about him. I'm sorry about that," Lexi said sympathetically.

"Should I stop him?" Sarah asked, turning around to find Lexi in serious thought at the question.

"Why do you think you should stop him?" Lexi asked carefully.

"Because I don't want him to go. Because it's hurting so much just thinking about him leaving. Because it's what Katherine would have done," Sarah listed off before Lexi interrupted.

"Katherine? Who's Katherine?"

"A bitch," Sarah growled angrily.

"Clearly she's not someone your fond of," Lexi surmised as she went back to her work on Sarah's hair.

"I hate her. She's the one that turned us into vampires," Sarah explained, remaining still for Lexi.

"I'm sorry to here that. I might have chosen this life, but I know not everyone does," Lexi said with more sympathy in her voice.

"Before that though, she compelled us. She made us love her, made us keep her secret. She made me…she…she made me…" Sarah couldn't go on as the tears started to fall. "Damn it! Why won't I stop crying!" Sarah shouted hysterically as she slammed her fists into the water, sending a splash of water over the sides.

"It's okay," Lexi quickly said, wrapping her arms around Sarah and pulling her towards her in a compassionate hug, despite the fact her only set of cloths would now be soaking. "It's okay. She can't hurt you anymore. I won't let her."

"She's dead," Sarah choked out. "I know she can't hurt me anymore. But she did… She hurt me so much! And I can't forget it!" Sarah lashed out, kicking her foot against the edge of the bathtub before she cried out. "I just want to forget it! To forget it all! I hate her! I hate her so much! She's ruined my life, taken away my family and turned me into a monster! Why?! Why?! WHY?!" Sarah screamed as she lashed out once more, crying out over and over as Lexi tightly held onto her, trying her best to comfort her.

In that moment one thing became apparent to Lexi. It wasn't just the ripper downstairs that needed her help. His little sister needed it too if she was going to continue on in this world. Who ever this Katherine had been, she'd clearly done a lot of damage to the girl's fragile head which had only been amplified with her turn to vampirism. Add in the clearly traumatic thoughts of her brothers abandoning her and it was a miracle she hadn't already been on the floor screaming like a lunatic when Lexi first walked in through the door.

And if Sarah and Stefan were this bad, how bad was there older brother going to be? That was when Lexi knew she would be staying with this family indefinitely. She had to help them, after what this Katherine had done to them all, they needed someone good in their lives. She just hoped she was up to the challenge.

* * *

Despite her agreement with Damon, in the end Scarlett's conscience got the better of her. She couldn't just leave Sarah, she had to look for her. That said, she did only restrict her search to the house, keeping to Damon's request for her to remain there until he called her.

Being his lackey was not Scarlett's idea of a good time, and she had no plans to do it again in the near future. But for Jeremy, she was willing to give it a shot.

However, because of the dept she also owed Sarah, she had to do something, which in turn lead to the searching of the house, in case Damon had hidden her there. He hadn't, which was annoying and relieving at the same time. Scarlett swore her morality had never been this complex before in her entire life.

She had searched the house for top to bottom though, and confirmed that he'd not hidden Sarah any where inside. On the up side, it meant that tomorrow she new not to waste her time looking around the house. She'd just finished her search when she heard Damon returning. By the time he'd then parked his car and gotten inside, Scarlett was already waiting for him in the front hallway.

"Good," Damon said with a grin. "The dog's learnt to sit."

Scarlett rolled her eyes, before observing Damon's oddly chip and delightful grin. That wasn't a normal thing for Damon, which meant he probably had something planned. "You're in a good mood," Scarlett pointed out, arms folded as she stood before him, waiting to hear what he had to say. And boy did he have something to say.

"You're right Scrappy, I am in a good mood," Damon declared as he strode past her and into the living room, which Scarlett followed him into. "Despite your twenty-four hour time frame, I have managed to come up with a brilliant plan and confirmed that my Original killing daggers are authentic," Damon explained as he approached the mini bar behind one of the couches, making himself a drink.

"Alright then, so what is this brilliant plan?" Scarlett asked as she leaned down on the arm of the couch.

Damon's grin broadened. "We're throwing a dinner party."

Scarlett lifted her brow skeptically. "A dinner party?"

"Yes, a dinner party," Damon repeated, not thrilled by Scarlett's lack of confidence. He quickly shook it off though, after a sip of his drink. "It'll be perfect. We invite them both in, put on a bit of a show and then, Wham!" Damon said with a stabbing motion. "I get Elijah with one dagger and you get Amelia with the other," Damon elaborated, before taking another sip.

"Yeah, I was wondering about these daggers…?" Scarlet began to ask, to which Damon quickly began wagging his finger at her.

"Don't bother with that, I do the thinking in this partnership." While Scarlett would have liked to object to the wording of, 'partnership,' she momentarily ignored it so that she could continue on with her question.

"Where did you even get them from?"

Damon hesitated, before grimacing as he answered with, "John Gilbert."

Scarlett stared at him, completely bewildered by the man's stupidity. "You're going to use something that John Gilbert gave you?"

"Relax," Damon said smoothly. "I've had it authenticated, remember."

"By who, Isobel?" Scarlett snapped.

"No," Damon scoffed.

"By who then?" Scarlett pressed.

Again Damon hesitated. "Well, not Isobel, obviously."

"Who then, Damon?" When no answer came, Scarlett boldly declared, "It was Isobel wasn't it!"

"No it wasn't," Damon snapped. But seeing that Scarlett wasn't going to believe him unless he gave her an alternative, he decided to answer swiftly before hiding behind a sip from his glass. "…It was Katherine."

"Are you insane!" shrieked Scarlett as she threw her arms out. "You're trusting Katherine Pierce!"

"No, I'm not trusting her," Damon snapped back defensively. "But I saw her, she was scared. Really scared, which proves it's authentic."

"Isn't she supposed to be a master manipulator?" Scarlett pointed out. "Has it occurred to you that maybe this is what she wants?" Damon stared at her, refusing to answer as his grip on his glass tightened.

Finally, he sat his glass down, turning fully to face Scarlett as he leaned on the mini bar. "Look. We've got to kill Elijah and Amelia, and we have to do it tonight. These daggers are all we have to go on," Damon admitted. "And maybe I am taking a leap here, but it's a leap worth taking for your boyfriend's sister," Damon pressed, reminding Scarlett of why she was going along with all this.

"And what if this is exactly what Katherine wants?" Scarlett asked.

Damon sighed. "To be honest, I'd rather deal with her than two Originals right now," he admitted, taking his drink once more and having a swing. Now in dire need of a refill.

"All right," Scarlett said slowly, as Damon poured himself another drink. "Putting the Katherine issue aside. Don't you think Elijah and Amelia will be the tiniest bit suspicious when they arrive to a dinner party with just us and them. I mean, it basically screams, 'trap.'"

"Well, it's a good thing it won't just be us and them then, isn't it," Damon said, his confident smirk returning.

Frowning, Scarlett asked, "Who else is coming then?"

"My new girlfriend Andie," Damon said, brow bouncing up and down eagerly. "It was her idea after all." An idea that Scarlett was pretty sure Damon had compelled into his girlfriend's head. "And Alaric and Jenna."

"Sarah's not going to like that you've dragged Jenna into the middle of all this," Scarlett quickly pointed out, shaking her head. She wasn't too fond of it either. She liked Jenna, and while she understood not everyone was comfortable with lying to her, she believed it was for the best. But bringing her here, tonight, without knowing everything, it was dangerous, something most of their little gang wouldn't want to involve her in. Of course, Damon wasn't one of those people.

"Well, then it's a good thing Sarah isn't here to spoil Jenna's fun then," Damon smirked, before going serious again. "Plus it has to look genuine. Jenna helps sell it, since Elijah and Amelia know that she doesn't know about any of this," Damon explained with a gesture of his glass around the room, before drinking.

He then paused mid sip, holding his glass towards Scarlett as he swallowed. "Actually, thinking about it, you should probably invite Jeremy too."

On this, Scarlett instantly put her foot down. "No," she declared firmly. He'd been in enough danger recently for her. True, she'd managed to keep him away from the action as of late, such as the werewolf fight and the full moon. But that incident and the tomb still gave her nightmares, thinking of what Katherine could have done or said. Ever since then, Scarlett had been doing what she could to keep him away from all that. Helping with Luka was one thing, there hadn't been any anticipated danger there. This though, Scarlett knew this could easily take a turn for the worst, and she didn't want Jeremy anywhere near it if it did.

"I'm not letting Jeremy get involved in this, Damon," Scarlett stated.

"Why not? Worried he'll get hurt?" Damon teased, before realising just how intently Scarlett was glaring at him. With a roll of his eyes, Damon then pointed out, "Look, he's got the Gilbert ring, right? So even if Elijah and Amelia kill him, it's not like he'll be dead for long."

"And you remember how easily Katherine took that ring off him, last time he was involved in something like this?" Scarlett snapped back, advancing on him as she glared up into his similar blue eyes. "Listen to me, Damon. I don't want him involved. If you want my help, that's the condition."

"I thought the condition was I release Sarah tomorrow morning?" Damon argued, to which Scarlett began to growl at him, warningly. This was not a matter for him to be joking around about, a fact Damon quickly realised as he lifted his hands up. "All right, all right. I won't involve Gilbert," Damon sighed.

Slowly, Scarlett took in a calming breath, deflating as she closed her eyes. The wolf settling inside of her. "Thank you," she said quietly to Damon, and genuinely meaning it too.

"Yeah, whatever," Damon groaned before finishing off his second glass. "Now go and start getting ready," he ordered, gesturing up to Scarlett's room before setting his glass down on the mini bar.

"Why, when are they coming over?" Scarlett asked.

"Not for a couple more hours, but it'll probably take you that long to make yourself look decent," Damon said, smug grin forming as Scarlett glared at him.

"It amazes me more women don't slap you," Scarlett grumbled, while remaining still, deliberately not doing as Damon told her to.

"Oh, Honey, plenty of women do," he said with a grin. Scarlett decided to not think about what that grin meant. She already had enough on her mind without adding any disturbing thoughts about Damon and slapping. Instead she groaned in disgust, before turning and heading up to her room, Damon's smirk on her back. It wasn't until she was in her bedroom, searching for something, 'dinner party like,' to wear, that she realised he'd just tricked her into doing as he asked. _God he was a damn, smart ass, bastard._


	30. The Dinner Party

_Review responses:_

Guest: _Yes, someone absolutely needs to...but at the same time, he has his soft spots...occasionally._

 _Not much I have to say but I do what to do a shout out since it's chapter 30 and all. So I'm giving a shout out to a story I've highlighted before, which is, '_ **Stained with Sin** _' by, '_ **WriteToEscapeReality1309** _'. The reason for this is because the writer has recently started up this story again after struggling to do so for a while. So if you have time to give it a read and leave a review for this story then that would be very nice and kind of you, as all us writers love and appreciate your continued support – and I for one know you guys have been very kind with me, so thank you!_

* * *

 **Chapter 30: The Dinner Party**

* * *

Annoyingly, Damon had been right about the amount of time it had taken Scarlett to get ready. She'd only had only a handful of dinner party dresses that she thought were suitable, and only a half of those were good for fighting in. But those were the ones she liked – even if it wasn't a lot – and she didn't want them getting destroyed. But the ones she really hated she couldn't wear, as they'd restrict her fighting ability. She could alway fix that, but then it wouldn't look inappropriate, and she didn't have Sarah to help her fix it this time.

Reluctantly, she then picked out the dress she'd worn to the masquerade ball when they'd fought Katherine. It had been cleaned and stitched since then, and now looked as if had never been involved in a fight.

After that, she sat about doing what Sarah had done with her the few time she'd had to get dressed up for something. The easiest thing came first, the shower, which Scarlett spent as long as possible in. Then came the more tricky stuff like the makeup and the hair styling. Scarlett didn't do a lot of that, but she'd learnt some basics like how to apply foundation and so one. Enough to make her presentable – at least in Damon's eyes. Then she had her one moment of rebellion, leaving her hair as it was once it was dried. Scarlett was one who usually got lucky with how her hair turned out. It had a natural curl to it, but it varied in degree. Tonight it was missable, her hair looking fairly straight as she pulled on the black dress with a floral pattern along the bust.

A quick stop at the mirror to confirm she looked good – even if it was grudgingly – and Scarlett was then off down stairs to meet with Damon. She was already aware that some guests had arrived, namely Alaric, Andie and Jenna. Alaric was with Damon in the study, scheming more than likely, while Jenna and Andie set the table in the dinning room, linked to the living room via an open archway. Scarlett however, went straight for the study, to find out what was going on.

"This is a bad idea," Alaric was saying as Scarlett entered the study. Noticing her, he turned, nodding his head while adding a, "Hey," in her direction.

"Hey," Scarlett greeted in turn, joining both Alaric and Damon by the bar in the study.

"There's no such thing as a bad idea. Just poorly executed awesome ones," Damon continued on, before holding out a drink towards Alaric. "Here," he offered, but the history teacher just shook his head, hands firmly placed on his hips. Jaw tight and obviously not comfortable with what was about to happen. Scarlett imagined his discomfort stemmed from the same reason as hers, which was Jenna being in the house while they were trying to kill the Originals.

"I don't like the idea of Elijah being in the same house with Jenna," Alaric said, looking Damon straight in the eye as he did.

"Just Elijah," Damon couldn't help but tease, smirking until he realised Alaric wasn't as amused as he was. Scarlett herself could appreciate the jab, but under the circumstances, wasn't laughing either as she folded her arms across her her chest. Hitting Damon with her best, 'stop the bullshit' look. If Sarah wasn't here to do it, then someone had to keep Damon in check, and apparently that duty fell on Scarlett.

Seeing he wasn't getting the desired response, Damon let out a sigh as he relaxed, going ever so slightly serious in order to reassure Alaric. "Look, Jenna's perfectly safe. Besides, it's just a fact-finding mission. It's totally harmless." Scarlett perked up at that, sending Damon a raised brow which luckily for him Alaric didn't notice. Apparently Alaric hadn't been filled in on the real plan for tonight.

"Just a fact-finding mission?" Alaric asked cautiously.

"Yeah," Damon replied nonchalantly.

"So, no sneak attacks, no surprise plans. Nothing that's gonna put Jenna in harm's way. Okay?" Alaric said sternly, moving his arms from his hips and folding them as he stepped towards Damon, making sure the vampire understood him one-hundred precent.

"Scout's honour," Damon replied, holding up his hand in a mocking scout like salute. Alaric didn't seem convinced, until Damon started patting him on the shoulder, offering him one of his lazy smiles. Scarlett however, had been maintaining her skeptical look towards Damon – on Sarah's behalf. He wasn't acknowledging it though, to do so might then cause Alaric to notice and become suspicious. And before Scarlett could make up her mind on whether to speak up or not, Andie came in and announced her presence.

"Hey, Jenna needs help with the wine, could you help her?" Andie asked, to which Alaric sighed and nodded. Not because of Jenna obviously, he'd never object to helping her out. Damon was the exhausting one in his life, much like he was with everyone else. "Thanks," Andie said as Alaric passed her, leaving them alone in the study.

"So you're not telling him about the plan then?" Scarlett asked, deliberately not waiting long enough for Alaric to leave. Damon's eyes quickly widened in annoyance, looking to the door in case Alaric suddenly came storming back in. He didn't, which Scarlett had to admit she was disappointed by.

"You saw how he was, he's a liability like that," Damon hissed, one eye still on the door until he finally relaxed. Convinced Alaric wasn't going to come back, or that he'd heard what Scarlett had boldly said.

"Liability or not, he should know?" Scarlett argued.

Damon offered up another lazy, confident, smile as he shrugged in response. "Don't see the point. It'll be over by the time he finds out anyway. Trust me, it'll be fine," Damon waved off, taking a drink from the glass he'd originally offered Alaric. Scarlett replied with a very obvious eye roll as Andie came forward to stand beside her.

"Nice dress," she offered, to which Scarlett turned, ready to reply with a polite compliment of her own, only to see Andie wasn't wearing a dress. She was dressed nicely for sure, but it was casually formal kinda of smart dress code. She was wearing jeans after all and so was Damon. Realising this, Scarlett instantly began to send Damon the stink eye. The blue eyed annoy vampire had set her up. And she could tell that he knew she knew, from that big old smirk on his face.

"I'm going to kill you," Scarlett growled.

"Why?" Damon said innocently as he turned around to the bar, setting down his drink.

"For making me dress up like an idiot, that's why," Scarlett snapped, as Damon opened a box and pulled out a rolled up piece of cloth, unfolding it to reveal the dagger he'd had before, as well as its identical twin.

"Well, I think you look lovely," Andie offered sympathetically. Scarlett frowned at her, trying to work out whether it was genuine or just Damon's compulsion. In the end she decided to leave the woman alone, after all it wasn't her fault Damon was an ass.

"What are those?" Andie then asked, stepping forward to look over Damon's shoulder, at the two daggers on the bar.

"Desert," Damon answered with a grin looking back, before then uncapping the small glass jar of white ash that came with the daggers. Curiously, Scarlett watched from behind as Damon dipped each of the daggers into the white ash, before then storing the jar and cloth back inside the box he'd gotten them from.

"Both the Originals are stronger than me and Scrappy. Faster than us too. It's all about the element of surprise," Damon explained to Andie.

"Ah, that's too bad. I like Elijah. He's very old-school. Classy," Andie sighed out with a smile.

"As opposed to your current boyfriend," Scarlett said, grinning when Damon sent her an irritated look.

"Oh, I don't know. Damon can be classy in his own way," Andie said, stepping towards Damon as she wrapped her arms around his arm, smiling up at him. _Yep, definitely compelled_ , Scarlett decided.

"I sure can," Damon agreed with his lazy grin, momentarily being distracted by Andie until he pushed her off. "Which is why you should encourage the gentlemen to take their after dinner drinks in here while you do coffee in the kitchen with the girls," Damon then explained, while hiding one of the daggers in amongst the bottles and glasses that lined the top of the bar.

"Hmm. That is a little too sexist for me," Andie protested lightly.

"And I don't drink coffee," Scarlett added.

Damon rolled his eyes, turning back around to point the other dagger towards Scarlett. "Well, that doesn't matter because, you, won't be having coffee anyway – 'cause when Andie and Jenna go to have coffee, you're going to have a privet discussion with Amelia in the living room, and then stab her with this," Damon explained, grinning as he flipped the dagger over in his hand, holding the hilt out to Scarlett. With a huff, Scarlett grudgingly took it.

"Where am I supposed to hide it?" Scarlett asked, staring down at the dagger in her hand.

"I don't know," Damon said with a shrug that reflected those words. "Stick in the fireplace, down the back of the couch, up your dress, I don't care. Just make sure it's nearby and that you can use it without getting caught," Damon said sternly.

Scarlett still had more complaints to make, more questions to ask, and more holes to poke in Damon's plan – but all that was put on hold when she picked up a scent. And that scent made her heart stop as she looked to Damon with her eyes wide in alert. "Damon," Scarlett growled in an angrily warning. "You didn't?"

She didn't end up waiting for the answer though, as she turned and ran back through the house towards the front door. When she got there Jenna had already opened it, revealing John and Jeremy, the former of which stepping in before he could be banished. Jeremy however, being the polite young man that he was, waited outside, hands in his hoodie pockets with an exhausted expression on his face. One would imagine that was because of his dear uncle, who he'd arrived with.

"Jeremy, what are you doing here?" Scarlett asked, eyes wide and in mild panic as Jeremy looked over with a sorry smile. Although the sorry smile was more for John than his arrival.

While Jenna then motioned him inside, having no problem with her nephew – and a definite problem with her brother-in-law – Damon then walked in stopping next to Scarlett with Andie at his back. "John. Surprise. Leave," Damon stated not so politely as he forced a smile.

"Sorry to intrude," John said, not that anyone believed him for one second. "But when Jeremy told me he was on his way out to a dinner party involving Elijah and Amelia, I decided I couldn't miss out on all the fun and games."

"Sorry, he caught me on the way out the door," Jeremy explained to Jenna, who he was stood next to. She nodded sympathetically, rubbing his shoulder until Scarlett stepped over, grabbing his hand and pulling him away from the crowd of people by the front door.

"Well, sorry to disappoint, John, but there's no games to night. Just a friendly dinner party," Damon explained with a plastered on smile, for which Scarlett imagined was for Alaric's benefit. But right now that wasn't her top concern, right now, that was Jeremy.

"What the Hell are you doing here?" Scarlett hissed once they were further away from the front door and stood outside the study. Away from – human – praying ears.

"Damon called me," Jeremy explained casually, as if Scarlett should have already known. "He told me about what's going down with Elijah and Amelia, and so I came here to help you guys," he explained with a soft smile, excited to be involved in some action again. Which was exactly what Scarlett had been worried about.

"No, Jeremy. No," Scarlett pleaded with him, placing her hands on his arms as she begged him. "Just leave, go home and I'll call you afterwards."

"No way," Jeremy protested firmly. "I'm not leaving you here on your own–"

"I won't be on my own," Scarlett cut in, as if that would be enough to sway Jeremy. "Damon will be with me."

Jeremy shot her a skeptical look that she couldn't really argue with. "Yeah, like that makes me feel better. Besides, you'll still be in danger, even if Damon's there to help you. And even then, you'll need all the help you can get if your going up against two Originals," Jeremy argued in a satisfied way, as if he knew he'd already won his case.

But Scarlett wasn't about to let this go, not after last time. Not after what had happened with Katherine back in the tomb. And that was Katherine. Elijah and Amelia were in a whole other league. "You do remember what happened last time you got involved in this stuff, right?" Scarlett said, folding her arms as she leaned towards Jeremy with a serious look. "Katherine almost killed you."

"Yeah, I remember, Scarlett," Jeremy conceded, lowering his head at one of his weaker moments.

"And you said you were going to stop doing this," she also reminded him.

However, at that Jeremy lifted his head and frowned. "I never said that," Jeremy countered.

"Yes you did," Scarlett hissed, certain that was what he had said that night.

"No. I said I was sorry for messing up and scaring you. I never said I was going to stop trying to help," Jeremy protested.

"Well, you 'helping,' is scaring me again Jeremy," Scarlett said softly, thinking her clear fright might be enough to make Jeremy stop, at least this time.

Unfortunately, luck was not on her side. "And how do you think I feel?" Jeremy asked, voice raising. "At least if I'm here I can see what's happening with my own two eyes, rather than waiting at home panicking the whole time because I have no idea what is going on."

"Jeremy–!" was all Scarlett got out in response – her own voice having raised to a shout – before Andie appeared from around Jeremy, grabbing Scarlett's arm.

"Sorry, but Jenna and I could use your help setting the table, Scarlett," Andie said with a forced smile, before pulling Scarlett along after her as they parted from Jeremy. Scarlett looked back to see if Jeremy would follow, but he was taking his out and running with it – metaphorically speaking – as he stood in the hallway rubbing the back of his neck. Part of her wanted to shout back after him, continue the fight, but that would draw to much attention to those not in the know. If she got another chance before the Originals arrived, she'd drag Jeremy out by force if she had too. He could hate her all he wanted for it, but she would be doing it to protect him.

For now though, she let Andie drag her along, down the hallway and through the living room – towards the dinning area. The gentlemen were all stood around the living room, having a civilised chat while Jenna stood awaiting Andie and Scarlett by the table. As they moved through the living room though, Scarlett caught Damon's eye, and purposeful growled in his direction. An act that she had no doubt he saw, as well as heard.

 _He was so going to pay for this later_ , Scarlett decided, before grudgingly helping Jenna and Andie with the table. As she did, Jenna picked up on her irritated aura, and asked what was wrong. Andie covered for her, explaining how Damon had tricked her into wearing her dress which she hated. It was true, but not the main reason Scarlett was enraged. Still Jenna was supportive and comforting, saying she looked good in whatever way she dressed.

After that Scarlett brightened up a little, more so that Jenna would stop asking questions Scarlett was in no mood to answer. Because if Jenna did ask the right question, Scarlett might just break and tell her everything. She really needed someone on her side, but Alaric didn't really know what was going on, Sarah was trapped somewhere and Elena and Stefan were off on their getaway.

A sigh left Scarlett's lips, wishing she and Jeremy could escape like Stefan and Elena had, even if it was only for a weekend.

Once the table was then set, Scarlett moved on to hiding the dagger, the one she was supposed to use on Amelia. Once the living room was relatively clear, she tucked it away in between two of the couch cushions, before standing back up to find Jeremy had been watching over her. She could tell he was going to point out how helpful he could be – and she was all set up to drag him out then and there – when the door bell rang. Damon answered it, finding Elijah and Amelia on the other side.

Scarlett cursed from inside her head, now it was too late to get Jeremy out, not without making the Originals suspicious. She knew she should have dealt with him first, rather than hid the dagger. Now all she could do was go along with Jeremy's presence and do whatever she could to protect him.

From the living room, she listened in as the Originals proceeded to warn Damon against making any move against them. Going as far as to threaten everyone in the house, despite the deal they had with Elena. Damon kept his cool though, and promised it was just a dinner party, before Jenna then walked through and the Originals warmly greeted her as they stepped past Damon and into the living room.

"Jenna. Wonderful to see you again," Elijah declared.

"Nice to see you," Jenna replied, greeting the two with a friendly hug that seemed far to unnatural after everything Scarlett had heard about the two Originals. They also looked, exactly as had been described to her. Elijah, dressed in a smart suit with hair combed to one side in a hair cut that didn't do the man justice. And then Amelia, dressed in a long black raincoat with trousers below and smart high heels – her blonde hair having been done up in a bun behind her head.

"You look incredible," Elijah added with a hint of flirtatious that made Jenna blush – and Jeremy and Scarlett share a gross and worried look.

"Thank you," Jenna replied politely.

"We really must thank you again for such a wonderful tour this morning," Amelia then spoke up, voice soft, yet just as diplomatic as her brother's.

"Yes, it was most helpful. Much like those files from the Historical Society," Elijah pointed out, referring to what they'd borrowed from Jenna some time back.

"Oh, yes, they were marvellous. In fact I might have to borrow some of them again," Amelia raved, like a tiresome house wife stereotype.

"Well, I'm glad I could help – and if you want anything else, just ask," Jenna said with a warm smile before then looking over to Jeremy and Scarlett who were stood next to her, both frowning. Jenna unfortunately misinterpreted this and proceeded with introductions, which wasn't exactly necessary but no one was about to stop her. "By the way, this my nephew Jeremy, and his girlfriend Scarlett."

"Lovely to meet you both," Amelia said with a polite handshake, which Jeremy and Scarlett both cautiously shook. Much in the way Amelia had become accustom too in this town – especially when those she was shaking hands with, knew who she truly was.

"Yes, Jenna has told us a lot about you. She seems very proud of you, Jeremy," Elijah explained as he took his turn to shake their hands.

"Well, that's good to know," Jeremy said cooly with a smile to his aunt who beamed back at him.

"And as we understand it, Scarlett, you live here?" Amelia asked for clarification, as she gesture to the building they were in with a finger.

"Yes," Scarlett answered carefully. Already feeling like she'd mucked up when Amelia's blue eyes narrowed on her.

"How did that come to happen?" Amelia asked, before Damon appeared from behind her, walking around to join Scarlett at her side along with Jeremy and Jenna.

"Oh, that's a long and, frankly, boring story. Best save it for another time," Damon said as he patted Scarlett on the shoulder, while hitting the Originals with another of his trademarked smiles.

"Oh, I don't know, I've always enjoyed a good origin story," Elijah admitted. "What about you, Damon? What sort of stories do you like?"

"I've always had a soft spot for murder mysteries," Damon shrugged.

"Agatha Christie?" Amelia asked, looking Damon's way.

"More like Miss Scarlett, in the library with the lead pipe," Damon replied, teasing grin at his lips.

Amelia frowned before glancing over towards her brother. "Cluedo?" she inquired.

"Yes, I believe that was the reference," Elijah conceded with a narrowed stare at Damon. Scarlett would have hit him, but she felt that would only draw more attention than Damon had already brought himself. So instead she smiled along with him, until Jenna suggested the move over to the dinning table where they joined everyone else. Shortly after Jenna and Andie brought through the meal, and the small talk began. Small talk that Scarlett stayed out of for the most part, while sending Damon various forms of glares and irritated looks – for a number of reasons. One being Jeremy sudden involvement, two being his idiotic plan (which he was practically telling the Originals about with his constant innuendos) and three being that he'd locked Sarah up. In future she'd know better than to go through with a deal she'd made with Damon. So far it was leading to nothing but trouble for herself and her loved ones.

"I hate to break it to you, Damon," Jenna said while refilling his wine glass. "But according to Elijah and Amelia, your family is so not a founder of this town."

Scarlett hummed while chewing on her mouthful. "Maybe we should stage a riot or something," Scarlett suggested, earning a chuckle from a few of those around the table.

"So what's the deal with the Founding Families then?" Jeremy asked, before putting a forkful into his mouth and chewing while Elijah answered.

"Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the sixteen-nineties. Over the next hundred years they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution," Elijah explained while those around him ate.

"Because they were witches," Jenna teased.

"Yeah, but there's no tangible proof there were witches in Salem," Andie pointed out.

"Andie's a journalist. Big on facts," Damon explained, before sharing a smile and a wink with his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Scarlett sent Damon another glare, but he ignored her before both went back to eating, and Elijah continued with his story.

"Well, the lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighbouring settlement, so these witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field together and, uh burned," Elijah said with a haunting smile as he picked up his wine glass. "Some say you could hear the screams for miles, as they were consumed by the fire." Then the man completely changed tones as he pointed to a serving of something on the table and asked Alaric to pass it to him as he sipped his wine.

"I wouldn't repeat this to the Historical Society," Jenna laughed.

"Gives me a good idea about what to do to the Founding Families though," Scarlett mused, earning another round of chuckles, save from John, who glared her way. Much like Damon did with her however, she ignored him. Sharing a grin with Jeremy as she ate.

"Sounds a little like a ghost story to me," John spoke up, obviously not liking the bashing of the Founding Families, seeing as he was one of them.

"Well, every story has seedlings of truth to them," Amelia pointed out, a ghost of a smirk sent towards John as she placed her fork into her mouth. "I do hope our little tale hasn't offended you?"

"Not at all," John said casually, hands clasped together in front of him.

"Although if you did offend him, it would very much improve my evening," Scarlett spoke up again, making Jenna almost spit out the wine she'd been in the middle of swallowing.

"So, why do you two want to know the location of these alleged massacres?" Damon asked curiously, leaning forwards in his seat.

Elijah and Amelia shared a look, maintaining their smiles before they glanced around the table. "You know…a healthy historian's curiosity, of course," Elijah answered to the table, before he and his sister honed in on Damon.

"Of course," Damon shrugged in agreement, before he went back to eating his meal. While Scarlett glared at him and shook her head. He was far to loud for subtlety, he really was. To be honest, Scarlett was amazed that with each bold move that Damon made, the Originals didn't just kill him and the rest of them. Maybe their threat had been an empty one, or maybe they were just showing restraint on behalf of the deal they had with Elena. Either way, Scarlett couldn't see them letting much more of this get by before someone got hurt. Most likely herself and Damon.

"Is everything all right, Scarlett?" Amelia suddenly asked, snapping the girl from her thoughts as she turned to Amelia, humming as if she'd missed the question. "I asked if everything was all right?" Amelia repeated politely.

"Of course it is," Damon scoffed, answering for the momentarily startled Scarlett. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, not that it's any of my business, but the young lady here has been sending you a number of glares throughout the meal," Amelia pointed out, worrying Scarlett as her eyes widened. If she'd noticed that little detail, how much else was she aware off. _Did she know what they were planning, or had she just been really obvious with her glares?_ Scarlett wondered.

"Is there any particular reason for that?" Amelia inquired.

"Sure, I don't like him," Scarlett answered plainly, to which those in the know laughed, assuring Elijah and Amelia that this was a normal repertoire for the two of them.

"Yeah, I'm not too fond of her myself," Damon admitted with his usual grin and shrug. "I mean she pisses like a dog around here." A bit on the nose, in Scarlett's opinion, but she could play that way if he wanted to.

"Just wait until you see what I left in your bed," Scarlett cut in, before filling her mouth with another forkful as those around her laughed heavily. It may not have been appropriate dinner talk, but then again, most of the people around the table, were hardly the appropriate type. Or maybe it was just because she was making fun of Damon and everyone always loved to laugh at Damon when they got the chance. And like the charismatic man he was, he took it with a charming, forced, smile and a subtle glare towards Scarlett.

"Okay, not that I don't love insulting Damon, but maybe we can can it on the doggy and toilet talk?" Alaric offered, grin on his face in spite of his words.

"Agreed," Elijah said, after swallowing his bite. "Besides, I'm surprised Ms. Salvatore would allow you two to speak in such a manor." _You should hear what we say with her around_ , Scarlett thought, _never mind what she says about us_.

"Speaking off, where is young Miss Sarah Salvatore?" Amelia asked, looking to Damon as if she knew he held the answer.

"Yeah, is she okay?" Jenna added with a frown. "I've been texting her all day but she hasn't gotten back to me."

"She's visiting an old friend," Damon answered smoothly, as if pre-rehearsed, which Scarlett wouldn't put past him. "I don't know why she's not answering her phone though," he said in well played concern. "I'll try her later and if I can't get her then I'll drive up and check on her." After that he answered all the questions that followed about Sarah's trip away, obviously having crafted an entire story in his head. A story he'd failed to tell Scarlett about, which only made him all the more lucky when no one asked her anything about this trip. It was probably for the best though, she had enough to worry about without trying to keep some made up story about Sarah straight. She was far more occupied with how she was going to get Amelia alone, so that she could kill her. And with Damon practically giving the game away with his obvious jokes, it would amaze Scarlett if neither of them saw it coming now. But surprise was all she and Damon had, so they'd better make the most of it, or else they'd all be dead by the end of the night.

* * *

It hadn't exactly been the weekend she was hoping for.

A nice quiet get away from everything, that was what Stefan had offered her. And during their get away – on the very first night in fact – they'd been attacked by werewolves. To no ones surprise it had been because of the sun and moon curse.

Tyler had connected the dots for Jules' werewolf pack about Elena and Katherine, who then decided to try and grab both the doppelgänger and the moonstone in one night. Tyler hadn't been aware of what the sacrifice really involved. He hadn't known they were going to have to kill Elena in order to break their werewolf curses. Once he'd learnt that, he'd let Stefan go and he'd killed the other werewolf, saving Elena.

She'd been grateful for that, and had hoped that would be the end of the drama, at least for their weekend away. But then Stefan had found out her dirty little secret. The one about how she truly intended to sacrifice herself, that it was part of her deal with Elijah and Amelia. Stefan hadn't been happy about that, and if their night hadn't already been ruined, that revolution certainly finished it off.

Elena had been grateful that Sarah had called her that night. She'd needed the reminder that she at least had one friend on her side, backing her decision and seeing her point of view. No one else seemed to understand, or even care about her choice. In any case, it helped getting off to sleep a little easier, and she'd appreciated that.

The next morning, Stefan was still sulking. In fact, he and Elena hadn't said a word to each other all morning. He'd made her breakfast, but then left to stand out on the pier before she could arrive and thank him. Elena had expected him to come back in at some point, but even after she'd eaten, showered and gotten dressed, he still hadn't come back inside. So while she waited, she'd curled up on the couch in the living room of her parents' lake house. Reading one of Jonathan Gilbert's old journals, that they'd found in a secret closet – along with a scary amount of vampire hunting tools that had belonged to Elena's parents.

 _The idea of a dramatic free and calm weekend really had been a pipe dream_ , Elena thought, before she'd resumed reading the journal. To her surprise, Stefan ended up featuring in journal, but in dates after his death. And the Stefan described in this journal was nothing like the Stefan Elena had known. Hers being an old mature and controlled vampire, while the journal described him as monster who's only desire was to take blood, at any cost.

When Stefan did finally come back in, he explained his initial few days as a vampire, telling Elena mostly about himself, until she started to ask about Sarah, and Damon. So he told her about what they'd been like as well. Oddly enough, Damon had been the best behaved out of all three, while Stefan and Sarah had been going on a rampage of sorts. That was, until they'd met Lexi, who started to help them adjust.

That had been when story time ended however, as Stefan found himself unable to continue after bringing up Lexi and her first few days with him and Sarah. Elena completely understood. She'd been his best friend after all, and it had only been a few months since her death. The wound was still fresh, and that void in his life would not be easily filled, or forgotten. So she'd let him leave it there, before they pottered about the lake house for the rest of the day. They didn't say or do much, not wanting to spark the looming fight over the fact that she was planning to sacrifice herself. So while Stefan had done odd jobs that needed done, Elena had remained on the couch with Jonathan's diary, skipping past the parts that involved Stefan – she'd decided he could tell her about those, when and if he wanted to.

The day went by surprisingly fast, and before Elena knew it, night had fallen and Stefan was walking back into the room, having done everything he could think to do. Thinking it best to break the ice fast, Elena said, "Johnathan Gilbert got crazier and crazier," as Stefan approached her. When he then stopped to lean against one of the wooden beams, Elena realised he wasn't going to be coming any closer.

It hurt her a little, but they were fighting, and truth be told if they weren't in the middle of their getaway weekend, she probably wouldn't want to be near him either. He wasn't listening to her, and was refusing to acknowledge her point of view on the matter, or how she felt about her friends and family being in danger because of her. When she'd told him last night, he'd thrown her decision back in her face like she was an idiot, and that had hurt.

He'd known it too, and that was probably part of the reason he was keeping his distance, to stop himself from hurting her again. He wasn't happy with her decision, but he didn't want to hurt her by arguing. So instead he'd avoided her and the topic, and kept himself busy. _Was this how the rest of their relationship was going to be?_ Elena had wondered in a moment of panic. In the days leading up to her sacrifice, would Stefan just ignore her and pout over her decision, rather than spending that time with her?

"I guess that's what what happens when you spend your life obsessed with vampires," Elena sighed, dropping the journal down on the coffee table in front of her before then grabbing another of the Gilbert journals from the side table next to her. Ironically, she too was beginning to think she was going crazy with everything that was going on in her life. Maybe she was cursed?

Scratch that, she definitely was.

Sighing through her nose, Elena then began flicking through the pages of the journal in her hands, trying to find where she'd left off, having lost her place. When she did, she re-read the last line on the previous page before turning and frowning at what she read next. "He researched the Originals," Elena said quietly, but Stefan had heard her.

"You kidding," Stefan said in a somewhat empty tone. Despite that though, he did still join Elena on the couch, as she turned to hold the journal between them.

"Later in life, look," Elena said before she began flicking through the next few pages, holding her place while simultaneously looking ahead. "Pages and pages of questions and scribbles." She then stopped when saw a drawing of a dagger that took up a whole page, with various paragraphs written all around it. "What's that?" She asked, suddenly taken in by the drawing. There hadn't been any other sketches in the journal of this size, and it was taking up almost a whole page so it had to be important.

From one of the paragraphs around the dagger, Elena started to read. "The wood from one tree and one tree alone, an ancient white oak would bring death to an Original vampire. When the tree burned, all hope was thought lost…" Finished reading, Elena turned to Stefan as they both realised what Jonathan Gilbert had been doing. "He was trying to figure out how to kill an Original."

Licking his lips uneasily, Stefan stood as Elena went back to reading the journal with a new found interest and sudden hope. For what she wasn't sure, but she felt compelled to carry on reading aloud. "But the ash from the tree was save and witches forged a dagger to which the ash could be bonded. This alchemic bond provides the necessary poison…"

"Elena," Stefan said soberly, now stood up and pacing before her.

"I wonder if this is true. I mean, do you think this dagger actually exists?" Elena asked, still skimming the page until Stefan answered her question.

"I know it does." At that Elena's head had shot up, frowning as Stefan lowered his head before continuing with, "Because John gave it to Damon – it and another just like it."

Elena considered this for a moment, before looking back down at the journal and reading over what she'd skimmed, confirming it to herself and then to Stefan. "John gave Damon the weapon that's supposed to kill an Original." She paused, holding up the journal to show Stefan as she pointed to the dagger on the page. "Two daggers just like this one?" Stefan nodded, ashamed for having kept it from Elena. Although Elena wasn't as concerned by this as she then read aloud from the journal once more, "It must be brandished by humans alone, for it will bring death to all demons who wield it."

Before she could blink, Stefan had the journal out of her hands and was reading over the text Elena just had, confirming it with his own eyes. "John's trying to get Damon killed," Stefan then declared, throwing the journal down on the coffee table with the others before yanking out his phone and calling Damon.

"Wait, what do you mean John's trying to get Damon killed?" Elena asked, but Stefan only held his hand up to Elena, waiting for the phone ring. And just when he thought his brother had picked up instantly, it went to voice mail.

"Why is your phone off? Call me," Stefan snapped before ending the message.

"What's going on, Stefan?" Elena then asked, needing to know as Stefan let out a sigh mixed in annoyance, tension and dread.

"Damon's planning on killing Elijah and Amelia," Stefan answered as Elena stood up, an angry glare forming on her face. "Tonight," Stefan then added before Elena could ask _when_ Damon was planning on doing this completely stupid thing.

"No. No, Sarah wouldn't let him. She wouldn't risk my deal with them," Elena protested, a fear forming in her mind that Sarah too might have turned against her wishes, leaving her all along with no one on her side.

And as if somehow knowing it was what Elena needed to hear, Stefan said, "No, she wouldn't," which then prompted Elena's frown to deepen. She stared at him, waiting for him to continue until he broke eye contact by looking downward. Elena said his name, prompting him to look back up before he then looked up past her, only for his head to then drop right back down before he finally continued. "Which is why Damon locked her up."

"What?!" Elena exclaimed in outrage. "Where? Where did he put her?!"

"I don't know," Stefan answered defensively, quickly lifting his hands up. "And for the record, I'm not happy about this either."

"But you were happy enough to sit here and not tell me about it!" Elena snapped. "For God's sake Stefan, she's your sister. And just because she sides me with over you and Damon, you think that makes it all right to lock her up?"

"No, of course not–" Stefan tried to say, but Elena was too angry to stop herself from continuing on.

"But you still did it, Stefan! And for how long has she even been locked up?"

Stefan grimaced. "Since last night."

Elena glared him in pure hot rage, so angry she didn't even know what to say until finally she did. "Has Damon even been to see her?"

"I don't know," Stefan answered honestly, shaking his head while continuing to avoid Elena's eyes. And for Elena, that was the last straw. She couldn't look at Stefan anymore, letting out a heated huff of air before storming off towards the bedroom. "Elena?" Stefan called after her, but she only responded with the slam of the bedroom door, before she frantically called Sarah. She had too, just to be sure, but as suspected she didn't pick up. After all, why on earth would Damon lock Sarah up and give her her phone.

But she had been the only one on her side, the only person she could truly talk to and the only one she wanted to talk to right now. And she couldn't. So Elena remained in her room, Stefan out in the living room, while she tried to subside her anger. Clenching and unclenching her fists over and over again, trying not to imagine how scared and alone Sarah was.

No, she wouldn't be scared. Sarah wasn't the type to get scared. She had fears yes, but she was brave and could protect herself. Just not from her devious brothers apparently. She was out numbered against them and so was Elena. Well not anymore. She was going back to Mystic Falls and she was going to help her friend, like Sarah had with her. And together they would stop Damon and Stefan from pushing them around.

And so, she started packing up hers and Stefan's things, throwing the suitcases onto the bed before throwing everything in at random, making no attempt to separate hers and Stefan's items. She was in a hurry, and she didn't have time to waste on arranged packing. Her friend needed her.

* * *

"Would anyone care for some cognac? I have a bottle that I've been saving for ages," Damon offered, the pre-agreed upon bait that he would use to lure Elijah into the study with. His blue eyes briefly met Scarlett's making sure she knew it was go time. She didn't acknowledge him with a nod – that would be too obvious – but from her look they both knew they were ready as Damon stood up from his seat.

"None for me thanks. Nine bottles of wine is my limit," Alaric said humbly, as he pushed his wine glass away.

"And his limit is zero, as he's underage," Jenna then added as she pointed to Jeremy who shook his head, while the adults among the group shared a smirk that could only be obtained with age. Scarlett offered Jeremy a sympathetic shrug, which he acknowledged, before everyone began to stand.

"The gentlemen should take their drinks in the study,' Andie announced, glancing around the room in a dazed fashion. It was a completely dumb thing to say, seeing as only Damon and Elijah were going to be drinking, but more so than that, it seemed even more obvious than Damon inviting Elijah into the study himself. In fact, had Damon directed him himself, it might have actually seemed more natural.

That however then marked another time the Originals seemed to ignore the obviously compelled woman. Anyone could see this was a setup, at least those in the know. John obviously knew from the suspicious way he looked at Andie. But somehow Alaric, Elijah and Amelia were all fooled by this. Scarlett didn't think so. She imagined Alaric was preoccupied with Jenna – worrying over her. But for Elijah and Amelia to be fooled like this meant they were either dumb, or insanely confident, to the point that they would let Damon enact his plan because they were so certain it would fail.

Suddenly Scarlett was feeling as if her and Damon's trap, was actually inside another trap set by the Originals. If it was just her she'd call it off, or at the very least re-think their strategy. However, Damon would never go for it. He was determined to get ride of the Originals, and he wouldn't be swayed so easily. He'd rather spring the possible trap, just so he could get to the confrontation that he seemed to enjoy so much.

"I have to say," Elijah spoke, drop his napkin down on his place at the table. "The food was almost as wonderful as the company."

"I like you," Andie said with a flirtatious grin towards Elijah, before the Original vampire followed Damon out into the hallway and towards the study. Now it was time for Scarlett to make her move on Amelia.

"May I help with the cleaning up?" Amelia offered, already reaching for her own plate and Elijah's.

"Actually," Scarlett spoke up, before Jenna had the chance to say yes to Amelia's polite request. "Could I have a word with you in privet about something."

"Everything all right?" Jenna asked, being the carer that she was. Even though Scarlett wasn't her responsibility, she still cared about her, and probably still would if – God forbid – she and Jeremy broke up. She might not be a mother, but she was definitely aunt.

"Yeah, I'm just wondering if Amelia can help can help me with some personal family history, being a researcher and all." Jenna nodded in acceptance off the answer, before handing off a stack of dishes she'd collected to John, ordering him to take them through to the kitchen while Andie held the door open for him. Amelia also handed off the plates she'd collected to Alaric who took them through the back. While that was going on, Scarlett looked to Jeremy, who asked with his hands if Scarlett wanted him to join her. She shook her head, and indicated for him to follow the others out. He didn't seem to happy, but then Jenna grabbed him, and regaled him about privacy while leading him out of the room.

Now alone, Scarlett lead Amelia over towards the fireplace – and the couch where she'd hidden the dagger. "So, what was it you wanted to ask me about?" Amelia inquired in her ever polite manor and sophisticated way.

Scarlett had already thought up a question prior to this, knowing she'd need a genuine one to both fool Amelia and lure her in. But now that she was stood alone with the Original vampire, she actually found herself curious as to what the answer would be. However, she still proceeded cautiously, asking first, "How much do you know about me?"

"In regards to what?"

"My supernatural side," Scarlett clarified.

Amelia nodded once, before answering with, "I know that your a werewolf, but your also not a normal one. That necklace around your neck gives you the added ability to control your change at will. Not only that but it allows you certain abilities normal werewolves don't possess, such as this partial change that I've heard about from Jonas. Your classic werewolf abilities also appear to have increased exponentially, such as your strength and your sense of smell. All now stronger than that of a normal werewolf. By that logic it's wise to also assume that your bite is just as toxic as it is without your necklace – which if removed, turns you back into a normal werewolf." Scarlett was a little dazed, finding out just how much Amelia knew about her. But at the same time, she wasn't all that surprised.

She recovered herself, straightening up as she nodded back at Amelia. "Just checking," she said, to which Amelia let out an almost missable grin. The phrase, 'knowledge is power,' never felt more true to Scarlett than right now. In the information Amelia had just supplied her with, she could see how strong Amelia was, simply by knowing her very strengths and weakness.

There was a pause, before Scarlett asked carefully, "Have you come across other werewolves before?"

"Yes. Me and my brother have encountered many of your kind throughout our lifetime." No specific mention of numbers, just a simple yes. This woman knew how to use information, and also protect it, as Scarlett was now learning.

"Which is long,' Scarlett said factually, in reference to Amelia's lifetime.

"Yes."

Another pause, hesitation about opening up. Asking the question she'd chosen out, the one she genuinely was curious about. She had to be careful, but she had to proceed. For Jeremy. "Have you ever come across someone like me?"

There was beat before Amelia answered, politely allowing the tension to build for a mere second before she answered with a surprising openness to her voice. "I assume your referring to your necklace, rather than yourself?" Amelia inquired specifically, which apparently made all the difference. Nevertheless, Scarlett answered with a nod of the head.

To that, Amelia stepped towards Scarlett, the two of them now stood in front of the couch that Scarlett had stashed the dagger in. All she needed was for Amelia to turn around and give her enough time to get the dagger out and stab her in the back. But she was getting uneasy, as Amelia stood so close to her, hand reaching out to gently hold up Scarlett's slim black crystal necklace, without removing it. The Original examined it, from in between herself and Scarlett, studying it for a moment, before saying, "It's very much like a daylight ring, isn't it?"

Nerves briefly getting the better of her, Scarlett found herself nodding a little too fast. "Yeah. We've made that comparison before," admitted Scarlett.

"Am I right to assume it only works for you? If for example you gave this to another werewolf…?"

Scarlett was already shaking her head. "I tried it during the last full moon. It didn't work. That was when we learnt it only works for me." Amelia nodded, brow lowering a little as she descended into a deep thought.

Then suddenly she let the necklace go. Stepping back half a step as her hands moved into her raincoat pockets, and the necklace bounced off Scarlett's chest, before coming to a rest in its usual spot, inline with her collar bones. "I'm afraid I must admit, Scarlett, I've never come across something like this. Nor has my brother. I've never even heard a rumour about it. What you've stumbled upon may very well one of the most unique and hidden items in the whole supernatural world. Do you mind if I ask where you got it from?" Amelia asked, having taking the bait and now fully involved in the conversation. Only problem, Scarlett was also deeply invested in the conversation, almost forgetting about the entire reason she'd started it.

"It was my mothers," Scarlett answered, unable to keep the sudden sadness from her voice, before realising she had probably just given away a valuable piece of information.

She remained calm however, granting Amelia time to ponder this before she then turned away in though, hand on her chin. And that was Scarlett's chance. Amelia was deep in thought, her back exposed as she walked a slow few steps away. She was beginning to pace, but she still had a ways to go before the fire place where she would inevitably, have to turn back around. Scarlett saw the whole thing play out in her head, ran a test run through her mind, and saw that she could do it.

Moving quickly, quietly, and unnoticeably, Scarlett reached into the couch cushion, pulling out the dagger, and took aim at Amelia's back. She had to get her straight through the heart, as if using a stake. Thanks to her training with Sarah though, she new exactly what to do and how to get the dagger expertly through Amelia's heart. Because as Sarah had lectured her, yes, there was indeed a right way and wrong way to kill someone. But thanks to all Sarah had taught her, Scarlett was ready for this, stepping forward and ready to stab Amelia with the dagger.

"Hey, guys," came the voice of Jeremy from behind Scarlett, making her what to scream. Not only had she been so tense that a pin dropping would have made her jump, but knowing Jeremy was in the room with them meant that if Amelia saw the dagger and what Scarlett was about to do, she'd go for Jeremy first. With that in mind, Scarlett some how found all the grace, speed and agility needed to smoothly fall back into her original place by the couch, turn around to face Jeremy and hide the dagger by holding it against the front of her chest, now hidden from Amelia's view as she too turned around.

Scarlett was pretty sure in that moment she was going to throw up from the motion sickness she was experiencing, though miraculously she managed to stay on her feet. She did however, easily find the extra strength needed to send Jeremy a wide eyed glare. Wisely though, he ignored it, acting as if all was fine. He was stood in the archway to the living room, connecting to the front hallway, and was now gesturing towards the dinning room archway. "Jenna said desert will be ready soon, so we should probably sit back down at the time."

Nodding with a friendly smile – but still obviously thinking about what Scarlett had said – Amelia began to make her way back towards the dinner table, unaware of the dagger Scarlett was still holding out of sight. She adjusted her hold on the dagger however, moving it to her side so that if Amelia turned around she still wouldn't see it. Once she'd done that, she hit Jeremy with another, even more wide eyed glare, making it clear he'd just screwed everything up for her.

Subtly pointing to the dagger however, Jeremy shook his head before stepping towards her and taking the dagger. He then brought out his phone, quickly typing something in before handing it over to Scarlett. Frowning, she took the phone to read the text Jeremy had drafted, yet not sent her, while he hid the dagger back in beneath the couch cushion.

 _You can't use the dagger it might kill you_

Scarlett frowned even more, not understanding as she looked back up at Jeremy who was ready to meet her gaze. He answered her, 'what?' expression with his own, 'trust me,' look. Confused though she may be, Scarlett decided to play it safe, and go along with what ever Jeremy thought he knew for now, though she couldn't' see Damon being happy about this. She handed the phone back over to him, and once he deleted the drafted text – making sure the Originals could never find out about it – the two walked back over to join Amelia at the dinning table.

"Is there anything else you could tell me about your mother, if you're comfortable talking about her, of course?" Amelia asked as Scarlett and Jeremy sat down opposite Amelia. However Scarlett wasn't about to hand out anymore information to Amelia, much less personal information about her dead mother.

What she knew probably wasn't that useful to the Original anyway. Most of what she remembered was just memories of her mother being, well a mom. Looking after her, playing with her, taking her to things, feeding her. You know, mom stuff. "She died when I was young," Scarlett answered. "She never told me anything about the supernatural world. Up until her death, everything was relatively normal." The death it's self wasn't all that normal but Scarlett didn't feel like sharing that particular tale with Amelia of all people. Same went for the way her dad had treated her mom.

"What was her name?" Amelia asked, as people began to return to the dinning room. Jenna and John coming through the door that lead to the kitchen, and Damon, Alaric, Andie and Elijah entire through the archway.

Scarlett opened her mouth to answer the question, but Damon got in first with his usual rudeness mixed in with charm. "Sarah Salvatore," he answered, as they all began sitting back down, bar Jenna who remained stood by her seat. "Her mother is Sarah Salvatore," Damon repeated, a surprising amount of protection and pride in his voice. He played it off though, continuing with a smirk and his apparent carefree attitude. "Or guardian, or whatever the term is. Honestly I don't really care, she's just another mouth to feed in my book. Sarah insists she's worth the investment but personal, I don't see it." It was hard to tell whether the protective prideful tone was an act, or the half-arsed, 'I don't care,' tone was. Then again, that was in part what made Damon so good at lying. Even when he put the truth side by side with a lie, you still weren't sure which was which.

"Would that make Scarlett here a Salvatore?" Elijah then enquired, pointing a delicate finger in the direction of Scarlett before all eyes looked curiously towards Damon. The only present Salvatore.

Damon shrugged in the same uncaring way, and the tone was consistent too. But what he said did not match with the way he presented it, something which everybody seemed to notice, except Damon. "She already is basically. She's got everything but the name."

"Have you ever considered changing your name?" Andie asked with a curious grin, looking to Scarlett. Again though, Damon cut her off and answered for her.

"There's no point. We all know she's going to marry the heir to the Gilbert name over there," Damon said with a nod towards Jeremy who began to blush along with Scarlett, as the two shared a look and then sank into their seats. The grownups around them smiled – well, bar John, who seemed to clench his fist at the thought.

"How very sweet," Amelia said politely, though Scarlett could tell she didn't appreciate Damon's approach to the subject, in the way in which he embarrassed the young couple. _Maybe Sarah had been right about not killing these guys,_ she thought. They could always help shut Damon up from time to time.

"And totally adorable," Jenna added teasingly, as she pinched Jeremy's cheek before he whacked her hand away, and a chuckle radiated through the room.

"Just wait until the Scrappy Gilbert babies start popping out," Damon continued with a grin, as Scarlett threw daggers at him with her eyes once more. It seemed they'd come full circle at this God awful dinner party.

"Okay, I think we've teased them enough," Jenna said sympathetically.

"I quite agree," added Elijah before looking to the couple. "And love is not something to joke about. At least not in my opinion."

"Really, cause I _love_ making fun of it," Damon exaggerated with a roll of the eyes.

"Yeah, well, you're done for tonight," Jenna said in a factly tone, almost daring Damon to challenge her and see what happened. But with a grin, Damon raised both hands, motioning that he'd back off. Satisfied, Jenna then turned to the rest of the table and announced, "Desert's taking a little longer than I thought apparently, sorry. I usually just unwrap food." Everybody chuckled as Jenna made her way towards the door, before then looking back at Damon pointedly and saying, "Whatever you do, don't tell Sarah that I said that."

"My lips are sealed," Damon promised, as Jenna exited the room.

There was then a natural silence before Andie spoke up a little uneasily. "So…I know this is a social thing, but I would really love to ask you both some more questions about the work that you're doing here," Andie said to both the Originals, clearly fishing for an interview that she could use in one of her local stories.

"We'd love to answer, wouldn't we Amelia?" Elijah said with a pleasant smile as he looked to his sister sat next to him.

"Of course," Amelia agreed.

"That's great, thank you," Andie said with an eager smile, before looking over to Alaric. "Ric, could you do me a favour and grab the notebook out of my bag?" With a nod, Alaric stood up quietly, and walked back into the living room where Andie's handbag was.

"Elijah, did John tell you he's Elena's uncle-slash-father?" Damon asked abruptly, while glaring at John from the opposite end of the table. Scarlett briefly wondered what the reason for that might be, but then remembered it was John and there were more reasons to glare at him than not. Also there were a couple of really good reasons to kill him while they were at it.

"Yes, we're well aware of that,' Elijah answered, seemingly uninterested in whatever point Damon was trying to make.

"Of course, she hates him, so there's absolutely no need to keep him on the endangered species list," Damon added, in reference to the list of people Elijah and Amelia were to protect as part of their deal with Elena. Because even if John was a pain in the ass, to literally everyone he came into contact with, he was still Elena's family. And the deal was they would protect Elena's _family_ and friends. _Maybe it was time for a renegotiation_ , Scarlett thought while watching the conversation play out, eyes going back and forth between those that spoke.

"With all do respect, Damon, I think we'll check with Elena before we do anything – shall we say, too rash," Amelia said, forcing a smile towards Damon who forced his own one back at her.

"No, Ric, it's in the front pocket," Andie suddenly spoke up, staring past the Originals and into the living room where Alaric was fumbling with her handbag, still trying to find her notebook. "On the – You know what? Excuse me, guys, sorry," Andie said before getting up to get it herself and joining Alaric in the living room.

"What I'd like to know, is how do you two intend on killing Klaus?" John asked openly, staring intently at the two Originals who hardly seemed phased at all by his tough, protective, disciplined act. He was after all only human, and hardly on their level of intellect. Nor could he ever hope to have the experience that two ancient vampires had. On most of those fronts though, Scarlett and the others were all out matched. But still she watched, sat in her seat next to Jeremy, the two wisely remaining quiet while the grownups talked.

"Gentlemen, there's obviously a few things in need of clearing up so I'll explain on behalf of my sister and myself," Elijah began to speak, addressing the two men still at the table with him, both of whom were awaiting some serious and in depth answers. "We allow you to live solely to keep an eye on Elena for us. We also allow Elena to remain in her house, living her life with her friends as as a courtesy. And yes, I suppose it could be argued that it's part of our deal. But if you were to assume that as part of the deal, then one should also assume that should anyone on her list of loved ones try and interfere with our plans, then they would forgo the protection Elena has requested for them. And if those people on Elena's list were to become a liability, then me and my sister would have no choice, but to take Elena away."

"And you think we're just going to let you?" Jeremy snapped bravely, an underlying tone of anger to his voice, as all eyes snapped to him.

"What you have to understand, Jeremy, is that we don't wish to do what my brother has just said," Amelia interjected calmly from across the table. "We're just making sure that everyone at this table understand where they stand."

"Yeah, well, it sounds an awful lot like a threat," Jeremy stated plainly, before feeling Scarlett's hand grab his from beneath the table. He glanced over her, seeing her eyes wide, begging him to shut up and stop challenging two of the oldest vampires in existence. Right or not, he wouldn't survive a fight with these two. None of them would.

"Jeremy," Scarlett said lowly, warning him off as she squeezed his hand.

"That's because it is a threat," Elijah said equally plainly, the two Originals now staring at Jeremy from across the table, obviously not all that happy with his manners. Jeremy turned to face them, as did Scarlett, hoping to beg for mercy on behalf of her boyfriend – when instead both their eyes widened as Elijah and Amelia suddenly screamed. Each with a silver dagger now stabbed through their hearts and pointing out the front of their chests.

Everyone was out of their seats like a gun had gone off, which it more or less had. It was only then Scarlett noticed who it was that had stabbed each of the Originals. There was Alaric, stood behind Elijah with one dagger, and then Andie of all people stood behind Amelia with the other. Only she wasn't as confident or as comfortable as Alaric had been with the weapon.

That said, they had clearly worked, as they all watched the two Originals' skin turn grey. The standard throbbing black veins of a dead vampire appearing all over their skin before they both went limp in their chairs. Once they did, and they were truly dead, Alaric and Andie pulled their daggers from each of the Originals.

Still in shock at the sudden surprise attack – and it was most certain a surprise for Scarlett, as well as everyone else – everyone stood still as Alaric stepped forward and placed his dagger on the table, looking solely at Damon. "Now, get rid of them, before Jenna comes back with dessert."

"All right," Damon said without a word of argument, also stunned by what had just happened. His eyes then flicked over to a trembling Andie, who was still holding her own dagger. Staring at the blood that now ran along the blade. He seemed like he wanted to go to her, or at least that was the impression Scarlett was getting, but at the same time, he was hesitant to do so.

In the end he moved, but only because Alaric snapped at him. "Now, Damon," and with that, everyone started moving. Damon coming around to help Alaric lift Elijah out of his seat while Scarlett and Jeremy grabbed Amelia. John, observed, before actually doing something useful in consoling Andie, resting the dagger she had back on the table with the other. It was good to know he wasn't completely evil, Scarlett thought. But at the same time, she was pretty sure he was just doing it to get out of moving the Originals' bodies.

They moved as fast as they could. Damon and Alaric lead the way down to the cellar with Elijah's body carried between them – Damon at the head and Alaric at the base. Scarlett and Jeremy followed, with her taking most of the weight at Amelia's head, with Jeremy holding up the legs as they descended the stairs. Having been prepared, the door was already unlocked, so all Damon had to do was knock it open with his backside, before they all walked in and dropped the deceased Originals on the ground.

"You said there wasn't going to be any violence," Alaric mumbled towards Damon, though his eyes remained on the two Originals that they'd just finished moving.

Damon snorted. "Says the guy that did all the killing." He went to walk past Alaric, and towards Scarlett and Jeremy who were waiting by the door, but Alaric caught his arm and swung him back around to meet him.

"Hey, I took the shot because I saw an opening, not because I planned to do this with Jenna in the house. Now you can't lie to me like that. Any of you," Alaric explained angrily, sending Scarlett and Jeremy a pointed look briefly before going back to Damon. He did have a point. Even if Damon hadn't wanted to tell him, that didn't mean she and Jeremy couldn't. That had been a mistake, a mistake that had put Jenna in danger and one that Sarah certainly would never have gone along with. Scarlett was starting to release just how much of a bad influence Damon actually was.

And speaking of Damon, the vampire was already shrugging, careless as always, and about to turn away again when Alaric slapped his arm and he turned back around once more. "Hey, I am your friend, damn it. And you don't have any friends. So no more lying," Alaric said sternly, meeting Damon's blue eyes until the vampire nodded. Once again trying not to make a big deal out of something that obviously meant something to him.

"All right kids, back up stairs," Damon said as he turned back towards Scarlett and Jeremy, fingers pointing up at the celling. "Dessert time," he declared cheerfully.

"Can I at least get changed out of this stupid thing first?" Scarlett asked, gesturing to the overdressed dress she had on.

"No. Because you need to learn to dress up more and it amuses me to see you suffer," Damon said smugly as he turned Scarlett around and pushed her out the cellar with both hands on her shoulders.

"Hate you," Scarlett grumbled as Damon continued to push her up the stairs with Alaric and Jeremy trailing behind them.

"And I you," Damon replied, before giving Scarlett a little extra shove on the final step, sending her stumbling into the hallway before she turned around to glare at him. But Damon was already striding off towards the living room without even an acknowledgement to Scarlett. With a glare, she followed after him before entering the living room to find him tenderly hugging Andie by the fireplace.

"Are you all right?" Damon asked softly, breaking apart from the hug but still holding Andie's face in his hands, while hers rested on his, not wanting to lose his touch.

She nodded, but scared tears still pricked her eyes. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

"Thank you for doing that," Damon said, which Scarlett personal found odd considering Damon had probably somehow compelled her into doing it anyway. But then a thought crossed her mind, what if he hadn't compelled her to murdered Amelia? What if that had been Andie's free willing choice to do so, to save them all from the Originals? Especially Damon?

"And for the record," Damon said in his smooth charming voice. His grin bringing a smile to Andie's small screen face. "You, are my personal hero today."

"Stop it," Andie said, cheeks blushing out of embarrassment.

"Not a chance," Damon said with a smirk. "That was totally hot," he added, making Andie chuckle, before he cut her off with a deep kiss that surprised Scarlett. At first she'd thought she was just a compelled bimbo that he used more so as a blood bag than anything else. But after seeing that little interaction, she was pretty sure she did see something else between the vampire and news reporter.

 _My God, I'm starting to sound like Sarah_ , Scarlett thought as she grimaced.

"You all right?" Jeremy asked, as he and Alaric entered the living room behind her.

"Yeah. Just having a pretty scary thought," Scarlett admitted, her grimace still in place as she turned to Jeremy.

"Should I ask?" Jeremy said with a teasing grin.

"I guess the Salvatores are just having more of an affect on me than I realised," Scarlett surmised, arms folding.

"Well, they are technically your family now, right?" Jeremy reminded her, which brought an uncontrollable smile to Scarlett's lips.

"Yeah," agreed Scarlett, before watching as Andie walked back over to the dinning table to join Alaric and John. "Excuse me a sec," Scarlett said to Jeremy before she marched her way over towards Damon who was still stood by the fireplace, watching Andie as she sat back down.

"All right. I helped you kill both the Originals, now tell me where Sarah is," Scarlett ordered.

Damon turned to her, one eyebrow lowered as he stared at her with mocking blue eyes. "Eh, what help? I think you'll find _my_ girlfriend and _my_ friend did all the work."

"Yeah, and if it wasn't for me and _my_ boyfriend you'd still have an extra body to carry down stairs," Scarlett reminded him.

"Point taken," Damon conceded halfheartedly before nodding towards the door. "Come on, let's go and get her."

They turned to leave then and there, but didn't even make it out of the living room before Damon's phone went off. "It's Stefan, just give me a minute," Damon said as he answered, leaving Scarlett to huff in front of him as she almost instantly began to tap her foot impatiently. "Hey, Stef. Good news, our Original problem has just been…" Damon's cheerful voice trailed off, catching Scarlett's attention before she focused her hearing on the phone conversation.

"Did you use the daggers on them?" Stefan asked urgently.

"Of course we did," Damon scoffed in an obvious sort of way.

"Did you take them out?" Stefan then fired out.

"What?" Damon asked with a confused frown.

"Did you take the daggers out of Elijah and Amelia?!" Stefan repeated, voice raised.

"Yeah, why?" Damon asked.

"You need to put those daggers back in them right now." Before Damon had a chance to ask, 'why,' Stefan continued. "If you remove the daggers after killing them they come back to life. They'll only stay dead if the dagger remains inside them."

Damon's eyes shot to Scarlett's, both sets of blue widening as they released the same thing at the same time. Instantly both turned and ran back down the stairs, skidding to a stop in front of the open cellar door, only to find it now empty. "Damn it!" Damon shouted, before lifting the phone back up to his ear. "The well mannered twins are gone, Stefan."

"You lost them?!" Stefan shouted form down the phone.

"Well how was I supposed to know we had to keep the daggers inside them!" Damon shouted back. "It's not like these things came with an instruction manual." Damon's eyes then moved over to Scarlett, as he snapped his fingers at her and then pointed at the ground. "Yo, bloodhound, start sniffing."

"Don't bother, they'll be coming here," Stefan sighed out, already knowing how the Originals would respond to the attempt on their lives.

"To get Elena," Damon finished, before looking back to Scarlett. An idea having formed in behind his eyes. "Don't worry brother, we'll be with you soon. Until then, stay in doors and keep your windows locked tight." With that Damon hung up, before rolling his head towards the staircase. "Come on, Scrappy, we're gonna need your bone boy."


	31. The Bitch

_Review responses:_

Guest: _Thank you for the review! And yes, the bond between Sarah and Elena will definitely continue to grow as time goes on. As for when Sarah gets out the tomb..._

 _And now I finish the, 'dinner party,' episode at last. First three parter for an episode..and it probably won't be the last consider what I've got planned, but we'll see. And see what I mean about accidentally making it longer? Anyway, I like the way it turned out and I can't wait to hear what you have to say about it._

 _And since I won't be uploading again before the New Year, I'll just wish you all happy holidays. Enjoy the time off work and school and remember that it should be a time for love and kindness – cheesy I know, but I love cheese this time of year! Plus I was rewatching Doctor Who and as 12 says, "Be kind."_

* * *

 **Chapter 31: The Bitch**

* * *

They'd been far too confident. Amelia realised that now. When she and Elijah had first entered the Salvatore house that night, they had both known something was likely going to happen. But they let it play out, believing full well that these young, impulsive, vampires and their friends could do nothing to harm them. Normally that would have been completely true, and any confrontation would have ended in them all being dead for such impolite – and frankly rude – actions. But they had had one thing the two Originals had not seen coming. Something they would only have been concerned about when around the their brother.

A pair of silver daggers. Specially made and having been dipped in white ash. The white ash of the one thing in the entire world that could kill an Original. They may have had the foresight to burn it down, but the ash that remained had allowed a weapon to be created, one that could put them down so long as it remained in their hearts.

They had been fortunate, in that the fools using the daggers hadn't known this. But even once they awoke, Amelia had recognised that feeling, known she had been dead, suspended in that state, much like she had been before. True she hadn't suffered at the daggers hands as much as some of her other siblings, but it was still an experience she remembered, and one she dreaded.

That was why, in a brief moment of fear and shock – one that she was now very ashamed off – when she and Elijah had awoken, rather than let him murder every single person in that house, she had made them run.

It had been a momentary laps in judgement, but perhaps in the future it would turn out to be for the better. She was trying to be optimistic when she thought about that, as they opened the door to Jonas' apartment. As fortune would have it, he was already in the front room when Elijah pushed open the door. He turned, frowning at the sight of the blood that stained the area of clothing around our hearts. "What happened?"

"Never mind that," Amelia almost growled. It wasn't Jonas she was angry with however. It was the Salvatores, for their dirty and underhanded trick, though she should hardly be surprised. In truth she was more annoyed with herself for becoming so laid back and confident. Because of that she and Elijah had almost been permanently put under. They'd almost lost their one chance at getting their vengeance. And neither of them would stand for that, no matter what the deal was.

"We need you to find, Elena," Amelia ordered.

"Now," Elijah added, the same almost growl to his voice. Jonas hadn't asked anymore questions after that. He was smart enough to know not to. He just complied with the Originals order and located Elena. As it turned out she was near Dunham Lake, in a summer house, which was some drive from Mystic Falls. With that information, Amelia then told Jonas to pack his bags and be ready to move with his son if needed. They would need to come back to Mystic Falls in order to continue with their plan regarding the dead witches, but since the priority was now keeping Elena under their watchful eyes and away from the Salvatores, they would leave if they had too. And with their opponents forcing their hand, that possibility was looking more likely by the second.

The drive to the lake house was quite, both Originals infuriated with how the night had transpired. One dagger they would have been able to handle between them, but for the Salvatores to have had two daggers in their position. Amelia wasn't a fan of using the word luck, but it seemed appropriate here, no matter how much it annoyed her. And once they secured Elena, they would be securing those daggers as well.

As far as they could calculate, Klaus only had one dagger in his possession. That meant that even if he got one of them, the other could continue the fight. But if Klaus were to get his hands on either of the two daggers now in the Salvatores' possession, then he could put both Amelia and Elijah down, before doing to them what he'd done to the rest of their family. And against him, they would need every advantage they could get.

Pulling to a stop at the end of the driveway to the lake house, Amelia spotted Stefan Salvatore's red Porsche out front from her passenger seat. She quickly talked strategy with Elijah, both surmising that just because Stefan's car was here, didn't mean that Elena and he still were. However, a quick listen to those talking inside the house, confirmed that the two were in fact still inside and aware of the Originals arrival.

"Let's get this over with," Elijah grumbled as he climbed out of the car, picking up a handful of gravel as he walked towards the house with Amelia at his side. "May I assume you have no issue with my dramatics?" Elijah asked, though there was little humour in his voice as he made the remark.

"By all means," Amelia added, equally as stoic. In this instance, she felt the dramatics were warranted, and frankly, she just wanted to conclude this business as quickly as possible.

"Thank goodness for that," Elijah said before flicking his wrist and sending the gravel flying towards the front door, blasting it straight off its hinges.

After the reaction of the door being blown down, Elena said to Stefan from inside the house, "You have to go. I need to talk to them alone."

"Elena–" Stefan began in protest.

"Stefan, I'm okay. They can't come in the house," she reminded him, all of which, the two Originals overheard.

"You're correct, Elena," Amelia spoke up as she and her brother began to methodically step towards the lake house's porch. "We can't enter the house… But we are more than willing to wait you and you boyfriend out."

"And don't think he's safe after what just happened either," Elijah added as they came to a stop on the front porch. "Your friends broke our deal, which means they're no longer under our protection. And we probably should have made this clear earlier, but we don't like it when people break their deals with us. It tends to make us a little…vengeful?" Elijah offered up while he patiently waited with his sister for Elena to appear before them.

And soon enough she did. Arms folded as she cautiously stepped towards the front door, being very careful to remain inside.

"They shouldn't have done what they did," Elena said.

"Is that meant to be an apology?" Amelia questioned, eye brow raising ever so slightly above the other, and clearly not amused.

"No, but I am sorry," Elena replied, and it was sincere, Amelia knew that. But it was too late, she and her brother couldn't risk something like that happening again.

"It doesn't matter," Elijah said bluntly. "The deal is off."

"I'm renegotiating," Elena said almost hopefully, trying to reason with the Originals.

"You have nothing left to negotiate with," Elijah pointed out, before Elena unfolded her arms, revealing the knife in her hand.

"I'd like to see you lure Klaus into Mystic Falls after the doppelgänger bleeds to death," Elena argued knowingly.

And while she did have a point, Amelia couldn't help but roll her eyes at the dramatics before her. Because whether Elena realised it or not, she was effectively bluffing, and both Amelia and her brother saw right through it. "Stefan won't let you die," she pointed out with a bored sigh, wishing for the conversation to reach its inevitable conclusion.

"No, he won't," Elena agreed. "He'll feed me his blood to heal me, and then I'll kill myself and become a vampire, just like Katherine did." At that Amelia had to try to keep her emotions from her face. The idea was a tricky one. On the one hand, she didn't think Elena would go through with it. If she did, then she and everyone she was trying so hard to protect would die at Amelia and Elijah's hand – that was if Klaus didn't find out and do it first. But then Amelia had seen Katherine do the same thing, all those centuries ago. So it was effectively a lose lose for Elena, but the Originals could only win so long as Elena remained alive and human. And that was what gave her the ability to bargain.

"So unless you want that to happen again, promise me the same as before. Promise me…you won't harm anyone that I love. Even if they've harmed you." However, the problem with Elena's bargaining ability, was that neither Original had yet seen how far she was willing to go. They knew she was willing to sacrifice herself to save her family. But giving yourself up to the slaughter, and killing yourself are two very different things, and require different levels of courage and self-sacrifice. They'd seen her try to sacrifice herself. They were yet to see her try and kill herself. And that was were the flaw was in her bargaining chip. Because in killing herself she risked everything she was trying to protect, but that was the only way to force the Originals to agree to her terms. Which meant there was only one way this could continue.

"Sorry, Elena," Amelia said, with at least a little sincerity in her voice, after sharing a look with Elijah.

"But we're going to have to call your bluff," Elijah agreed, both smiling patiently as they watched Elena to see what she would do next.

She stared back at them, waiting to see if they would suddenly back down. They wouldn't, and she quickly worked that out. It was do or die now. Commit or surrender. Everything or nothing. All on the line. So taking in a deep breath, Elena firmly grasped the knife in both hands, before then meeting the Original's eyes one last time. Still no sign of wavering. So Elena braced herself, and then thrusted the knife into her our chest, gasping in pain as she was hit with the shock of her own boldness.

Both the Originals screamed out, rushing towards the door only to be blocked by the cursed invisible wall. Elijah banged his hands against it, but Amelia knew Elena wouldn't let them in, not until they'd agreed to the deal. They still had time though, or at least she thought that until Elena carelessly discarded the knife, allowing even more blood to pour out.

She looked in, waiting for Stefan to rush over and save her. But seconds past and still he didn't appear. Elena was dying.

In a sudden panic for the second time that night, Amelia and her brother quickly gave in to Elena's demands. "You win, Elena," Amelia declared.

"You can have your deal," Elijah added hurriedly. "Now let me heal you."

"Give me your word! Both of you! Give me your word!" Elena shouted, grimacing as she fought the pain, both hands clutching her side as more blood poured out. She must have done something serious because the amount of blood pouring out of her would leave her dead in a matter of minutes.

"I give you my word," Elijah and Amelia both repeated.

Elena took in their words, running through them to make sure there was no way they find a loop hole in their agreement. Once satisfied, she practically clasped out onto the porch where Elijah caught her. And that was when Amelia heard something pierce the skin, followed by her brother's gasp of pain.

She stepped back, and that was when she saw it. The tip of the silver dagger that was sticking out her brother's back. He'd been killed with the dagger, right through the heart. Already his skin was greying, veins popping up all over his dead skin. He had seconds. Amelia had to get the dagger out of him and she had to capture Elena. It would have been easy, had it not been for the second dagger that then penetrated her own heart from behind.

Screaming, she collapsed her knees, unable to fight the darkness that was swallowing her up so quickly. The last thing she managed to do before dying, was look back, and see Jeremy Gilbert stood over her. Adrenaline rushing through his eyes, hands held out after using the dagger on the Original. And his girlfriend, Scarlett, stood behind him. She had been how he'd been able to get up behind her without being detected. She'd ran up when she was distracted, getting Jeremy – the human – close enough to use the dagger. And despite how angry she was in that moment, how heart broken she was by the turn of events. She had to concede. That she and her brother, had been out played.

* * *

After having raced over to the Jeremy's summer Lake House in Damon's car with both the daggers, it had been a short wait before the Originals showed up. After that, Scarlett had waited for her window, hands firmly placed on Jeremy's hips before she then speed herself and Jeremy up behind Amelia, right as Elena stabbed Elijah with the first dagger. Then after that, Jeremy had done the rest, killing Amelia before Stefan then saved Elena with his blood, and Damon concluded the whole thing with the line, "Little tip. Don't pull the dagger out."

With that stressful business finally concluded with, Scarlett wasn't given long to catch her breath. In fact none of them were, as Stefan and Damon hurried then along. Apparently Elena had already packed up most of hers and Stefan's things, so they dealt with loading their things into Stefan's car while Damon, Scarlett and Jeremy stuffed Elijah into the boot of his car and then laid Amelia across the back seat.

That had then lead to an argument about Jeremy not wanting to sit next to the dead Original. Damon had of course respected this, by offering up the idea that Jeremy walk back on his own. Scarlett whacked him for that, before it was then decided that she would sit in the back with the dead body while Jeremy sat up front with Damon. If she had known that was how it was going to go, she might have kept her opinions to herself.

Nevertheless they all got back without any further drama, and then they all carried the Originals down into the cellar were they were to be stored until further notice. After dropping the bodies down, Stefan moved to stand next to Elena, Scarlett and Jeremy by the door, while Damon began searching Elijah's pockets, until he found what he was after. "What do we have here?" he asked, pulling out the moonstone and showing it to them all. "A little moonstone bar of soap. I'll hold on to this."

"So, that's it. I mean, as long as we keep the daggers in them, then they'll stay dead?" Elena asked uneasily from in between Stefan and Scarlett.

"Pretty much," Damon answered.

"Anyone else feel like it's a little anticlimactic?" Scarlett asked, something along the lines of disappointment on her face.

"They're dead aren't they," Damon pointed out.

"Yeah, but only because with shoved the pause button through their hearts," argued Scarlett, folding her arms. "It just doesn't feel like we've accomplished all that much."

"Speak for yourself. I took down an Original," Jeremy said with a tad cockiness to his voice.

"Which I'm not happy about," Elena added in a big sister tone, before allowing herself to smile at her baby brother. "But thank you."

"Well, I think we've gone through enough for one night. Want me to give you and Jeremy a lift home?' Stefan offered his girlfriend.

"Not yet," Elena answered, clearly having something to say as everyone turned towards her. "Look, if you guys want me to fight, fine, I'll fight. But if we're gonna do this, you can't keep anything from me anymore. From this moment on, we're doing it my way," Elena explained, folding her arms as she looked between the two Salvatore brothers, waiting for their answer. And even if they disagreed, she knew there was at least one person that would still have her back.

"Seems fair," Damon said nonchalantly, after sharing a look with Stefan.

"Okay," Stefan agreed, with a nod of the head, before Elena then looked towards Scarlett and Jeremy.

"Yeah, I'm cool with that," Scarlett added, surprised to be asked more than anything else.

"And you boss me around anyway, I'll just have to listen to you now," Jeremy added with a grin to his sister as she began to smirk a little.

"Okay," she said happily, before then going serious again. "Now, where's Sarah?"

"Yeah, Damon, a deals a deal. Time to let her out of whatever coffin you stuffed her in," Scarlett pointed out, as everyone turned on Damon.

Damon rolled his eyes at the werewolf, before then answering casually – though not meeting anybodies eyes as he did – said, "She's in the Salvatore family crypt. We've each got a slot reserved for us so I figured I'd just put her in there. That way I couldn't possibly lose her."

"Funny," Scarlett said sarcastically before she and Elena walked out with Jeremy, Stefan and Damon bringing up the rear. It was time to bring Sarah back into the fold.

* * *

Walking through the camp, the aroma of blood was unmissable. Sarah had known it was going to be a struggle to remain in control of her urges, but she hadn't imagined that it would be this hard. So much blood, in one place, and all so easy for her to take. It was all around her, all she had to do was pick out one and end him swiftly. No one would even notice.

However, as she tried to approach one of the many injured soldiers, someone caught her arm. She turned, finding Lexi holding her with a pointed look in her brown eyes. With a sigh, Sarah dispelled any thoughts of feeding and turned to follow the blonde vampire along with her brother, each of them on either side of Lexi as they walked.

"All of these men are dead or dying. What does that make you both feel?" Lexi asked as they made their way through the camp that had been set up in the middle of the woods outside Mystic Falls.

"Nothing. I feel nothing," Stefan answered, hugging himself as he fought the urge to feed. He seemed to be struggling with it even more than Sarah was.

"And you Sarah?" Lexi asked, turning to her other companion.

"I'm not sure," Sarah answered, looking around at the injured all around her. At one point in her life this would have been a tragic and horrific thing for her to see. But since becoming a vampire, death and blood were just another normal part of her life. She'd come accustom to them both after just a few short days. This was what a vampire was. "I guess I feel hungry." From the look she got from Lexi, Sarah knew that wasn't an answer she'd be accepting.

She went back to looking at the injured soldiers, focusing on one who was clutching a picture of someone. Sarah stopped, eyes focusing on the photograph as her sight enhanced the imagine, even in the dark. It was a photograph of the injured man, with what Sarah presumed to be his family. A wife, and three children. Two boys and a girl. Just like her own family. And that was when she felt, "Sad," as she then said.

"That's good," Lexi said, placing a gentle hand on Sarah's shoulder, before guiding her on, not wanting her to linger and start crying. The last thing any of them wanted was extra attention right now. For one thing, Stefan and Sarah were supposed to be dead, and if the town found out that vampires were still around, they'd end up burning like the rest of them.

"Feelings are important for us," Lexi continued before looking over to Stefan. "But you don't feel them now because you've shut off the part of you that was human. The part that lets you feel like Sarah and I do."

"But isn't that the point?" Sarah asked. "To be detached so we can be what we're supposed to, so that we can feed and kill without remorse?"

"None of us are supposed to do anything, we chose what to do with our lives and how to live them. Becoming a vampire doesn't change that," Lexi explained to Sarah with honesty in her eyes that made Sarah begin to believe her. "You can be that detached monster if you chose it, and it's probably the easier choice, but that doesn't make it the best choice."

Lexi then went back to looking to Stefan before she continued. "There is another way, a better way. You simply have to want it."

"Is it the better choice though?" Stefan asked critically as they walked towards the edge of the camp.

"Not at first," Lexi conceded. "You can't choose what you feel. That's what's happening with your sister at the moment. Because she hasn't shut off her humanity, she keeps drastically switching between emotions. The tiniest thing, or even a memory, can bring on an intense emotional response, and then just as easily it can stop. But because you've had yours switched off, you'll feel everything you should have been feeling up to this point, and all at once. You'll have to let it all back in. The pain. The look in their eyes when you took their life. The cries of their loved ones," Lexi explained in dramatic detail, letting Stefan know what he would be in for soon.

"Why would I want to do that?" Stefan snapped, suddenly stopping and turning to Lexi. "Why would I want to put myself through everything you've just described.

"Because once you can hurt, you can love," Lexi said harshly, making her point clear. "Love, Stefan. That's the point. Everything is intensified when you're a vampire. When we hurt, we really hurt," Lexi said, sending Sarah yet another sympathetic look as she spoke about pain. "But when we love, when we care about something…" She trailed off then, simply smiling at them both as if it answered everything.

"You can't describe it," Sarah said quietly to herself, not realising she'd said it aloud until Lexi nodded.

"Exactly," Lexi agreed, glad to see that Sarah was following along.

"Doesn't sound worth it to me," Stefan grumbled.

"It won't now, but it will later," Lexi said with a look to Stefan who shook his head.

"No. Sarah's right, we're meant to be like this, it's you whose wrong," Stefan said, jamming a finger towards Lexi before he stormed off.

"Stefan," Sarah called after him, prepared to follow until Lexi pulled her back.

"Leave him for now, he won't go far," Lexi said confidently. "And besides, we're not done here yet," Lexi added before guiding Sarah back towards the injured man from before. The one with the family photograph of him and his children.

"I have to show you something," Lexi said as she sat herself and Sarah down by the soldier's bedside. He was unconscious, presumably from the pain of his intensive wound. "I can understand why you think all vampires are evil. But there is good in our abilities too, it's just about how you use them. For example our blood."

"It's how we turn humans into vampires" Sarah answered, thinking she had it.

"Yes, our blood can be used to turn someone into a vampire. But in order for that to happen they have to die with our blood in their body. Before that though, our blood does something else," Lexi explained, before picking up a small knife and holding it out to Sarah. "I want you to give this man your blood."

"No. Lexi, no, I can't do that, I can't force this on–"

"It's okay," Lexi stressed, silencing Sarah with a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I promise he won't become a vampire. Just do as I tell you," Lexi said reassuringly as she pressed the knife into Sarah's hand. Reluctantly, she took it, looking it over before going back to Lexi and awaiting her instructions. "Cut your wrist open," Lexi instructed, to which Sarah did as told, wincing a little at the pain she wasn't completely used to yet.

"All right, now before it heals, feed him your blood," Lexi then ordered. Sarah hesitated but then gradually moved her bleeding wrist to the man's mouth. The blood fell in with ease, and he swallowed it all until nothing more came, Sarah's wrist having healed.

"Now what?" Sarah asked, moving her hand back onto her lap as she looked to Lexi.

The older vampire just smiled, before nodding towards the soldier's bandaged wound and saying, "Remove his bandages." Frowning, Sarah did as told, reaching over and removing the white layers of bandages around his right shoulder. Once it was all lifted, Sarah saw the bullet wound, a nasty and clearly infected thing. But then her eyes widened as she watched in disbelief. The infection was beginning to shrink, receding in towards the hole in his shoulder which in turn then shrunk, closing over until it was completely healed.

Looking back to Lexi, Sarah was in awe as the blonde smiled happily back at her. "How do you feel now?" Lexi asked as she reached over and placed the bandaged back over the healed wound, concealing it from sight.

Sarah knew her answer, but even so she didn't say it right away. Instead she took a moment to look at the man, the man she'd helped, and at the photograph he held tightly in his hand. Hopefully, thanks to her, those children would have a better life than her and her brothers. Hopefully they would remain a family. And that thought made her, "Happy," as she so rightly said.

"You see," Lexi said eagerly, seeing Sarah's smile. "Not all vampires are evil. You can be good if you want to be. No one says you have to be like the Bitch."

Sarah frowned at that, turning to Lexi with a confused smile. "The who?" Sarah asked with a chuckle.

"The Bitch," Lexi repeated, as if it were obvious.

"Whose the Bitch?" Sarah asked, still just as confused.

"The Bitch is the one who turned you, remember?" Lexi explained, and even then it took a second for it to click in Sarah's head.

"Oh, you mean Kath–" Lexi's hand shot out, clamping down on Sarah's mouth to stop her from saying anything more.

"No, I mean, the _Bitch_ ," Lexi clarified as she slowly lowered her hand from Sarah's mouth. "You were right before, that's what she is, and that's what we're calling her from now on. I'll not have anyone bringing up that name around you ever again," Lexi promised as she stroked Sarah's cheek. "She's done enough damage, and her name is only a reminder of that. So from hence forth, she shall only be known as, the Bitch," Lexi declared with a grin.

"The Bitch," Sarah agreed with a grin to match Lexis.

* * *

When she heard the the scratching for stone against stone, Sarah jumped, quickly bracing herself against the tomb she was in. Still there was only blackness, but the sound had definitely come from above her. _Was it Damon, coming to let her out? Scarlett who had finally sniffed her out? Or was she finally somehow moving it with just her mind?_ All those thoughts raced through Sarah's head before light blinded her. Realistically it probably wasn't that bright, but it had felt like someone had shone a flashlight right into Sarah's eyes when the stone slab above her finally opened.

"Oh, thank God. I finally found you," came the voice of a relieved Elena. Shortly after, Sarah's eyes finished adjusting to the light. It was night, which thankfully made her adjustment all the easier, as she peered up through the gap Elena had created by pushing the stone slab aside. Part of it still covered the tomb Sarah was in, but with Elena's help Sarah then shoved it aside so that she could finally sit up.

"Here, let me help you," Elena said softly, taking Sarah's hands and helping her out of the tomb. Once out, Sarah leaned back against the tomb, taking in deep breaths as she steadied herself. The sudden rush of getting up wasn't helping her body, and to pile that on with the lack of blood and the vervain recently used on her, Sarah felt like she was about to either throw up or fall over – maybe both.

"Thanks," Sarah breathed out as Elena soothingly rubbed her back, a tender smile on her lips. "How'd you find me?" she then asked, in between heavy breaths, not having realised the lack of oxygen she'd been exposed to while in the tomb.

"Damon told me. I'm sorry he put you through all of this because of me, I never wanted any of this to happen. To you of all people," Elena apologised sincerely. And Sarah was just about to shrug it off, when Elena placed her hand on her cheek, turning Sarah towards her – making her look into her gentle and worried brown eyes. Her thumb then ran over Sarah's cheek, and she said in a sad little voice, "You've been crying."

Sarah was a little startled to hear Elena say that. It had felt like hours ago, when she'd been crying over Lexi. Maybe it hadn't been as long ago as she thought, or maybe it just showed on her face. She could almost imagine her red puffy cheeks, dry and aching from all the crying.

"Why were you crying?" Elena asked, a sweet concern to her voice.

Sarah wasn't sure she wanted to say, as saying it again might bring up the memories. The nasty thoughts that Katherine had managed to put inside her head. She sniffed, but then realised she needed to talk to someone about it, to hear someone tell her it was nonsense and that Lexi could never do something like that, not to her and Stefan. Her brother would have been ideal, but Elena had known Lexi too, if only briefly. But it had been long enough to get a feel for who Lexi was, and that was all Sarah needed right now.

"It…It was Katherine," Sarah finally said with a sigh, rubbing at her eyes when she thought tears might return. "She got inside my head."

"How?" Elena asked gently, not understanding.

"When she said Lexi was working for her, like Ronnie was. I know it can't be true and that it's silly to even consider believing her…but recently it's been hard not to think about it when I'm remembering Lexi," Sarah explained with a few sniffs here and there, eyes lowered as if ashamed for even thinking her best friend was capable of such a thing.

"Oh, Sarah," Elena said, once again gently rubbing her back in loving comfort. "It's true."

Those words shocked Sarah to her very core, as she turned towards Elena. Her face and body so numb that she didn't even feel the tears begin to fall, or the quiver that had entered her voice. "What?" she breathed out, so quietly she herself almost didn't realise she'd said it.

"I'm sorry," Elena apologised, still trying to console her love. "But I have to tell you. It's the right thing." Sarah began to shake her head, but couldn't find the voice to beg Elena to stop. She didn't want to hear this, didn't want to lose hope that Lexi really had been her friend and not just another of Katherine's little spies.

"Lexi was working for Katherine."

"No," Sarah said silently, and yet with such horror in her voice.

"They met before either of them met you," Elena continued. "During the turn of the nineteenth century, in London. They became good friends, and spent the next decade together, moving across the world before arriving in America. There they went their separate ways, until Katherine met your family. After her escape and your turn to vampirism, she knew she couldn't be there for you, so she asked Lexi to be there in her place. To care for you, to guide you." While saying this, Elena had moved directly in front of Sarah, and had begun closing the gap between them.

"Why…Why are you telling me this?" Sarah snapped, so scared by this knowledge, this heart breaking knowledge that she didn't realise how close Elena had gotten. Or that she was now pressed right up against the tomb she'd just been in. "How – How could you even know any of…" As Sarah's voice trailed of, her thoughts clearing, she realised who it was now right in front of her. And with a her entire being shaking, her tears hitting pause – though her eyes still watery – Sarah turned her gaze to meet those eyes. Those eyes that had been so gentle and caring a moment ago, but now revealing their true colours, of selfishness and manipulation.

"Katherine." And at the sound of her name, the Elena imposter perked up with a smirk. A smirk that confirmed what Sarah had realised. There was no doubt about it, this was indeed Katherine, the same Katherine she'd thought herself rid of. "How…How did you–"

"Escape?" Katherine finished, grin broadening. "Sarah, it's me," she said as if Sarah should already know the answer. "No one can keep Katherine Pierce trapped for long."

"But…you were compelled. By an Original," Sarah said slowly, voice still shaking out of fear, while her brain tried to play catch up with what information Katherine was giving her.

"I was, but with your brother's help, I managed to rectify that little issue," Katherine explained gleefully.

"Damon would never help you," Sarah said definitely, though it was undermined by the shakiness of her voice.

"Not knowingly," agreed Katherine with her signature smirk. "That's why I gave him a subtle nudge in the right direction. And he definitely helped me by telling me what he'd done with you. I wasn't sure whether to believe him or not at first, but then, here you are," Katherine said with such satisfaction, Sarah was almost certain she saw the shiver of pleasure pass up her body. "And to think, your own brother did this to you. The same brother you let decide my fate, even after everything I'd done to you – and this was how he repaid you." Katherine let out a series of tuts. "You could have said no to him, and I'd be dead right now. But we both know that was never going to happen–"

With Katherine reaching the end of her monologue, Sarah tried to make a run for it, dashing past her and towards the exit of the crypt. But Katherine was fast, and grabbed her arm before she could get out of reach, dragging her back across the room before shoving her against the far wall. The wall in which behind lay her dead parents.

Sarah struggled, but it was futile as always, with Katherine pressing her arm against Sarah's neck, holding her in place with such ease. There was the added factor of blood too. Katherine had most likely been out for a while, having disguised herself like Elena and had enough time to refill on blood. That put her at an immediate advantage to Sarah, even more so than usual. So Sarah knew she was beat the second she was grabbed, but even so, the fight or flight in her refused to let her stop struggling.

"You know, it's rude to run out on someone in the middle of a date," Katherine teased, showing minimal effort in holding Sarah up against the wall. "Now were was I… Oh, yes, you're useful big brother. Well it wasn't very hard to manipulate him into doing what I wanted. Just bat my eyes, act all worried and then he'll do the exactly the opposite of what I say. So when I said he couldn't kill Amelia because it would leave me trapped in the tomb, I knew I could count on him to get the job done."

"How does that work?" Sarah croaked, needing to understand how Katherine had yet again bested her family.

"Just like when you kill a normal vampire, their previous compulsions on humans don't break. That bits the same for Originals, but it's different when they compel a vampire, such as ourselves. You see, any direct commands they give, such as compelling me to stay in the tomb, those get washed away upon their death. We get our freedom back," Katherine explained in pure delight, as she grinned away at a defeated Sarah.

"What do you want," Sarah asked in a tiny voice, feeling utterly hopeless as her eyes lowered in defeat.

"The same thing I've always wanted," Katherine answered, as she lowered Sarah back down to her feet, allowing her to stand on her own as she closed in. Sarah didn't have the will to fight anymore, simply standing with her head lowered, until Katherine lifted her chin with her finger. Katherine's answer then came in the form of a kiss to Sarah's lips, a kiss that Sarah suddenly didn't dare fight, for fear of enraging the monster before her. She just wanted it to be over, and would give Katherine whatever she wanted to make that so. If one kiss was all that she asked for, then Sarah couldn't work up the strength to deny her. She did however, begin to cry once more, feeling those uncomfortable lips on her own, making her whole body squirm as Katherine – in a polar opposite – savoured the rush that ran through her.

The kiss lasted far too long for Sarah, but for Katherine it was perfect, as she pulled away, grinning flirtatiously at the terrified rave haired vampire before her. This was what she wanted, to be in control of everything, and have what she wanted, when she wanted it. "I'll see you soon, lover," Katherine said, resisting the urge to give Sarah another peck on the lips, before vanishing from the crypt altogether. And leaving Sarah breathlessly afraid as she pressed herself back against the wall.

She'd thought she'd never feel those lips on her again, thought that she'd never feel so violated again. And right then, all she could do was stand there and take it. She hadn't even fought back. She just accepted it, too terrified to fight back, to deny her for fear that something even worse might happen – not physically, but mentally. From inside her own head, Katherine had torn down her memories of Lexi, turned them into twisted visions so that Sarah didn't know what was real anymore. Lexi might have died months ago, but it was now that Sarah felt she'd truly lost her friend – if she'd ever been that. And if Katherine could make her mistrust and doubt her best friend to such a degree, what else could she make her think about the rest of the people she loved in her life.

"Sarah?" came that evil voice again, and Sarah's head snapped towards the entrance to the crypt, seeing Katherine once more.

"Just leave me alone!" Sarah cried out, before charging at Katherine, grabbing her and shoving her against the wall. "Why?! Why do you keep doing this to me?! Why do you keep tormenting me?! Why?! Why?! WHY?!" Sarah screamed, throwing Katherine again the wall over and over until she was yanked back. But even then she continued to scream at the devil incarnate before her. The same devil who had dropped to the floor, curling in on herself in a sudden rush of panic and fear.

"Sarah! Sarah, stop!" Stefan shouted from behind her, as both he and Damon tried to hull her away from Katherine. The woman who persistently ruined their lives at every turn.

"No! No! I just want it to stop!" Sarah cried out uncontrollably. "Make her stop! Please, I don't want this anymore! I never wanted this! Make it stop!" Then suddenly she found herself in Stefan's chest, crying against him as he wrapped his caring and protective arms around her. One hand soothingly stroking her hair over and over.

"It's okay. It's over now. It's okay. Your out of the tomb, you're with us and you're safe," Stefan said soothingly, repeating himself over and over until he finally stopped to glare at Damon, stood next to them. "What the hell did you do to her?"

"Nothing," Damon said with a defensive shrug. "I just vervained her and threw her in there," Damon said with a gesture towards the tomb Sarah had been a prisoner in. "It wasn't like I was playing mind games with her or anything."

"Is she all right?" Katherine asked, still pretending to be Elena as she approached them.

"Stay away from us!" Sarah snapped, glaring through teary eyes at Katherine, while pushing Stefan a step away from her.

"Sarah?" Katherine said in a voice full of hurt.

"Just leave us alone! Run off to some tropical island, torture some another family, just stay the hell away from me and my family!"

"Sarah, why are you saying this?" Katherine asked, still hurt and now confused.

"Stop the games, Katherine! I can't take these stupid games anymore!" Sarah cried, tears flying as she hurried herself in Stefan's chest once more, hiding away from Katherine and everything else she feared about this world.

"Sarah, that's Elena. Not Katherine," Stefan said softly, trying to turn his sister back to towards Elena, but she fought him, twisting and turning to keep her face hidden.

"No, you're wrong. It is Katherine,' Sarah mumbled into Stefan's chest.

"It's not, Sarah, I promise you, just look," Stefan insisted, once again turning Sarah around to look at Elena. She still fought, but in the end gave in and turned to see Katherine stood before her and her brothers.

"It's me, Sarah. It's Elena, not Katherine," she said, and finally Sarah began to see it. The straightness of her hair, the length, the slight change in shade – even in this light. The cloths, the way she stood. The soft caring nature in those brown eyes, the friendship in her timid uneasy smile. These were not the things of the devil, these were the things that made up her friend.

"Elena?" Sarah said slowly, still not convinced it wasn't another of Katherine's tricks – that she'd somehow gotten her brothers to go along with.

The girl nodded frantically, desperate to get Sarah to believe her. "Yes, Sarah. It's me."

"I'm sorry," Sarah said, finally pulling away from Stefan, but still not comfortable enough to approach Elena.

"It's all right, just so long as your not hurt," Elena said in that caring manner of hers, confirming to Sarah that this wasn't Katherine, but her friend. However, her friend then began to frown as she then asked, "But, why would you think I'm Katherine. She's trapped in the tomb."

"For good now that the Originals are on ice," added Damon positively, hoping to make his sister feel better. He was obviously feeling a little guilty, thinking whatever had happened to his sister was because of his actions. Well, he wasn't entirely wrong on that front.

Sarah just shook her head in disagreement, but thankfully she didn't have to say the words aloud, because someone else did.

"No, she's not," came Scarlett's voice form the entrance, Jeremy at her side.

"What are you talking about, Scrappy?" Damon asked, frowning along with the others as they looked to the werewolf.

"Katherine's scent. It's all over this place," Scarlett explained soberly, before everyone looked to the trembling Sarah, as she pressed herself against Stefan's chest once more, taking comfort in her brother's protective arms that found their way around her body.


	32. The House Guest

_Review responses:_

Sarcasm15Key: _Sorry for leaving it like that! Sadly the ending here isn't much better. But now you can see what happens next! Sorry for the long wait!_

Guest1: _Not really, no. And you're right, there's definitely a lot they can bond over, their brothers for one thing. I could see them both arguing about their brothers long into night._

Guest2: _Thank you! And here's more, hope you enjoy it!_

 _Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know this is later in the day, but it's been a bit hectic for me so I must apologise for my bad time management. But I'm here and with a new chapter to celebrate the New Year with you all. **But I must say before you read this, it's a bit graphic and I might have gone further than I have before. So I'll warn you all now that you might be unsettled within the first few**_ ** _paragraphs and to skip around paragraph 30 if you want to skip it._**

 _Otherwise I hope you all enjoy the new update for the New Year. I hope you've had an enjoyable and fruitful festive season. And I wish you all the best for the New Year. Until next time, have a good night and happy reading._

* * *

 **Chapter 32: The House Guest**

* * *

As was the way with dreams, Sarah forgot hers as she awoke. But while she couldn't recall what had happened in it, she'd known it was a good dream. There was love, family, friends. A blissful sensation that followed her out of the dream and into reality, making her believe, in her dazed state, that everything was perfect.

A steady breath exited through her nose, while a smile tugged at her lips. Having awoken last time in a solid stone tomb, Sarah couldn't describe the pleasure of awakening in her own freshly clean bed. The softness of it, the smell of her own pillow, the loving embrace of her blankets – keeping her at just the right level of warmth while the sun shone through a crack in the closed currents. It was truly a heavenly place to be, ones own bed. But there was perhaps, one pleasure that topped it. The company of another.

And Sarah found just that, as she rolled over, finding someone else beneath the sheets with her. Elena. Who was already awake and smiling across at Sarah. Her head propped up on folded arms, lying on her stomach, with an angelic glow brought on by the natural light that caught her at just the right angle. "Morning," whispered Elena, her gently doe like eyes the perfect thing for Sarah to start the day with.

"Morning," Sarah drawled out while simultaneously stretching her arms, only to then settle back down next to Elena with her own head propped up against her raised hand. "Not that I don't enjoy the company, but what are you doing here?"

"You never heard of a slumber party?" teased Elena with a grin, her back arching inwards as her rear end rose beneath the sheets in a very seductive stretch.

"Yeah, but I think you need more people to call it a slumber party," Sarah pointed out before then realising something. She lifted the top of the sheets ever so slightly, peering beneath before putting them back down and looking to Elena with an amusedly raised brow. "Also, I think your missing some cloths."

Elena giggled, inching closer to Sarah as she said, "It was too hot."

"Yeah, but if anyone walks in here and sees you like that, they're probably going to get the wrong idea," Sarah pointed out, prompting Elena to grin.

"What's wrong about that?" Elena continued to tease, batting her eyelashes as Sarah rolled her eyes with an amused grin.

"Why don't you do us all a favour and go and join Stefan in his bed," Sarah suggested while turning so that she was lying on her back. One arm sprawled around her head while the other lay across her chest.

"I can't," Elena moped, sliding over towards Sarah, as her fingers found the shoulder strap of the vampire's nightie and began to play with it. "His bed's already full with him and Elena."

It was then the blissful state snapped, like the smooth surface of an egg being smashed against the side of a bowl. One second, Sarah was peacefully lying in bed. Next, she was across the room like a gun had gone off, running for the door at supernatural speed. She threw the covers at the intruder, hoping to give herself some extra time in escaping her room. She should have realised it sooner, should have thought about it, but she'd been in that blissful softly awoken state, and hadn't questioned anything. _What a stupid thing to do!_ Sarah shouted at herself.

Thankful, she reached the door, and was in the process of pulling it open when a perfectly manicured hand slammed it shut, fingers spread out across the wooden surface. Sarah jumped back from the door, staring at the hand that held it shut with enough force to prevent Sarah from escaping. And then she followed that hand up the arm and to the woman stood next to the door. A terrifying smirk on a darkly amused face, dressed in sexy lace lingerie – which didn't do a very good job of covering up her privet parts.

Katherine.

"Come on, Sarah," Katherine playfully pleaded, hand still pressed against the door blocking off her escape as Sarah very slowly stepped backwards – eyes never leaving Katherine's. "I got these just for you," she whispered seductively, knowing full well Sarah could hear her as she pulled at the thin band of her panties, before letting them snap back against her skin. At the mere sound Sarah jumped again, eyes hypnotised by the brief ripples that passed along Katherine's skin. "Don't you want to test them out?"

"Just leave me alone…please," Sarah whimpered in pure horror.

Katherine smirked. "I don't think I can," she drawled out in a mixture of longing, lust, flirtation and darkness. "All those weeks in the tomb, thinking about you. Of what I'd do to you." She stopped herself, a shiver of anticipation passing through her, followed by a foretelling moan of pleasure. Her eyes then opened back up, the eyes of a predator, and they were solely fixed on the petrified Sarah. "And now, _finally_ , we're here."

Suddenly she rushed towards Sarah. The younger vampire turned to run, tried to escape across the bed and towards the window, but Katherine caught her, dragging her down onto the bed before flipping her over onto her back. The movement was so fast that Sarah became disorientated, and had to pause to get her bearings – which in turn gave Katherine the prime opportunity to strike. With her supernatural speed she quickly leaped onto the bed along with Sarah, before mounting her. Sarah tired to shove her off but Katherine caught both her wrists and forced them down alongside her head. Beneath her, she had Sarah's waist pinned, and her legs were also strapped down under Katherine's. Sarah desperately tried to move her limbs, to fight back, but Katherine was too old and too strong. She was trapped once more.

A seductively dark – and yet somehow girly – laugh left Katherine, as she leaned down towards Sarah who was twisting and turning her head in a desperate attempt to get further away from the impending threat. "Your so damn adorable," Katherine hissed, before taking Sarah's lips and forcing her tongue through Sarah's mouth. That was the second time in less than twelve hours, Katherine had violated her. Of course, Katherine didn't see it that way, soaking up every second of it just like she had back at the tomb, and loving it.

Finally the fight in Sarah burst into life once more, and she tried to bite down on Katherine's tongue, only to have it slip through her grasp. Another skin crawling giggle from Katherine had Sarah wanting to cry out. "That's more like it, Sarah," Katherine whispered, her face hovering over Sarah's, lips only mere inches away, probably only seconds from another violating breech of Sarah's body. "But let's see you fight this," she said, as her hips started to move.

"No," Sarah breathed out, realising what Katherine was trying to do. "No. Stop it," she begged, but Katherine kept moving her hips, Sarah forced to go along with the rhythm as that same feeling returned – the feeling she'd had back in 1864 when Katherine first compelled her into her room. "Katherine, please! Stop. Stop, please, stop! I–I–I don't…Katherine!" It came on so quickly that Sarah wasn't sure she could hold it off, the powerful rush that Katherine took so much pleasure in as she smiled triumphantly down at Sarah.

"STOP!" Sarah cried out at the top of her lungs, using all her strength just to stop Katherine from winning, from taking what she hadn't had in so long. The very thing Sarah swore she'd never let Katherine take from her again.

The sound of Sarah's bedroom door slamming open filled the room suddenly, as it bashed off the wall, before a blur flashed across Sarah's field of vision, tackling Katherine off of her and right off the bed.

The second she was free Sarah pushed herself back against the head rest, sitting up while squeezing her legs together tightly – desperate to stop the tingles radiating from in between her thighs. But another blurred movement caught her attention as Sarah's head turned to see Damon stood with Katherine in his grasp, shoved against the wall.

A glare of annoyance crossed Katherine's face, while Damon proceeded to breath on her, as if he were a dragon. Threatening to burn her alive with only the heavy breathing, that continued to pass in and out his noise.

"Get. The Hell. OUT!" Damon roared right into Katherine's face. The sheer force of his voice enough to make Katherine's hair sway backwards.

It might well have been the angriest Sarah had ever seen her brother. And yet, Katherine was unmoved by his outburst.

"Do you mind, we were kinda in the middle of something," Katherine decried, annoyance and displeasure thick in her voice.

Enraged by her lax attitude towards the situation, Damon pulled her away from the wall, only to then then slam her back against it with as much force as he could muster up in the space provided. "You listen here you satanic sea hag. What you were just doing, it will never happen again, not to my sister and not while I'm still here, you hear me!" shouted Damon furiously.

"Well, there's an easy way around that," Katherine sighed, before shoving Damon back with a quick turn of the tables. He only stumbled back a few steps, but it was enough for Katherine to catch him off guard, dash forward the necessary few steps, and then ram her hand right through his chest. "I kill you."

"Katherine, no!" Sarah shouted, though couldn't move from the bed, legs still preoccupied with other tasks – namely keeping herself under control.

"Relax," Katherine sighed dramatically, glancing over at Sarah with a 'duh' look. "I'm not going to kill him." She then turned her attention back to Damon. "I'm just reminding him that it's rude to interrupt our fun." With that, she released Damon's heart, allowing him to collapse to his knees as he caught his breath.

"We'll pick this up later," Katherine said with a flirtatious smirk to Sarah, as she sauntered out of the room.

"Sarah?" At her brother's voice, Sarah turned from the open door Katherine had walked out of, and back to find her brother having pulled himself up against the end of her bed. A utterly sorry look across his face, with big sad blue eyes that met Sarah's shaken green. "I'm sorry," he said, although Sarah wasn't entirely sure what it was in reference too. The fact he'd locked her in a tomb, that he'd stabbed her in the back, that he'd unknowingly allowed Katherine to escape and to then torment Sarah when releasing her from said tomb he'd put her in. Or if it was for what had just happened. Because he'd almost been too late. Sharing a kiss with Katherine had been soul crushing, pushing her into a darker place than ever before… Sarah didn't want to think what would have happened to her had Katherine gotten her way just then.

With a shaky nod of the head, Sarah relied that she understood, but that was all she did. Quietly whimpering on the bed as her arms warped around herself in an uneasy hug. Her legs still tightly locked together, refusing to loosen even an millimetre until the tingles stopped.

Thankfully, Damon seemed to know what she needed, and climbed onto the bed with her. There were a few uncomfortable groans from him, his body still healing from the hand that had just gone through his chest, but once he made himself comfy next to his sister, he quietened down. From there, he pulled her head against his blood soaked chest, holding her in his arms while gently pushing positive and reassuring thoughts into her head. Sarah didn't fight him on that, she certainly didn't want to be feeling like this for the rest of the day. So she welcomed the blissful thoughts, though no matter how much better she felt because of them, she couldn't shake the state of alertness her body was now in – having awoken next to Katherine without realising.

Once Sarah was then ready, and not a minute sooner, the two got out of her bed. Damon then stood guard in her room while Sarah got showered and dressed, remaining vigilant in case Katherine tried to burst in on Sarah while she was naked. He refused to allow her the chance at that satisfaction. In the end she didn't try anything thankfully and then Damon offered to make Sarah breakfast as way of a further apology. The two then left the room, with Sarah's big brother's protective arm around her shoulders, holding her close in case of wandering Bitches.

As it turned out, he'd been right to do so, as in the corridor outside Sarah's room, they found Katherine once more. Although she had now changed her cloths, or rather added more. But even so, Sarah could still see the sexy panties beneath those cloths, making her squirm as if she had X-ray vision that wouldn't turn off. And boy did she want it to turn off, because when she looked at Katherine she didn't see Elena's stolen cloths, jacket and scarf. She just saw Katherine, as she had been moments ago in her room when she forced herself on her.

"Morning guys, what's–" whatever Katherine had been about to say was cut off as Damon rushed forward, grabbing Katherine by the throat and throwing her up against the wall just as he had back in Sarah's room. "I told you to leave," Damon snarled as he glared up at squirming and shocked Katherine. Sarah could already see where this was going, but she wasn't about to be fooled.

"Damon! What are you doing?" Katherine croaked in confusion, trying for the Elena impression again.

"Do you think we're idiots, that just because you put her cloths on we wouldn't recognise you?" Damon sneered, annoyed that Katherine thought he and his sister could be so easily tricked.

Katherine paused, apparently taking this in before then saying, "You think I'm Katherine?"

"Because you are Katherine," Sarah snapped, though remained cautiously down the corridor away from the evil woman. And even when Katherine looked over with that innocent, shocked and confused Elena look.

Sarah didn't fall for it. She wouldn't be falling for it again today, not after that unforgettable awakening. For the rest of the day, Katherine might as well have a black cross drawn on her cheek.

"Wait, was she here? What did she do?" Katherine continued in that annoying Elena impression, even though they'd caught her.

"Stop it, we know it's you!" Sarah snapped again, though the angry fire in her diminished a little when Katherine looked her way. Even though she still had the Elena facade up, seeing those fiery brown eyes made Sarah's walls crack, and she suddenly felt a whole lot smaller.

Which was why she didn't immediately speak up when Damon loosened his hold on her, apparently buying into her act. Sarah had wanted to speak up, to tell him to hold her, that it really was her and not Elena. But those cursed brown eyes, the eyes of the devil, had her petrified once more, too scared to speak up or even restrain her herself. Because even though she could now tell Katherine apart from Elena, she also couldn't bare to go near her and risk a repeat of this morning.

"What's going on here?" Stefan asked, descending the stair case that lead up to his room, looking at them all as he leaned over the banister with a frown.

"Katherine's been in the house and they seem to think I'm her," Katherine said as she looked up to Stefan who instantly fell for her act as he looked back up to his room.

It took a split second for Sarah to realise what he was thinking, but before she could speak up he'd vanished in a blur back up to his room. "Stefan, no, that's–!" Sarah then found herself cut off, as her other brother was thrown into her and both collapsed onto the ground. Only to then sit up and find Katherine smirking at them triumphantly, clearly proud of her performance.

She gave a goodbye wave with her fingers, before racing up to Stefan's room. Once Damon and Sarah managed to untangle themselves, they followed. Damon at the front and Sarah deliberately at the back, planning on keeping her brothers between her and Katherine – for once on purpose.

"Stop it, Katherine!" came the sound of Stefan's voice, shouting at Elena who he had pinned against the wall, believing to be Katherine.

"Stop what?" Katherine asked, making her presence clear and revealing who she really was as Damon and Sarah came up behind her, finding her leaning against Stefan's doorframe with a smug smile on her lips. She looked back over her shoulder, spotting the two other Salvatore vampires who'd stopped on the last step behind her, seeing as the truth had now been revealed.

Katherine, still pleased with herself, then turned back towards Stefan's room, taking a look at her handy work before looking directly at Elena. "It's getting really easy being you," Katherine admitted, showing just how easy it truly was for her to fool them all.

Damon then attempted to rush and grab her, but Katherine darted out of his way and danced across Stefan's room out of his reach. "Really, Damon, could you be anymore obvious?" Katherine snickered, as Sarah entered the room and Katherine eyes immediately went to her, noticing her nervous and shaken demeanour. Smirking, Katherine then said, "Look, you're scaring Sarah."

"Leave her alone!" Elena snapped, prompting Katherine eyes to turn on her mirror image with intrigue in her eyes.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Katherine asked, having all the worldly advantages that a vampire of her age could have. And they all knew that almost in every way, she could beat Elena right now.

"Stop it, Katherine," Stefan ordered, aiming for a calm tone, but it came out angry and hostile.

"Or what?" Katherine asked, tilting her head and waiting for the real threat.

"Or I break your legs and throw you back in that tomb," Damon snapped with an icy glare.

Katherine chuckled at that. "You all don't seem to get it, you have nothing to threaten me with. Anything you can do to me, I can do to all of you, in faster and more efficient ways. You try to stab me with a stake, I stab you first. You try to trap me, I end up escaping. You can't beat me," Katherine declared boldly as she sauntered around the room, only to end up with her back to an open window. A window that Scarlett then leapt through at supernatural speed. Tackling Katherine before they both hit the floor, rolling across it until Scarlett got a hold of Katherine's arm, positioning it right in front of her open mouth – canines formed and eyes glowing in warning.

And all of a sudden, Katherine's confidence left her, seeing the one thing that could kill her just like that. A werewolf with an ever effective bite. "What was that about not beating you?" Scarlett growled cockily, watching a stiffened Katherine's fearful eyes shook.

Scarlett then, for better or worse, backed off, her warning been made. Having released her hold on Katherine she stood up and leaned over, eyes still glowing, canines still visible in her mouth. "Listen Bitch, I can smell the difference between you and Elena remember. Whatever acting lessons you've picked up, they won't help you with me. And I've also got the instant vampire killing werewolf bite, so when I say stop messing with my family, just remember you really don't want to pick a fight with me," Scarlett declared, eyes glowing just that little bit brighter in anger, before she pulled away and joined the others.

"Are you okay?" Scarlett asked Sarah, going straight to her. Her mentor nodded, but accepted the hug Scarlett then subtly offered. The girl was still a bit uneasy around her, after having assisted Damon in his plan against the Originals and for leaving Sarah in a tomb. But Sarah had understood Damon manipulated her more or less and ultimately confused her. She had thought she was dong the right thing and while Sarah wasn't entirely happy, she didn't completely blame Scarlett. Besides, she was in no mood for arguing about that with Katherine in the house. In fact, Sarah wished all her friends were here with her, to help her stand up to Katherine. She really needed it. She hadn't been this scared of her since…since before she was a vampire.

"What's going on, why are you here?" Elena then asked Katherine, an angry glare on her brow as she stared at her reflection head on.

"Well, I'm here to help, obviously," Katherine said, hand going to her hip as she pushed it out to the opposite side.

"We don't want your help," snapped Elena, folding her arms as she shrugged. "In fact, I'm struggling to understand why your not dead after everything you've done to me and everyone in this room, not to mention the rest of my friends and family."

Katherine smirked, seeing something that no one else saw, as Elena looked to one person in particular. "Well, Elena, the truth is no one other than you really wants me dead," Katherine replied playfully, as Elena began to grind her teeth in annoyance – steam practically coming out her ears.

"You do remember the werewolf who threatened to bite you like ten seconds ago, right?" Stefan pointed out.

"Hey," Scarlett spoke up, waving with a dark and threatening grin towards Katherine who fake smiled back before rolling her eyes at the dramatics of it all.

"Look, the fact is you need me, you all do," Katherine argued.

There was a pause, before everyone else in the room then said together, "No we don't."

Another eye roll from Katherine. "You do all realise we want the same thing," Katherine pointed out as she leaned back against Stefan's desk, looking from each of the five faces stood on the other side of the room from her. "Klaus dead. Yet here you all are, running around like chickens with their heads cut off."

"I don't need your help, and I don't want it," Elena declared once more, since Katherine was apparently refusing to take in this message.

"And that's incredibly stupid of you," Katherine replied. "Do you know where Klaus is? When he's coming, what he looks like?" All good questions, and in all honesty, Sarah had to admit, none of them did know any of those answers. Which made her blood boil, knowing that Katherine probably didn't know either but would be more than happy to pretend like she did.

"You want to help, prove it, right now. Because unless you say something in the next five seconds that's actually important I'm throwing you out that window, because there's no way in hell I'm letting you torment my sister any more," Damon snarled, advancing towards Katherine with pure rage inside his bright blue eyes.

"Fine. Then I'll just go to the Grill and have some lunch…maybe Aunt Jenna's free for a bite," Katherine said with a smirk, before Sarah's fire relit in defence of her friend, and she found her strength once more – the strength to fight back for those she loved and cared for. And so she ran at Katherine, shoving her against Stefan's desk as it skidded back.

"Really, Sarah? Right here, in front of your brothers and the children?" Katherine teased with a flirtatious smirk as Sarah glared at her, no longer as fearful now that the fire inside her had been lit. Threatening friends who could look after themselves was one thing, but Jenna was defenceless in all this, with no idea the danger she was in, and threatening her was something Sarah didn't take lightly. Even if she was facing down the devil herself and was completely and utterly terrified. For her friends, she found the courage to stand up and fight.

"You want to play your little games with me, that's one thing, but go after Jenna, or anyone else I care about, and I will stop you. Just like I did last time," Sarah warned with her new found confidence, still holding Katherine by the front of her jacket.

"When was it you stopped me? Was it when you failed to kill me and threw me in a tomb? Or when I was trapped in the tomb, and you couldn't bring yourself to kill me?" Katherine continued to tease, tracing a finger along Sarah's collar bone before Sarah shook her by her jacket, bringing Katherine closer to her face, and her warning green eyes. It was a risk she knew, bringing Katherine closer to her – within kissing range – but she had to make herself clear.

"I. Will. Kill. You," Sarah stated, the determination in her green eyes backing up every word. But even so Katherine only smiled.

"Is it bad that I'm extremely turned on right now?" Katherine asked, before Sarah pushed her back and turned away. With her back to her though, Sarah then felt Katherine's chuckle, hitting the back of her neck like a cold breeze in the middle of winter.

She was done with this, she needed to get away, and for once, school was offering a perfect escape from her crazy messed up world, and into fantasy of a boring life.

"I'm going to school, I'll see you there," Sarah said as her parting words before exiting Stefan's room and leaving them all behind. And then finally she got a break from all the Katherine drama, managing to avoid her for the rest of the morning as she got her breakfast and gathered up her schools things – as well as the homework she was miles behind on. Looks like its time to compel a study group again, as in a group to do her studying and homework for her because she was clearly to busy with saving Elena, her family and her world, as per usual. In any case, she happily went to school with Stefan, Elena and Scarlett, seeing as the other choice was to stay at home with Damon and the Bitch.

Unfortunately, for once, the school day went by too quickly, and before Sarah knew it, she was halfway through the day and dreading the thought of going to a home where Katherine was waiting for her. Thankfully a distraction presented itself in Alaric's room as Sarah passed by, her ears picking up on the voice of Alaric and Elena as they spoke to one another.

"It was bad. You know, John planted all these seeds about Isobel and now Jenna knows I'm lying about something," Alaric was explaining, and at the mention of one of her closest friend's names, Sarah couldn't help but gravitate towards the closed classroom door.

"John's going to end up dead on the kitchen floor if he's not careful," Elena groaned, rubbing her temple as she took in irritable breaths, so consumed by them she didn't notice the classroom door open and close.

"I could easily arrange that," Sarah offered, along with a friendly smile to the two who jumped a little at her unannounced entrance. "Sorry," she began apologising. "Couldn't help but over hearing."

"It's okay, Sarah," Elena sighed, offering up a tired smile. Her day hadn't gotten off to the best start, much like Sarah's, and it didn't seem to be getting any better.

"Killing John isn't going to be that easy anymore… I gave him back his ring," Alaric explained, holding up his hand that once held his supernatural death resistant ring. Both Elena and Sarah took on a look of surprise, staring at Alaric as he dropped his hand, an obvious annoyance towards John showing in his action. "But more importantly, Jenna's now constantly asking about Isobel. Not to an obsessive point, but she's curious."

"What's she asking about?" Sarah inquired.

"'Was she murdered? Why haven't they fond the body?'" Alaric listed of with a hand wave. "Those sorts of things. I mean, how much longer can she stay in the dark?"

At that Elena sat up, eyes widening slightly at what Alaric was implying. Sarah however wasn't as surprised. She'd thought about it herself a few times, but had never brought it up. Although, keeping Jenna in the dark was just becoming a liability at this point, she needed to know the truth. Not just because it was morally right, but because it was the only way she could effectively protect herself and help the people she loved.

"You think we should tell her the truth?" Elena asked, just to clarify.

"I'm saying I can't be with her and not tell her," Alaric answered. "It's not fair to her, and it's not the kind of relationship I want." Sarah felt for him, she did. He clearly loved Jenna and she him, but this wall of secrets was beginning to drive a sever wedge between them. And yet, Alaric was apparently so good, that he wouldn't break that wall, not without the consent of Elena and Jeremy, he saw it as their secret to tell not his. He truly was a noble man, maybe even more so than Elijah and Amelia.

"Not to mention it's becoming more dangerous for her not to know," Elena agreed, pushing off the desk she'd been leaning against, arms folding. "I just thought that we'd at least hold off until after we've dealt with Klaus." Sarah knew why she'd made that decision originally, so that she wouldn't have had to fight her aunt, as well as everyone else on the sacrifice business. But since the recent development on the sacrifice issue – and the fact that she was now running the show – the subject of telling Jenna hadn't been brought up until right now.

"What do you think?" Elena asked, turning towards Sarah.

"Me?" Sarah asked, surprised she was getting a say in the matter suddenly. Sure she thought she was good friend's with Jenna, but she wasn't immediate family or in a relationship with her. What right did she have to speak on the matter, even if she did have an opinion on it.

When Elena nodded, Sarah then folded her own arms, mirroring Elena's pose as she briefly lowered her head. "I have to agree with Alaric," Sarah admitted as she looked back up at the two. "It's becoming hard enough for some of us to tell when it's Katherine and not you, what chance has Jenna got when she doesn't even know? And considering how close she is to all of us, we can't exactly keep her separated from all of this. Just look at the dinner party incident," Sarah pointed out, referring to how Jenna had been caught up in the attempt to kill the Originals. Of course had Damon not stuck Sarah in a tomb, that never would have happened, but still. "And no offence to Alaric, but even if they broke up, she'd still be dragged into this because of you and Jeremy, Elena. And she's already been involved because of Katherine – when she had her stab herself." All three of them grimaced at that particular memory, of when Jenna had attempted to kill herself on Katherine orders. All of them having been there when it happened. "And maybe if she'd known, that wouldn't have happened," Sarah argued.

"But how do we tell her? How do you just drop that on someone?" Elena thought aloud, uncertainty in her voice.

"If you want I can tell her," Sarah offered. "But she is your family, and honestly, I think it would be better coming from you – the human – than me – the blood sucking, murderous, vampire," Sarah suggested with a sympathetic smile. Besides, she didn't really want to go through the whole explanation thing with Jenna. That was always awkward and the truth was she liked Jenna, and you never knew how someone's going to react to the vampirism thing. It could be a real turn off for some people.

"I with Sarah," Alaric said solemnly as he looked to Elena, who seemed to shrink in a little, seeing as the two were pushing the decision and the responsibility of it on to her. She had wanted to be in charge however, and while Sarah sympathised, these were the decisions a leader had to make. "It should be your decision to make. And whatever you decide, I'll respect it. But I also want to be honest with her. And until then, am afraid Jenna and I are done," Alaric said with true sadness in his voice.

The discussion was then closed after that, ended by the ringing bell. In any case, Sarah figured Elena had enough to think over now. She'd heard what they had to say and now it was up to her to make the final decision, or rather her and Jeremy – if she chose to include him in the weight of that choice. Sarah certainly didn't envy her, but she had been serious about her offer to tell Jenna if she wanted. She'd reminded her of that on the way to their next class, but Elena had said if she made the decision – which she was admittedly leaning towards – then she would do it herself. She wasn't a coward, and Sarah respected that. But regardless of who told Jenna what, Sarah was undoubtedly nervous about the outcome.

Much like the first half of the school day, the second half went by far too quickly and Sarah was then left with the horrible reality of going home. Or at least she was until Elena made the offer for her to come over along with Caroline and Bonnie, to which Sarah could have kissed her. Anything that kept her away from Katherine Pierce she was gain for, and apparently the same went for Scarlett as she opted to go into hiding with Jeremy.

Sarah wondered how things were going between them. On the outside everything seemed fine, but Scarlett still had that secret of hers, the one she never wanted to talk about anymore. Everyone that knew had agreed to keep quiet and give her space to figure out how to tell Jeremy, but it had been over a month and a bit now, and Sarah was of the mind that it might be getting to the point were she never told him – that she just pretended that it never happened. Maybe she wasn't one to judge, but as someone who'd been on the other side of a lie like that, she though she ought to caution Scarlett. Because the longer she kept it bottled up, the bigger the explosion would be when it finally came out. Ronnie was a pretty good example of that. Sarah could only imagine how things might have changed had he told her back when they first fell in love, that he was working for Katherine.

In any case, a window never appeared to mention or talk about Scarlett's relationship on the way to the Gilberts' and when they arrived Jeremy and Scarlett quickly vanished up to his room while Sarah and Elena went into the kitchen. Shortly after Caroline and Bonnie arrived and Bonnie told them about her and Stefan's meeting with Jonas and Luka. It had not gone well apparently, which wasn't a huge surprise to Sarah as they gathered around the island in the kitchen and Elena started to grab glasses and plates for the food they were about to order.

"Chinese food or pizza?" Caroline asked as Elena placed a bowl of chips in the middle of the island, leaning past Sarah to do so.

"Like you have to ask," Elena said with a grin, before heading back over to the cupboard to grab some glasses for them all.

"I'll get it," Caroline said, grabbing her tablet from her handbag, only to then freeze when she saw her screen saver. With her face dripping in sadness, Sarah frowned, trying to think of what could make her so sad. When she glanced over at Bonnie, she got her answer as the witch mouthed, 'Matt.' Sarah nodded in understanding as Bonnie reached over to take the tablet from Caroline.

Another relationship that was in trouble because of the supernatural and secrets, because even though Caroline and Matt obviously loved each other, Caroline was still afraid to be with him because of what she was. That said, the reason Caroline broke up with him no longer really stood in Sarah's opinion. The whole reason she'd broken up with him was to protect him from herself, worried that she might bite into him and drain him dry. But Caroline had more than enough self control to get involved with any human now. There would always be risks, but if she couldn't get over that hurdle or at the very least take a leap then she'd never be able to be with anyone.

"Do you believe that Jonas is being sincere?" Elena asked the group, returning to the island as Bonnie scrolled through Caroline's tablet looking for a suitable pizza place to order from.

"I don't know what to believe," Bonnie answered as she continued to scroll. "I think he's at a loss. He's not sure who to trust."

"Join the club," Elena sighed as she grabbed a chip from the bowl and began to chew, before sliding on to the stool next to Sarah.

"Well, what are we going to do about this movie situation?" Caroline then asked, sitting up on her side of the island. "What about, The Notebook?"

"No," Sarah said plainly as she grabbed a chip from the bowl. "I hate adaptations. The book's better."

"Have you even seen the movie?" Caroline asked matter-of-factly while Elena and Bonnie snickered between themselves.

"I don't need to have seen it, or read the book, to know the book's better," Sarah replied in the same matter-of-factly tone.

"If you haven't read the book then there's no harm in watching the movie," Caroline argued with a perky – we're doing this whether you like it or not – smile.

"I'm not watching an adaptation," Sarah declared once more, chewing on another chip as her green eyes met Caroline's equally determined blue-green.

"Besides, Caroline, you've seen that movie more than enough times," Elena argued with a grin.

"You can never see enough of, The Notebook," Caroline exclaimed.

"Yes you can, and I'm currently sitting at the correct number of zero times," Sarah teased, reaching for another chip when Caroline yanked the bowl to her side of the table and out of Sarah's reach.

"It's like the slumber party all over again," Bonnie sighed, before they all started to laugh, only stopping abruptly when they heard Jenna walking in after being out.

"Hey," Elena said uneasily as she turned around in her chair to face Jenna who was dropping off her jacket and purse.

"What's going on?" Jenna asked, looking around at all the teenagers offering her sad smiles from around the kitchen island.

"Girl's night," Elena answered, although Sarah had been thinking of it as more a, hide away from Katherine night – but girl's night works too. "How're you doing?" Elena asked, when they all saw the sad look pass over Jenna's face – and they all knew what the cause of it was.

"You heard about my fight with Ric," Jenna sighed.

"He feels terrible," Elena said in complete honesty, but how was Jenna to know that.

"Is this some kind of disguised attempt to cheer me up?" Jenna asked, gesturing the room full of teenagers who were all looking sympathetically at her. Although when she asked this, they all fringed innocence.

"No. No, this is about us girls hanging out and you know, we'll be here if you happen to want to talk or..." Elena began to trial off, unsure of where to go until Caroline picked up the ball.

"Because I am a winner when it comes to successful relationships," Caroline said in sarcastic optimism.

"At least your boyfriend didn't stab you in the back and shack up with your mortal enemy," Sarah muttered spitefully. She was paraphrasing for Jenna's sake, but Ronnie had still hurt her in a similar way to which Alaric was now hurting Jenna – so she felt she could join the bad relationship club they were now forming.

"You guys too?" Jenna asked as both Sarah and Caroline offered up understanding smiles.

"You have no idea," Caroline sighed out, and she really didn't.

"Okay, then," Jenna sighed, caving in as she wondered over to the fridge and grabbed herself a beer before joining the girls at the island. "It's this whole Isobel thing. He's hiding something from me," Jenna explained, correctly assuming everyone there already knew the story behind her and Alaric's problems.

"To play devil's advocate, maybe there is a great reason why he's not telling you," Caroline offered, and everyone in the know instantly caught on to the fact that she wasn't just talking about Alaric with that statement. "Maybe he is just trying to protect you."

"Well, that's not his call to make. I mean, I deserve the truth. Everybody does," Jenna said as she opened up her beer bottle.

"I'd agree with that," Sarah murmured, thinking back to Ronnie and his lies about Katherine.

"See," Jenna said, pointing to Sarah with the bottle before taking a drink and setting it back down on the counter.

"Sometimes it's harder than that though," protested Caroline defensively. Almost as if she was talking to the person she was keeping secrets from.

"Not if it's somebody you care about, it isn't," Jenna said simply, hitting Caroline a lot harder than had been intended as an awkward silence settled in.

Caroline being Caroline however, couldn't stand that and quickly spoke up again, continuing the conversation with, "You know what we need?"

"Alcohol?" Sarah suggested, feeling more than a little mopey after the stroll down lying boyfriend lane.

"No," Caroline said condescendingly, before then brightening up and saying, "Dancing. There's a band at the Grill."

"I'm in," Bonnie said happily.

"In," agreed Jenna.

"In," Elena added, raising her glass before they all looked to Sarah.

"As long as I can get a drink sure," Sarah said, offering up a smile as she tried to push aside the thoughts of her suddenly depressing life.

"I'm not buying you a drink," Jenna said as she began to chug her beer, of which no one batted an eye.

"That's fine, I'm good at getting what I want anyway," Sarah said with an obvious look to the girls who were, 'her age'. Caroline grinned back, while Elena and Bonnie rolled their eyes with smiles.

"We can deal with your drinking problem another night, come on," Caroline said as they begun grabbing what they needed and heading for the door.

"I don't have a drinking problem," Sarah stated calmly.

"Of course not," Bonnie muttered with a grin as Sarah shot her the stink eye from behind.

They filed out the house, first Caroline, then Bonnie and Elena before Jenna paused when it was only her and Sarah left inside the hallway. "Jeremy's home right?" she asked and Sarah nodded.

"Yeah, he's up stairs with Scarlett," Sarah answered, before a cheeky grin slid onto Jenna's face. One that was quickly reciprocate by Sarah.

"Hey, you two, we're going to the Grill! Remember not to do anything inappropriate because I'll find out!" Jenna shouted up the stairs, already laughing as she did.

"Even if it's just kissing, remember to come up for air!" Sarah added as both women stepped out of the house, laughing as Jeremy and Scarlett shouted after them. They didn't catch any of it though, as they quickly piled into cars and drove off to the Grill.

When they arrived, the aforementioned band was already in full swing and the Grill was packed with dancing bodies of all ages. The area where the crowd had formed had been cleared of tables to make room, leaving only a few seats available around the edge of the restaurant and at the bar. For the first few minutes, the five women made their way into the centre of the crowd, enjoying the music and ideally chatting about the turn out. But then Jenna saw Rick and the atmosphere quickly took a nose dive. "I need a drink," she declared, immediately abandoning the group and heading for the bar. Elena was about to follow her when Sarah gently pushed her back.

"I've got it," she said, before tailing Jenna towards the bar while Elena reminded behind with Caroline and Bonnie. When she arrived, Jenna had already hailed a barman and was giving him her order. He turned to leave as Sarah arrived but she managed to reach over and tap his arm at the last second. "Hi, I'll have whatever she's having and another round of the same," Sarah said, taking out the wallet from her back pocket.

"I'm gonna need to see some ID," the bartender said, as he turned back around, fully ready to inspect the laminated piece of card.

"No problem," Sarah said holding out her ID, but by then she'd already captured the bartenders eyes and had him under her influences. "Everything's fine though, so why don't you just get us what we ordered," Sarah compelled, before releasing her hold on the barman's mind so he could glance at her ID.

"Yeah, everything seems fine," he agreed, handing the ID back over in exchange for the money Sarah offered him. "Let me just get those shots for you."

"Thank you," Sarah said as she put away her purse and turned to Jenna who was staring curiously at her with a grin. "Told you I'm good at getting what I want."

Jenna chuckled. "I should totally stop you, right?"

"Of course," agreed Sarah as the bartender returned with their shots. She quickly picked them both up, offering one to Jenna as they both leaned against the bar. "But tonight I'm not some irresponsible underage drinker, I'm a friend helping out another friend," Sarah explained with a friendly smile. Jenna smiled back, grateful, before taking her shot. "Cheers," Sarah said, before they both clinked their glasses against one another and downed the tequila Jenna had apparently ordered.

They both let out a sigh of delight, before the mood took yet another nose dive, as Alaric approached them. "Jenna," he said in an awkward hello, as he came to a stop beside Sarah and Jenna.

"Not tonight, Ric," Jenna said, grabbing the second shot that the bartender had brought for her and Sarah. "Tonight I have traded you for señor tequila and my best friend," Jenna explained before pausing, realisation hitting her face. "My God, I'm best friends with a high school student," Jenna murmured in a moment of self pity, before she downed the shot.

"Yeah, well, señor tequila's not going to be treating you very well," Alaric added with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood – which Sarah knew was a bad idea before he'd even said it.

"Well, the two of you have a lot in common," snapped Jenna as she turned to glare past Sarah and at her supposed ex.

"And that would be my cue to take you–" Sarah paused as she grabbed her small glass of tequila. "–and make a run for it," she declared before swiftly turning and retreating to the dance floor where the rest of her friends were waiting for her.

They were already in a deep discussion about something, although Sarah quickly caught on to the topic of conversation after standing next to Caroline for a few short moments. "All you do is talk about how much you care about him," Bonnie said, and that was when Sarah realised they were talking about Matt and Caroline.

"Yeah, but I'm still keeping so many secrets," Caroline said in the form of an excuse, clearly scared to go and fight for Matt.

"Alaric's in the same position as you," Sarah pointed out from next to Caroline, as the three girls turned to look at her and her shot of tequila. She then gestured over to the bar where Jenna was storming away from Alaric, leaving him depressed and alone. "At least he's thinking about telling her everything," Sarah added as she turned back to Caroline. "What about you? You think you want to tell Matt?"

Caroline seemed to shrink then, as if ashamed. "Maybe…" she answered softly, before then quickly moving in to another Caroline-esque ramble. "But you've seen what's happened to all of us over the past few months. What if him knowing just drags him into all this and puts him in more danger? And it's not like he can defend himself. He's not like you or me, or Bonnie, or even Alaric and Elena.

"I just want to keep him safe, and surely he's better off being kept in the dark," Caroline exclaimed while the music and the cheering teens continued to rumble around them. Sarah could only offer a sympathetic look to her blonde vampire friend, one that didn't seem to help all that much.

"Maybe that's our mistake then," Elena suddenly spoke up, as everyone turned to look at her. "We're trying to protect the people that we love by keeping them out of it, but in the end, we're hurting them anyway. I mean, look at both Matt and Jenna. Both have been compelled and almost killed…maybe if they'd known that wouldn't have happened," Elena explained, repeating Sarah's words from earlier in the classroom.

There was then a silence among the group, as the band finished their song and the crowd began to cheer. None of them where making eye contract with one another, and Sarah was eyeing her shot, about ready to take it when Caroline suddenly took off her jacket and handed it over to Bonnie.

"What are you doing?" Bonnie asked, before Caroline began to push her way through the crowd and to the front.

"Where are you going?" Elena called after her, but her voice most likely got lost in the cheers of the crowd, as the three girls stood and watched Caroline approach the stage. And then she was up on the stage, and everyone was staring at her – including the band members – as the spotlight shone on her.

"Hey, everybody!" Caroline said into the microphone. "Let's hear it for the band! Weren't they awesome?"

The crowd began to cheer in agreement as Jenna joined the group once more. The four of them all staring up at Caroline with varying expressions of worry and concern. "This is not going to end well," Jenna mumbled.

"I hear that," Sarah said, before going to take her shot, only to have Jenna suddenly snatch it from her hand and down what hadn't fallen out the glass. "Hey!" Sarah snapped with a look of annoyance, while Bonnie and Elena grinned from next to her.

"Sorry, no more for you. I'm being a responsible adult again," Jenna said with a smirk, holding out the glass for Sarah. She took it back with a grumble, Elena and Bonnie chucking from beside her as they all watched Caroline awkwardly explain herself before the audience.

"So, there's this guy. And, uh, he told me to tell him how I feel about him. Like it's so easy," she said with a nervous laugh while looking over to Matt, who'd stopped working to see what was going on. "Um…" she continued, awkwardly, as confused mumbles began to pass around the crowd. "You know, just because I talk a lost doesn't mean I always know what I'm actually talking about."

"You mean like now?" Sarah said, though luckily not loud enough for anyone other than her friends to hear. Although Bonnie did nudge her, with a look that told her to be more supportive. Sarah couldn't really argue with that, especially after all the nagging she'd done to Bonnie about being a better friend to Caroline when she'd first turned. Still, there was being a better friend, and then there was watching them stand up on stage and horribly explain their feelings before a huge crowd.

"I can sing!" she suddenly declared.

"She can what?" Jenna exclaimed, as all four of them went wide eyed.

"Oh, God," Elena sighed, cringing as Caroline continued.

"Yeah, you know what, I'm going to sing," Caroline declared, as if it were karaoke night.

"Come on, off the stage," the lead singer said calmly as he tried to gentle push Caroline towards the edge. But before he could, Caroline turned and quickly started to compel him.

"You are going to let me live out my rock star fantasies, and you are going to be my back-up," Caroline explained, as the singer stared lazily into her eyes. Then he blinked, accepting what Caroline had told him and straightened up, awake once more.

"What'll it be?" he asked, before Caroline leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"I guess you're not the only one who's good at getting what they want," Jenna muttered to Sarah who nodded in agreement. She felt she'd taught Caroline pretty well, at least in the compulsion department.

After a short chatter from the band, they started to play the song Eternal Flame, and Caroline stepped back up to the microphone – her eyes going right to Matt. "Close your eyes, give me your hand…" Caroline sang out, as the whole crowd watched, and slowly began to sway to the gentle and loving beat.

"No way," Sarah whisper exclaimed as she watched Caroline sing, surprised to find out she was actually very good.

"She's good," Jenna said, voicing Sarah's thoughts as Elena and Bonnie nodded along. The song continued, and everybody just listened, enjoying the blissful moment, until suddenly Matt ran up onto the stage and Caroline stopped singing.

"Matt–" Carline began to say, before having to stop as he took her and lovingly pressed his lips to hers – to which the crowd cheered. Her friends were the ones that cheered the loudest, even when Matt dipped her and the crowd's cheers increased – all while the band continued to play.

It was a nice moment to behold, Sarah thought, as she stood along with her smiling friends. Hopefully it wouldn't be one that ended up being ruined down the road, and even more so – hopefully Caroline and Matt would make it. She'd tell him the truth and they'd live happily ever after.

But as Sarah knew from personal experience – and not just with Ronnie – being honest doesn't make everything perfect.

* * *

Since everyone else had gone out, Jeremy and Scarlett had the house to themselves. And after sitting on Jeremy's bed and talking for ten minutes, they finally realised this had been the first time in a long time that they'd had a house to themselves. No vampire's listening, no risk of family members walking in on them – with bloody knifes or other supernatural dramas, be it werewolf attacks or yet another vampire with an axe to grind. And nobody should be back for a long while.

Naturally, both teenagers were thinking the same thing when they came to this realisation. And then, what started off as teasing, little, flirty smiles, quick transcended into Scarlett straddling Jeremy, making out with him heatedly, as she pushed him down onto the bed.

That had been the test. The last few times they'd even thought about it something had always come up. Either someone had come home at that exact moment, or someone would call them with an urgent message or the smoke alarm would go off or whatever. But this time they weren't interrupted. They lay there for a good five minutes just making out until they parted, realising they might actually have a chance to do what they'd both been craving for a while now.

"We're not in a dream right?" Scarlett asked, her hands on either side of Jeremy's face as she looked down at him, suspicious frown in place – because by this point every other time something had intervened with their, 'activities'. "Like, this is actually, properly real."

"Speaking from experience I'd say we'd be a lot further along if this was a dream," pointed out Jeremy with a grin, before lifting himself up to continue the make out session, his hand running up and down Scarlett's neck as he joyfully pressed his lips to hers.

Another break as Scarlett pointed out," I"m just saying it's been a while. Usually because we're always being interrupted."

"Really, I hadn't noticed," Jeremy said, playing dumb.

"In that case, maybe I should go and join the girls at the Grill," Scarlett said casually, going to get off of Jeremy until he pulled her back onto him and they fell back onto the bed laughing. The laughter quickly ceased however, when their lips met again, tongues dancing in and out each others mouths as if it were a tango.

"Okay, I lied. I've been counting the days since last time," Jeremy admitted in between kisses, breathing already starting to sound a bit heavy.

"That's good, so have I," Scarlett said with a grin, before leaning out of his reach as she brushed her hair aside. "So, should we…?"

"Sure, what's the difference between being interrupted twenty-four times instead of twenty-three," Jeremy said with a shrug.

"Twenty-three? Seriously?" Scarlett asked, mentally counting all the times they'd tried to do it since their first.

"I told you'd I'd kept count," grinned Jeremy, reaching up for a kiss before falling back down, grin now more goofball like. Luckily for him Scarlett found that very cute, as she reached over for his drawer, taking out the item they'd almost used several times now.

"Hey, can I be on top this time?" Jeremy asked, to which Scarlett dramatically rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she sighed out, as if it were such an effort on her part – only to then yelp when Jeremy swiftly pulled her down beneath him and he rolled on top of her, switching their positions. Another round of laughter ensued before he then took her lips, their hands briefly interlocking as he took what she'd retrieved from his bedside drawer. "Cloths," Scarlett then pointed out as they parted.

"Yeah, I know," Jeremy said cockily, lifting himself up so he could remove his shirt. "This isn't my first time you know."

"Could have fooled me," teased Scarlett, shrieking when Jeremy then started planting kisses along her neck, only shutting her up with another kiss. Yet another make out moment, before they broke to remove Scarlett's t-shirt. Then the love making continued, as Jeremy dropped kiss after kiss around her neck, suckling at her as if he were a vampire.

Finally, Scarlett could take no more and grabbed his head, pulling his lips up to her as she entered a blissful world where only she and Jeremy could exist. She was savouring it all, taking it all in as she remembered how it had been last time. They'd been in this very room. Anna had just passed. They'd needed each other, and the primal urge had taken over from there. Before they knew it they were entangled, rolling around the forest floor. Their think fur coats brushing against each other before–

Scarlett gasped, pushing Jeremy off with a sudden force before sliding up to the head of the bed, away from him. She blinked and it was gone, she was back in Jeremy's bedroom, on his bed, with him. She was sweating, her breathing laboured, eye wide with fright and shock.

Jeremy was frowning back at her, confused by what had just happened. His breathing not quite as heavy as his girlfriend's, who was curled up at the top of his bed, staring at him with such fright he couldn't help but wonder what he'd done wrong. "Sorry, did I hurt you?" he said apologetically, and Scarlett's heart ached at the hypocrisy.

"No," she said quietly, but loud enough for him to hear. "You didn't hurt me, Jeremy," she said, face blank as she saw memories flash before her eyes. All featuring one key figure. Mason Lockwood.

She'd been a fool. A complete and utter fool. To think she had tried to repress it, to forget it, let it fade into the past and go on as if it never happened. Right now had proven that wasn't possible. She might be able to ignore it in the day to day, even during the romantic stuff with her boyfriend. But given the last time she'd done what she and Jeremy were about to do, had been with Mason, she would never be able to do it with Jeremy. Not until she told him the truth. She couldn't run from this anymore, not if she wanted this relationship to continue. She'd let it rest for too long.

But looking at his innocent face, and his soft loving brown eyes. Scarlett wasn't sure she could do it.

She waited for her inner wolf to weigh in, to give its opinion on the matter. To lie and power on through, or fess up. Annoyingly enough, it had no opinion on this matter. Shame, it might have been just the thing Scarlett needed to force her into being honest.

"Is everything okay, Scarlett?" Jeremy asked, stood up on his hands and knees at the other end of the bed, having given Scarlett her space.

She didn't answer him. All she did was stare back, remaining curled up in between his pillows, as she battled in her mind on how best to proceed. Maybe she didn't have to tell him right now? Maybe it was a mistake to try doing _that_ so soon? Give it a little more time, it'll pass and eventually they'd get back to where they were before she'd made that mistake with Mason…

No. This can't go on. She'd pushed it off for far too long. Her friends had been far too kind to her, not pushing her, but maybe that was because of all the other drama going on around them. Maybe it was because some of them didn't see the sense in tearing down a relationship, especially when their own were burning all around them. Maybe that was just it, they'd wanted to spear both her and Jeremy the pain of what would happen if she told him the truth. And they were right, it would hurt. Scarlett could feel her heart cracking at the mere thought of it. But it had to be done. If she was ever going to get back to that point in time with Jeremy, when they'd been perfectly in love and everything had been right – before she ruined it all with Mason – then she'd have come clean. It had to be now!

"Jeremy…" Scarlett said timidly, her blue eyes trembling.

"Yeah, Scarlett?" Jeremy said, before seeing her eyes and leaning over. "What's wrong?" he asked in his caring way, going to brush her tears before Scarlett gently grabbed his wrist. She shook her head, tears dropping as she pushed him back.

"I need to tell you something… And you're not going to like it…"

Hearing her tone, Jeremy sat up on his knees before Scarlett, though kept himself low as not to intimidate her. "What is it?" he asked, voice thick with concern. _How quick that would change_ , Scarlett thought.

She couldn't meet his eyes any longer. But at the same time she had to savour that last look. That last loving look in his eyes because she might never see it again after saying what had to be said. "Jeremy… I'm sorry," she whimpered out, as the tears came out in more force.

"'Sorry?' What are you talking about?"

When she didn't answer, he leaned over to comfort her but she pushed him back again. "No. Just…Just listen to me. Don't comfort me, don't come near me, just sit there and listen. Please," Scarlett said, meeting his gaze for a just a moment to get her point across through her teary eyes.

He got it, and backed off as Scarlett's head lowered shamefully. She still hadn't worked out exactly how to say it. But then, there never was going to be a good or correct way to say it. She just had to do it.

"I cheated on you, Jeremy." When the words first came out, Scarlett hadn't even been sure it was her who said them. She hadn't felt her lips move, hadn't felt her voice come out. She'd just heard the words, and after a moment realised it was her voice that had said them, aloud.

She'd gone numb. And Jeremy had gone very still.

An unbearable silence descended on them, and during it Scarlett stupidly lifted her head to look Jeremy in the eye. And in his eyes she saw what she would never forget for as long as she lived. Those hurt, unbelieving, outraged, shocked, horrified, sad and above all, heart broken eyes. The very look Scarlett had envisioned whenever she thought about this moment and had wanted to avoid for so long. And now that it had finally arrived, she found herself wishing that she'd put it off even longer. Wishing she hadn't said anything and let the paradise continue, blissfully unaware.

"What…?" Jeremy breathed out in near silence.

And with that one word Scarlett dropped into near hysteria as she found herself reach for him, needing him to hold her and comfort her the way he always had. "Jeremy, I'm–" but he shoved her hand away this time, still staring at her with those heart broken, unbearable brown eyes. She wanted nothing more than to look away, to forget his look, and all the damage and hurt she'd just caused him. But if she did that, she'd lose any chance at getting him back. And she really needed him.

"What… What do you mean, 'you cheated on me?'" Jeremy asked, voice thick with confused anger. Hurt and painful tears already forming as Scarlett's continued to flood out in her hysteric state.

"It–It–It was an accident and–"

"An accident!" shouted Jeremy as he jumped off the bed and onto his feet, his brown eyes turning a darker shade. "What the hell does that mean, 'an accident,' how do you accidentally cheat on me?!"

"Just–Just let me explain–" Scarlett begged.

"Please!" Jeremy snapped once more. "Because I'm clearly missing a lot here!"

"It was with Mason, on the night of the full moon. Something happened during it–"

"Wait! It was with Mason?! As in Mason Lockwood!" shouted Jeremy, face contorting as he tried to make sense of what was being dumped on him. He stared pacing at the foot of the bed, and Scarlett could do nothing but watch him as he went back and forth. Her eyes stuck to him through the waves of tears and painful stings, never once blinking for fear that he might run off and leave her for good. _Could she really blame him if he did?_

"Which full moon?" he suddenly snapped.

"What?" Scarlett replied, confused by why he was asking such an odd question.

"Which full moon was it you…" He struggled to get out the rest of that sentence, having to gulp down the bile that threatened to come up with his words. He took a second, hands going to his hips as his head lowered with an angry breath that made Scarlett squirm from her spot on the bed. "When you did it with him?"

It was only then Scarlett realised why Jeremy was asking her this. Mason was dead, had been for over a month now. There had been one full moon since then. That meant unless some supernatural intervention had happened, and Mason had come back to life, that Scarlett had kept this form him for over a month. And sadly, that was the truth.

"Two full moons ago," she answered guiltily, head lowering to her fingers that were prodding one another on her lap. "The day I went with the others to Duke."

"That was _months_ ago!" Jeremy raged, as he threw his arms out, like some flaming demon spreading its wings.

"I know," Scarlett cried, more tears falling. Tears of shame.

"Then why didn't you tell me?!"

"Because I was scared!" Scarlett shouted back with utter pain in her voice as she stood up on her knees. "I was scared of this, of you acting this way," she explained as she climbed off the bed and approached her boyfriend.

"What, and you think this is an unreasonable way to react to finding out that you cheated on me!" Jeremy exclaimed as he slammed his fists against his chest when referring to himself, like a mad ape about to lose it.

"No! No, I get it, but I just wanted you to let me explain–"

"What is there to explain, Scarlett!"

"Would you just listen to me?!" snapped Scarlett, her tears turning hot suddenly, as the wolf inside began to wake.

"You slept with Mason, there, I think I explained it pretty damn well don't you?!" Jeremy snapped back as he turned his back on Scarlett.

"It's not as simple as that," Scarlett pleaded, needing him to just hear what she had to say about that night.

"Did you love him?" Jeremy asked, turning back around with angry tears and a hurt expression that made Scarlett freeze all over again. "Did you love him?" Jeremy repeated as he approached her. "Like you loved me?"

"No," Scarlett answered as certainly as she could. Because she'd never loved him. She'd only ever loved Jeremy in that way.

"Then why did you do it, Scarlett!"

"I don't know!" she shouted back over him, before the rest came rushing out. "It-It was the full moon, and we were both wolves and I wasn't in control–"

"I thought that was the whole point of your stupid necklace," Jeremy snapped, his hand grabbing it, holding it between them for them both to see before he threw it back at her chest. "To give you control on the full moon, to let you do what you want!"

"That's not–"

"Was it because he's a werewolf? Am I not good enough being a plain old human?" Jeremy accused.

"Jeremy, that was never–"

"What about Tyler, did you screw him too?"

"He's my friend, Jeremy," Scarlett declared defensively, insulted by the accusation.

"So, Mason was working with Katherine, and you still slept with him." He then paused, as something donged on him. "That was what Katherine was going to tell me in the tomb, wasn't it? She knew what you'd done. That was why you didn't want me involved, in case I found this out."

"That's not true," Scarlett replied firmly, but she could see how it would look that way.

"Then why else would you try and keep me out of everything?!" demanded Jeremy.

"Because you were going to get yourself killed!" Scarlett snapped as she stepped towards him. She then reeled it back, reminding herself that she was the guilty part in this story, not Jeremy. She might not like that he was mad with her, but she did deserve it, she was in the wrong, however much she regretted it and wished it wasn't so. She had to be kind and gentle with him, even if he was lashing out at her for now.

"I love you, Jeremy. I didn't want you to die. I know you have that ring but that doesn't make you indestructible. And you aren't strong, or fast, and any supernatural that knows about that ring can kill you very easily," she explained in a lower voice.

"But you have to know Jeremy, I didn't mean for this to happen," she said, reaching forward and taking his hands, willing him to believe her and her honest words. "I wasn't in the right frame of mind, it was the first time I'd ever seen anyone else like me and for whatever reason I just…"

"You jumped at the opportunity," Jeremy said spitefully, pulling his hands from Scarlett's.

"No, it wasn't like that," she pleaded, but once again Jeremy turned away, as Scarlett phone started to buzz from the bedside table. "I was confused, I didn't know what was happening, I was caught up in the rush–"

"And what if you get caught up in the rush again? Am I just supposed to be okay with the fact that you might sleep with another guy, just because your both werewolves?" asked Jeremy, turning back around again.

"It's not like we ever did it as humans," Scarlett protested weakly.

"And that's supposed to make it better?!" snapped Jeremy as the phone stopped ringing, and silence stretched out between them.

"What do you want me to do, Jeremy? Just say it and I'll do it. I'm so sorry that this happened, and I promise it won't ever happen again. But I had to tell you and you had to know, and I know it's not fair of me but I'll do whatever it takes to fix this," she explained, looking into his stormy brown eyes, trying to see any sigh of him wavering, of given in and saving her from this nightmare. Of the love they'd had just a few short minutes ago.

"I don't know if you can fix this," Jeremy said quietly, uncertain as he looked into Scarlett's eyes that suddenly flooded with heartbreak. The same heartbreak she'd seen in Jeremy's eyes when she finally told him. She was watching their relationship crumble down around her, the shaky foundation it was built on cracking with her betrayal. To think, there'd once been a point when she'd wanted nothing more than for Jeremy to leave her alone, for him to be out of her life. And now she was willing to try anything to keep him in it, at any cost.

The phone started ringing again, and with the silence, their locked eyes broke away. There was a moment of hesitation, before Scarlett finally turned and picked up the phone, seeing it was Stefan calling her. She also had a missed call from him too, which had been the call before this one, so it was obviously of some urgency. But even so, Scarlett was in no mood to deal with him or anyone else.

Jeremy needed her attention, their relationship needed her attention. This might be her best and only chance to mend the bridge that was burning between them. If she could just explain what happened more clearly then he would have to understand. She just needed time to explain.

Out of courtesy, she answered the phone. "Hey, Stefan," Scarlett said, doing her best to hide her sobs from her voice. "Now's not really the best time. Me and Jeremy are kinda in the middle of–"

"Scarlett! Are you there?" Stefan shouted down the line, obviously not having heard any of what Scarlett said.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here," Scarlett sighed, rubbing the tears from her eyes as Jeremy sat down on the edge of his bed, face in his hands. She had to wrap this up, quickly. Time was of the essence and she had to show him that he was the most important thing to her right now, not anything else. "But like I said I'm dealing with something right now so–"

"I've been trying Elena and Sarah but they won't pick up. Listen carefully, Jonas is coming for her. Do you hear me, Jonas is coming for Elena!" Stefan shouted in a mad panic.

"He's what?" Scarlett found herself asking, being pulled in like she always was – even when there was something more important needing her attention. And he was sitting on the bed shaking his head as the phone conversation continued on longer than it should.

"Luka tried to release Elijah and Amelia from the daggers, and we accidentally killed him in the process," Stefan quickly explained. "Now Jonas's hurting, and he's dangerous, and he wants Elena. He's done a tracking spell of sorts so he'll know exactly where she is. You and everyone else need to get out the house now and get as far away as possible."

"But Elena's not here," Scarlett explained. "They all went to the Grill a while ago."

"Then that's where Jonas will be," Stefan said firmly. "How quickly can you get there?"

"Give me a few minutes," Scarlett answered without thinking about everything else that was going on.

"All right, see you there," Stefan said before hanging up.

Scarlett then turned to Jeremy, ready to explain to him what was going on, when she remembered they were in the middle of a fight. _God she was awful! How could she forget so easily what was going on between them? How had she ever been able to do it with the memory of Mason? Was she really that messed up?_ She'd have to answer those questions later, because her friends needed her right now, and as much as it pained her, it meant she might have to put a pause on her relationship with Jeremy. Maybe indefinitely.

"I have to go," Scarlett began to explain as she removed her jeans. "Stefan needs me to help him deal with Jonas." She was leaving the part about him going after Elena out for now. The last thing she wanted was to go to the Grill with Jeremy while in the middle of a fight. That wouldn't end well for anyone.

"Whatever," Jeremy mumbled, not even sparing Scarlett a glance as he deliberately looked the other way.

And that hurt her, hurt more than any physical pain she'd endured up to this point. Possibly even more than the night she turned without her choosing. So even though she was stood in nothing but her underwear, she went to Jeremy. Kneeling down in front of him and looking up into this saddened dark eyes. "I'm sorry, Jeremy. If it wasn't an emergency I'd stay and talk this out but they need me."

"Yeah, sure," Jeremy scoffed, looking away until Scarlett grabbed the sides of his head and turned him back to look at her.

"Hey. Promise me we'll talk about this when I get back?" she pleaded, but his souless eyes no longer seemed to care. About her, or anything else.

"Make whatever promises you want. Just don't be surprised if I don't keep to them," Jeremy muttered, before standing up and walking out the room and into his bathroom, slamming the door behind him. She deserved that, and she allowed herself a moment of self pity, wishing things could be so, so different. Then, she removed the last of her cloths, and climbed out the window. Dropping down into the bushes below with only her moonlight necklace, before she began to change into her wolf form.


	33. Doppelgänger Tricks

_Review responses:_

Guest: _Maybe someone will...Maybe someone will..._

 _Gosh this was another hard one to write. Part of me didn't think I was going to meet this deadline. Still, I'm hoping I can at least finish this story without any delays (Hopefully!) and then I might have to take a break for a few months before writing the next story. As when I started this I already had a lot of season 2 planned out, especially with the first few episodes. I've hardly got anything laid out for season 3 and I don't want to rush into it without a plan. I also might try and do shorter chapters so I can update more regularly, but that'll only be with the next story._

 _Just an idea I'm having. Let me know what you think?_

* * *

 **Chapter 33: Doppelgänger Tricks**

* * *

"I'm begging you, stop it," groaned Sarah, closing her eyes as she tried to resist the smile on her face.

"Absolutely not," declared Jenna from the table she, Sarah, Elena and Bonnie were sharing. Caroline had abandoned them to shack up with Matt in the bathroom, a fact they only knew because Elena had walked in on them and returned to the table with a cheeky gossiping grin on her face. And after they'd talked about the inappropriateness of making out in public bathrooms – as well as how they were all happy for Caroline and Matt – the topic then became about relationships.

Jenna's was currently a disaster zone, so they steered clear of that. Elena and Stefan were in a good place right now, so that was boring. Which then left the single Bonnie and Sarah, and with the sneaky witch thinking ahead, she quickly shoved the heat onto Sarah, thus making her the certain of game her friends had lovingly dubbed, 'Who should Sarah go home with tonight?'

"What about him?" Jenna suggested, pointing with her empty beer bottle towards a pretty teenage boy making his way through the crowd.

"Okay, if you're going to insist on doing this, then you have to stop pointing at any random boy who looks my age," argued Sarah with a critical look to the amber blonde headed friend sat beside her.

"Fine," sighed Jenna, before looking for someone else to point out. "What about him?"

"You literally pointed to him a minute ago," pointed out Sarah, to which Bonnie and Elena laughed.

"What can I say, I think he's a catch," Jenna defended with a shrug, encouraging more laughter before she stood up. "Right I'm going to get another beer, back in a moment."

"Get me one as well, would you?" asked Sarah.

"No, I'm cutting you off, seeing as you're…underage!" Jenna whispered hissed dramatically, before walking off towards the bar.

"You know it's just cruel to drink in front of others who can't!" Sarah called after Jenna, before slouching into her seat. "Of all the ages to be trapped in for eternity and I get seventeen," she groaned, prompting Elena and Bonnie to chuckle at her dramatics.

"I'll be back in a moment," Bonnie said, suddenly getting up. "Just going to the toilets."

"You think you'll get past the trolls, Caroline and Matt?" Elena teased, to which Bonnie pointed back at her with a smirk.

"I'm going to tell her you said that," she said before backing away. "And if I can't get past them I guess I'll have to brave the boys' toilets."

"Remember to hold your nose," Elena called after her with a grin.

"And close your eyes," added Sarah before the two giggled together.

"Sorry, about Jenna," Elena found herself apologising once their laughter died down. "I know you said you weren't ready…"

"It's fine," Sarah said, waving her hand. "If she gets really pushy I'll just sleep with whoever she tells me to, just to shut her up."

Another laugh from both of them before Stefan arrived, breathing heavily and leaning on the table before them. "Stefan? What's wrong?" Elena asked, a frown appearing to contrast against her smile – she and Sarah were both very much aware their good time was about to come to an end.

"It's Jonas," Stefan said hurriedly. "He's here, and he's after you."

"What? Why?" exclaimed Elena, after she and Sarah shared confused and alert looks.

"It's too long a story for right now, but I've called Damon and we have a plan," Stefan said, before then telling them both the plan.

"No, no way, absolutely not!" declared Sarah in fury, as she glared up at her brother as if he'd lost his mind. Which considering who his plan relied on, he very well might have.

"I'm with Sarah, Stefan. You can't seriously think this is a good idea?" Elena asked.

"I know it's a gamble–" Stefan began.

"Try suicide," Sarah cut in.

"–But we can talk about it once we've gotten Elena out of here." Since that wasn't entirely unreasonable, Elena and Sarah rose to leave with Stefan when they saw that Jonas had already arrived and was talking with Bonnie. "Damn it, he's already here," groaned Stefan, before all the lights in the building suddenly burst.

"And something tells me he's not in too good a mood," agreed Sarah, as the trio backed away into the shadows, not having been spotted by Jonas yet.

"Someone needs to distract him while I get Elena out," Stefan said, pointed look to Sarah.

"Yeah, considering what happened after you and Damon's latest brilliant idea, I'm not leaving this one in your hands," Sarah argued, before remembering the other vampire in the building. "We can get Caroline, come on," she declared, before they followed the wall towards the bathroom, where the saw Matt running out to try and help the panicking public.

With him out of the way, Sarah lead the way into the bathroom where Caroline was stood alone, smiling into a mirror. At least she was until she saw her friends enter and turned to face them. "Hey," she said awkwardly, instantly picking up on the serious atmosphere around the three.

"We have a problem," Elena said simply.

"What's going on?" Caroline asked, looking between her friends.

"Jonas is here and he's after Elena," Stefan answered.

"Oh my God!" Caroline exclaimed in surprise.

"We need to get her out of here, but considering he's a witch, we might need a distraction," Sarah explained.

Caroline quickly caught on, and stepped up. "What can I do?"

"We're going to try and take Elena out the front. We need you to keep your eyes on Jonas and if he tries to stop us, you stop him," explained Stefan, to which Caroline nodded before the four moved out of the dark bathroom and into the equally dark infested Grill.

Caroline went first, locating Jonas before motioning the others forwards. After that they split up, Stefan and Sarah taking Elena towards the exit while Caroline snuck around to get closer to Jonas and Bonnie who was still trying to reason with him.

It wasn't going to well though, and didn't seem to be improving when parts of the Grill suddenly caught alight, a fire spreading across the bar and several of the railings around the restaurant. For obvious reasons, people started screaming and running for the exits, which actually added cover for the Salvatores and Elena. Or at least that was what they thought until they saw that Jonas had spotted them.

"Dr. Martin, I'm so sorry about Luka!" Elena shouted over to the angry glaring man. He did not seem to appreciate Elena's condolences. "I never wanted that to happen. But, at least least let us help you get your daughter back," Elena pleaded, trying to reason with the grieving man. Something which Sarah and Stefan could have told her was futile. The man had lost everything that mattered to him in his life, and there fore had nothing left to lose. And he was hurting, so he wanted to hurt others, not make peace – especially with those responsible for killing his son, the one thing he still had, until recently.

"Only Elijah and Amelia can do that," Jonas shouted back, over the panicking people still screaming as they fled the Grill.

"You don't need them," Elena continued to argue, but Jonas was done talking, as he recited an incantation and the flames around the Grill doubled in size. The screaming people screamed loud, and everyone backed away further from the surging fire, the heat from which was pushing Elena and the vampires towards Jonas.

Having raised their arms to shield themselves, they turned to find Jonas raising his arm towards them, another spell already being chanted when Caroline pounced from behind, tackling Jonas to the ground with her fangs bared. "We've gotta go!" Stefan shouted to Sarah, who nodded as they both grabbed hold of Elena and vamp sped out the door, leaving Caroline to handle Jonas.

* * *

From the shadows of the alleyway, Scarlett watched, huddled against the wall as the mad crowds of people flooded out of the Grill. She could see the glow of flames from inside, and the sense of danger and anxiety was overwhelming. But as the crowd fled the scene, so did the feelings they were experiencing. However, the sense of panic didn't leave Scarlett completely. Not because of what was happening here at the Grill, but because of Jeremy.

Was that really the end of it, were they over. Had she just made the worst decision of her life by coming clean? Maybe. And no matter how much she tried to focus on the situation at hand, her mind kept going back to Jeremy, and everything she'd put him through.

Maybe he was better of without her in his life. What had she really given him other than hurt, a broken heart and more of a burden to bear than he already had. The guy had lost his parents, he didn't need Scarlett's drama on top of that. A werewolf unlike any other, one who didn't have nearly as much control as she liked to think she did. Really the only control she'd ever had was in keeping the truth from Jeremy. Now that she'd told him and the inevitable had happened, she just felt lost.

Shaking her snout, Scarlett brought herself back to the moment, trying to think strategically like Sarah would. She couldn't shift into human form. Being a naked teenager wasn't going to help and would draw attention to her. The same could be said for being a wolf in the centre of town. But of the two she was more dangerous and protected as the wolf. But as the wolf, it would be safer to wait until Jonas came out, rather than going in and risking the fire and glass.

She knew Stefan had gotten Elena and Sarah out. And since Elena was Jonas' target, he should have followed out. But Scarlett was still yet to pick up his scent, and the increasing amount of smoke in the air wasn't making that any easier. The crackling fire and screaming people made it impossible to hear what was going on inside, so for the time being Scarlett really could only sit and wait. Keep her nose on alert, along with her ears, and do her best not to think about how badly she'd just screwed up by telling Jeremy the truth.

It was another few minutes before Jonas finally emerged from within the restaurant, stepping out onto the empty street and looking around. After seeing him, Scarlett did the same, checking the coast was clear of anyone who might get in the way, before she ran at Jonas. If he did see her coming – the blurring shadow that she was – there was no indication that he tried to stop her, as Scarlett clamped onto his leg with her canines and dragged his feet out from under him.

He screamed out in shock and pain, as he hit the ground, Scarlett clamping down all the more, feeling his blood erupt into her mouth.

She had him, and a little more pressure and she'd have his foot clean off. But before she could go through with it her head began to ache. At first a subtle pain until suddenly it was like her head was on fire with the worst headache of all time. In fact it was more than that, it was like the inside of her head was exploding. She released Jonas' leg, unable to control herself as she began to sway, losing her sense of balance on her four legs.

One side ended up giving way and she collapsed, whimpering in petty as she squeezed her golden eyes shut, trying to will the pain to stop. But it didn't stop, it only increased in volume, until Scarlett suddenly felt her body shifting back, as if to compensate for the pain. She felt the fur recede along her body, her tail bone pushing itself back inside her rear, her bone structures returning to human rather than wolf.

For once the pain was actually a relief, as the throbbing, indescribable, headache paused, while her body and brain were twisted and shoved into their original place.

When it was all over, and Scarlett was once again human, the pain didn't return. But when Scarlett lifted her head up off the concrete floor, Jonas was gone. A small puddle of blood before Scarlett, but with nothing to show which direction he'd gone off in.

All she could hope was she'd given the others an enough time to either escape, or in act a plan to protect Elena.

As for as she herself was concerned, Scarlett had failed in doing anything good this day. She'd been unable to stop Jonas, she'd basically set off the bomb that had been her and Jeremy's relationship since she slept with Mason. And now she was lying on the street outside the burning Grill, naked save her mother's necklace, and alone.

Or at least she thought so, until someone put a jacket over her. She looked up through tired, saddened eyes, at the woman who'd come to her side. Bonnie of all people. "Are you okay?" she asked in concern, bending down next to Scarlett who held onto Bonnie's jacket like it was the blanket she'd just woken up in. Refusing to leave it or the warmth and protection it offered.

"It's been a hard day," Scarlett muttered tiredly, just wanting it to end as she let her gaze drift back over to the burning Grill. Her English teacher would probably love the symbolism right about now.

"Come on, let's get you out of here," Bonnie said as she helped Scarlett up to her feet, making sure to keep the jacket around her as to conceal her nakedness. "My car's nearby, I can drive you home," she offered, before guiding Scarlett around to the nearby car park. Once there, Bonnie put her in the passenger side, making sure she was okay before starting up the car and driving away as the police began to arrive.

During the car ride Scarlett must have zoned out, because before she knew it they were outside the Gilbert's house, and Scarlett found herself wishing she'd told Bonnie sooner to take her home and not back to Jeremy. Even after Bonnie opened her door, Scarlett continued to remain seated in the car, just staring up at the Gilbert house, as if it might suddenly collapse on her the second she stepped over the threshold.

"Are you alright with me bringing you here?" asked Bonnie from next to Scarlett, hand on the handle of her open door. "Or would you rather I take you to boarding house?"

"No. Here's good," Scarlett said emptily.

Still holding Bonnie's jacket tightly against her, Scarlett opened the door before getting out. All the anxiety must have been slowing her down, because by the time she'd gotten out, closed her door and turned back around to the Gilbert house, Bonnie was at her side.

Scarlett suspected Bonnie might know about her and Jeremy. Maybe not specifically, but it was probably a witchy power of hers that was telling her not all was right. Thankfully though, Bonnie didn't say anything. She just stood silently next to Scarlett, and remained by her side as they walked up onto the porch. She even rang the bell for her, seeing as if Scarlett were to do it she'd risk exposing herself.

Scarlett offered Bonnie a smile in thanks, but from then on it was nothing but doom and gloom on her face. Especially after Jeremy opened the door. He seemed to go through three stages of seeing Scarlett. First it was the, 'Oh, it's you,' spiteful and angry stage. Then he flicked over to confused, seeing her half naked and with Bonnie. And then the realisation of something serious had happened, and in his eyes Scarlett saw a spark of concern that lit up her world as she exposed her own hurt and saddened eyes.

"What happened?" asked Jeremy, to quickly to stop the overwhelming concern that slipped into his voice. However, in the silence that followed, he managed to pull back, returning to his aggravated expression at Scarlett presence. _She should probably get used to that_ , she thought.

"How about we get inside first," suggested Bonnie, when Scarlett didn't offer up an answer. Instead finding more interest in the threshold between her and Jeremy – though in her mind it was more like a canyon.

With Bonnie prodding her in the back, Scarlett stepped inside, half thinking she was going to walk right into Jeremy until he moved at the last second to accommodate. She quickly found herself wishing that Bonnie had left her in the street, naked and exposed. The only real difference between here and there was Jeremy's judgemental eyes – and even if Scarlett couldn't get them out of her head, she would prefer to not have them on her as she sat down on the living room couch.

"Was she hurt?" Jeremy asked Bonnie. The two of them stood behind Scarlett's back and behind the couch she'd sat down on, staring into the lifeless fire as if it might provide an escape of some sort.

"You could ask her yourself," Bonnie said awkwardly, gesturing to Scarlett as the girl in question grimaced.

"Yeah, I don't really feel like talking to her right now," Jeremy stated, ignorant to the fact that he was crushing Scarlett's heart. Or maybe he was very much aware, and only doing it because of how she'd burnt his own. No matter what way you describe it, their relationship wasn't look too good.

"I'm fine," Scarlett spoke up, disguising a sad sniffle as a dry cough. "Just a headache is all."

"You've been through worse," Jeremy muttered in response.

If he was talking about the witchy headache, he was probably right. If he was talking about the heartache from the fight they'd had, Scarlett would probably have to argue with him on that one. Or she would if she didn't think about how much worse she could make the situation. John was still lurking around after all, and the last thing she wanted to do was give that man more ammunition to use in driving a permanent wedge between her and Jeremy.

Another awkward silence fell upon the room. With Jeremy having gotten in the last word, and Scarlett not brave enough to speak, it was Bonnie who finally ended the ceasefire of communications, when she spoke up. "I think I'll go and get Scarlett a glass of water," she said, obviously looking for a reason to leave the room filled with so much tension that she was probably drowning in it. Even so, she calmly walked out of the room before the sound of the sink being turned on came from the kitchen. A few minutes after the sound stopped however, Bonnie still hadn't come back.

She was fine, Scarlett could still sense her presence in the kitchen, but she wouldn't be joining her and Jeremy in the living room again. If she was Bonnie, Scarlett probably wouldn't have joined them either.

Twiddling with her thumbs, Scarlett founding herself asking before she could stop herself, "How are you feeling now?" At the mere sound of her words she cringed, instantly regretting them as Jeremy snorted.

"How am I feeling? You think just because you got yourself hurt I'm going to magically forget what you did?" asked Jeremy. His tone was anger, but there was something close to concern underneath it. However it was nowhere near strong enough to break through the anger he was experiencing right now. He had been worried though, Scarlett had seen it. But it was going to take a lot more than her getting hurt to fix things.

"No, Jeremy," Scarlett quickly said, trying to clear the air as she looked back behind the couch at him. "I just want to know where we stand? Are we… Are we…" It made her heartbreak to think of those next words, but she had to say them, to know if it was all over now. "…Broken-up?"

He stared at her for a moment. Letting out heavy breaths before then letting out an even heavier sigh. "I don't know," he finally answered, walking around to sit next to her on the couch.

Once sat, he too began to play with his hand like Scarlett had. "I'm honestly not even sure I can even trust you anymore," he then added, making Scarlett shrink away from him, rather than cuddle into him like she once had.

"Do you still love me?" Scarlett asked bravely, daring to watch him as he motionlessly tried to make up his mind.

"…Yes," he said quietly. "I think," he then added as an after thought.

 _Not the greatest, but at least he doesn't want to kill me_ , Scarlett thought, trying to be as optimistic as possible. But even then she was reaching.

"Why am I even saying this," Jeremy suddenly snapped at himself as he stood up, turning to wave his hand at Scarlett. "You cheated on me! I should want you dead. I should be cutting you out of my life. I shouldn't be talking to you at all – in fact I shouldn't even care about you!"

"Don't give up on me, Jeremy," pleaded Scarlett as she sat up, begging him to give her a second chance with her watery blue eyes. "I made a mistake. But I'm willing to do whatever it takes to put things right… Even if that means we have to break-up."

"That wouldn't be the worst idea," agreed Jeremy, a pang of hurt shooting through Scarlett. Again, trying to be optimistic, at least they were agreeing on something… "I mean, how do we know this, 'werewolf-instinct-mating thing,' won't just happen again?" Another fair point, but Scarlett decided to switch subjects for her own safety, and that of their dying relationship.

"I understand it's going to take a long time to earn your trust back, Jeremy. But if you give me another chance, I promise I won't take it for granted, I'll fight whatever urge I have to protect what we have. Because I do love you Jeremy. You make my world so much better, and I don't want to lose you from it," she begged, standing as she approached him. When he backed up a step however, she stopped herself, even if it hurt. She had to be respectful of what he wanted right now, that was the key to saving what they had. Even if it was killing her inside.

"You don't have to decide now," she explained, hoping that with time he's feelings for her would allow her a doorway back in. "But if you want me to leave so you can think, I'll go."

He was silent for a moment, arms folded as he stared down in thought. Scarlett waited for him to send her away, to say he'd give her a chance, or even to say that they were done. He didn't say anything though. For a long time. And in some ways, that was worse.

It was so long, that Scarlett began to think her insides might eat her up whole. The longer the silence went on, the more she felt herself sweat, her breathing quickening in fright – even if it was quiet and unheard, she still felt it, her heart racing with anticipation. She needed to know, needed a clear answer, a label on what they were now. She needed to know what he was thinking, it was killing her inside.

And she needed to be more clear, make him understand how it had been for her. She hadn't made that clear enough. "Jeremy–" Scarlett began, right before the front door burst open and the two turned to find Elena, Stefan and Sarah piling in through before shutting said door behind them.

Only since this morning, Scarlett had been taking an extra sniff whenever she saw Elena, to confirm it was her. And after one whiff she knew that wasn't Elena who'd walked through the front door.

With her eyes beginning to glow, she stood up, canines forming as she growled. But then to her surprise, she saw Sarah shake her head and put her finger to her mouth. Confusion more than anything else had Scarlett transform back into her normal human self, staring at Sarah while Stefan pushed Katherine towards the stairs. "Go up stairs, we'll be up in a bit," he said aloud.

Nodding, Katherine continued to play the part of Elena, even though they all knew it was her. Scarlett was well and truly confused now, and still waiting for someone to explain as the two Salvatores moved into the living room along with Bonnie who entered through the hallway.

Credit to her, she did bring the glass of water she'd promised Scarlett, but the werewolf was no longer in the mood for it. In fact, what she really wanted was to find out what was going on and why Sarah and Stefan were allowing Katherine to go around as if she were Elena. She opened her mouth to speak, but Stefan got his question in first.

"When did you guys get home?"

"A few minutes ago," Bonnie answered.

"But I've been here the whole time," Jeremy added.

"Did you check the house when they got back?" asked Stefan, looking around with a critical frown.

"Why would we check the house, I just said I've been here the whole time," Jeremy repeated, some of the attitude from his row with Scarlett seeping into his voice.

"Scarlett?" Sarah said with a pointed look.

Knowing what she was asking, Scarlett closed her eyes and took in a deep breath through her nose. She could feel the scent of everything in the house passing through her nostrils then. Those smells that primarily occupied the house, such as the food, planets, washed cloths, the carpet, bed sheets the furniture and so on. And she could also pick up the new scents of those inside right now; Jeremy, Katherine, Bonnie, Sarah and Stefan. There was nothing – other than Katherine – that suggested danger.

"No one we don't already know about," she answered after opening her eyes, only to then hear the sound of a struggle and painful groan from upstairs.

"You were saying," muttered Jeremy, as Stefan and Sarah lead the charge upstairs, the other three behind them. They did't have far to go to find the source of the commotion – the bathroom door was open, and inside lay Jonas, part of his neck torn out and Katherine standing over him with blood all over her mouth.

"You're welcome," Katherine said with a smile, brushing aside a loose – and now bloody – strand of her hair.

"Okay, can someone please tell me what's going on?" Scarlett asked aloud, completely bewildered by what had just happened in the last minute.

"Can't you stick a muzzle on her," muttered Katherine, rolling her eyes as she leaned back against the bathroom counter top.

"You're luck we don't stick one on you," Sarah snapped back, as Bonnie stepped past her and Stefan, kneeling down next to the deceased Jonas.

"You didn't have to kill him," Bonnie said sadly as she looked up to Katherine.

"Yes, we did," Katherine said matter-of-factly. Not that she looked too broken up about it.

"Just be quiet for once in your life," Sarah snapped again.

"I'm sorry, but wasn't this what you wanted? Him dead and Elena safe?" asked Katherine in mild outrage.

"You're not helping," Stefan warned with a look that said to be quiet, but that was never going to work on Katherine, and they all knew it.

"Beg to differ," Katherine said as she gestured to the dead Jonas. "He's dead isn't he," she said again as Bonnie leaned over to close his still open eyes.

Then suddenly Jonas was sat up right and his hands were on Bonnie's head. She was screaming in pain and he was chanting something. Scarlett jumped from the shock, but before she could even recover, Sarah had her hands on Jonas' head and had snapped his neck by the next second.

With his body limp in her hands, she let him go and he collapsed onto his back, hands sliding from Bonnie before Katherine stepped over and placed her foot over his throat, just in case he came back once more. "What was that you were saying about him being dead?" Sarah asked with a glare to Katherine who once again rolled her eyes at the technicality of it all.

"Is he dead, now?" Jeremy asked from the hallway, where he was still stood along with Scarlett, looking into the bathroom past Stefan.

"Looks like it to me," Katherine mumbled, pocking the dead Jonas with her foot.

"Right… Will someone now please tell us what is going on?" Scarlett repeated tiredly, just wanting to know so she could go to bed and end this miserable day.

* * *

Since Sarah wanted to spend as little time as possible in Katherine's presence, she opted to take Scarlett, Jeremy and Bonnie down stairs and tell them what had happened while Stefan handled clean up with Katherine. Naturally there had been complaints, all of which came from Katherine, but since she was trying to get on their good side, she didn't stop them when they ignored her.

So Sarah took the others down stairs, at which point Damon and Elena arrived, having been listening in from down the street. From there they then told those that didn't know everything what had happened, starting with Jonas' attack on the grill, to the Katherine Elena switch, to Jonas' death. Afterwards Bonnie had been pretty quick in leaving, but Sarah could understand how Jonas' death might have effected her, if not his then definitely Luka's. From what she'd heard there had been something there between them.

Once she'd left though, the rest of them just sat around the living room waiting for Stefan and Katherine to come down stairs.

"How did you guys convince her to do this?" Elena asked, leaning against the archway that lead into the living room.

"We didn't. It was actually her idea," admitted Damon uneasily, an expression that was then mirrored in everyone else.

"Oh, that's…not good," sighed Elena.

"You're right about that," agreed Sarah in the same depressed tone. Working with Katherine after all was hardly an ideal situation, and even if it had worked, Sarah wasn't keen for a repeat. But what was more worrying was that Katherine had wanted to do this, and from what Damon had told her and the others, Katherine had actually been instant on it. That meant she was planning something, because Katherine only did something if it aided her, or whatever scheme she was planning next.

"I'm sorry you had to put up with her for me," Elena said with a sorry look to her friend, but Sarah had come to expect it by this point – especially when Katherine was involved. Elena knew after all how much Katherine had hurt Sarah, and that even now she still loved to torment her. It was what made there friendship a challenge at times, the fact that she shared a face with the woman who'd caused Sarah so much pain. And sometimes it felt like Elena was always sorry for that, sharing a face with Katherine when it really was unavoidable. A cruel twist of fate.

Thankfully though, when Sarah knew it was Elena, she did fell at easy. And rather than remembering everything Katherine had done to her, she now thought of everything Elena had done for her and her family. There were even times when she thought she could see differences between Elena and Katherine, physically speaking, but theory was still yet to be tested and proven.

"It's over now, no sense dwelling on it," Sarah said, trying to downplay how sick the whole thing had made her feel.

"Everything's taken care of," Stefan announced as he walked down the stairs and everyone turned to see Katherine at his heels.

"I'm guessing you're going to want this back?" Katherine asked rhetorically as she yanked off Elena's necklace, holding it out as she leaned against the banister of the staircase. "But your pretty little outfit is going to need a good dry clean," she added smugly, before Elena marched over and snatched her necklace out of Katherine's grasp.

"Can you get her out of here, please?" Elena asked, looking to Stefan who nodded in acknowledgement.

"Is that all you have to say to me?" Katherine asked in annoyance, as if deserving more after all she'd done in the past ten minutes.

"Oh, I've got plenty to say to you," snarled Elena angrily, glaring into Katherine who seemed more intrigued by this side of Elena than anything else. "But right now I want you out my house before Jenna comes home."

"Fine, let's go Sarah," Katherine said with a smirk as she looked past Elena to the youngest Salvatore still stood in the archway to the living room. "We can pick up were we left off." The mere thought made Sarah shrink on her self, wanting to be sick until she felt Damon move to her side. His presence enough to calm the storm inside her.

However it wasn't apparently enough for Elena, who quickly stepped into Katherine's space and said warningly, "Don't you dare talk to her like that."

"I'll talk to whom ever I like, however I like," Katherine replied with a smirk, knowing there was nothing Elena of all people could do to stop her.

"Not her, you won't. Not anymore," Elena said lowly, bringing an amused laugh out of Katherine. And then something snapped inside Elena, as she threw her curled up fist right at Katherine's laughing face, only for the vampire to catch her wrist before it could connect.

There was a beat, everyone staring in wide eyed shock and waiting to see what would happen next. Everyone ready to step in if Katherine made a move against them. But there was still a part of them that was shocked that Elena had even tried to attack Katherine in such a pitiful way. And maybe that was why Katherine looked so amused by the whole thing, another giggle floating out as she stared into Elena's eyes. As if seeing something no one else had yet, with intrigue forming in her own matching eyes.

"Well, well. That's certainly interesting," Katherine said with a click of her tongue, watching Elena as the human girl tried to pull back her hand. Only finally succeeding when Katherine released her, bored now.

"What's interesting?" Damon asked, frowning as Elena stepped away from Katherine, rubbing her wrist and feeling like a fool for giving into her outburst of anger.

Katherine shrugged innocently, as if it wasn't anything important. "Just how similar me and dear Elena are," she said, but they all felt like there was something more to what she was saying.

"Well, that's brilliantly elusive," muttered Scarlett, before Katherine's dagger like eyes found there way over to the couch Scarlett was sat on with Jeremy, both looking over it and into the hallway, where all the action was.

"I'm sorry, I'm I not providing a big enough distraction from your break-up with baby Gilbert over there?" Katherine snapped, her words filled with enough venom to kill a small mammal, and apparently silence the whole room as everyone looked to Scarlett.

Like Katherine, Sarah had overheard Scarlett and Jeremy talking prior to them coming in, and for anyone in the know, it hadn't been hard to work she'd finally told him about Mason. But even if you weren't in the know, the vampires had heard enough to know those two kids weren't in as good a place as they'd been this morning.

A look of pure heartbreak passed over Scarlett's face, and Sarah felt her own heartache at the sight of her ward in such pain. What didn't help was the satisfaction Katherine took from all this. And it lit that fire once more inside Sarah, as she got ready to drag Katherine out, only to then find her up against the wall as Scarlett bit into her.

The supernaturally fast movement was enough to have Elena and Jeremy jumping back while the three vampires who hadn't just been bitten stared on in utter shock for the second time in a matter of seconds. Even Katherine seemed petrified by what had just happened, but then again, she'd just pissed off the one bite killer werewolf. And apparently, she'd pushed her one step too far.

Turns out karma, had finally caught up to Katherine Pierce.

"Say one more word, about me and Jeremy, or Sarah, and I WILL sink my teeth into your perfect little skin, got it?!" shouted Scarlett as she pulled away, revealing what she'd really done was tear of part of the shirt around Katherine's shoulder – and luckily for Katherine she hadn't broken the skin. But the fright in her eyes, that had been real. And for maybe the first time in Sarah's life, she'd seen Katherine genuinely acknowledge that she'd gone to far, and made the wrong decision.

Stepping back from Katherine, the woman quickly slide her mask back on, but like several times already, she'd been caught off guard by Scarlett, and she'd been an inch from death. Something the great Katherine Pierce, wasn't found of having happen to her. Maybe that was why she was so silent as she allowed Stefan to shove her towards the back of house, Damon falling into step with his brother, as they escorted her out.

Sarah remained along with Scarlett, watching as the poor girl looked back at Jeremy, only for him to look away. Masking his own feelings as Scarlett's head dropped shamefully. _It had definitely been a long day for them all_.

Sarah sighed, as she stepped towards Scarlett and put her arm around her. "Come on, let's go," she said softly, before leading her towards the back of the house. She could hear Jenna and Alaric outside talking, and now wasn't the time for questions. And with Scarlett still only dressed in the jacket Bonnie had given her, Jenna would undoubtedly have questions if she caught them.

So they left out the back, silently, and then headed for home.

Once they got there, everyone went their separate ways. Scarlett went up to her room, Damon grabbed some books he'd been reading through from the living room and then went to his room. Stefan waited until Sarah got away from Katherine, but then retired to his own room for the night.

Sarah had gone into the study, looking for either a book or a drink – she hadn't decided yet. She'd full expected Katherine to come after her, to taunt and torment her some more. Thankfully, she didn't, and Sarah managed to drink her bourbon in peace before grabbing a book of short stories to pass the time until she fell asleep.

Heading up the stairs, and already having started the first page of the book, Sarah came to a stop, looking up when she heard voices from Damon's room. Focusing her hearing, she realised that it was Katherine he was talking to.

"You hurt me today," purred Katherine, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Sarah could say she hardly cared, but she kept listening to their conversation from the staircase, needing to make sure she wasn't getting into Damon's head.

"Tit for tat," Damon replied, in a seemingly careless manner.

"You were mean and very rough and monstrous," Katherine continued, going from angry to alluring, as she slid over to Damon's side of the bed they were both sat on.

"You deserved it," Damon stated simply. "Besides, you think after what you did to Sarah I was just going to let you off the hook?"

Katherine giggled at this, a flirty giggle that unsettled Sarah even from down the hallway. "I like this Damon," she whispered, inching in towards him.

"Katherine," Damon whispered back, as if he were under her spell.

In a sudden panic, Sarah started to walk towards his bedroom door, determined to stop him from making the same mistake again. "Katherine, there are six other bedrooms in this house," continued to Damon before Sarah heard the familiar intake of breath – the one you took right before you kissed.

Sarah's step turned into a jog that stopped as quickly as it began when she heard Damon say, "Go and find one," right before the sound of Katherine being shoved onto the floor echoed into the hallway. Having stopped, Sarah let out a mixture of relief and amusement in her breath, smiling at her brother through his bed room door, as she imagined Katherine pouting at him.

As it turned out she didn't need to imagine it for long, as Katherine then walked out with said pout, turning to a glare when she saw Sarah down the hallway with her own smug smile. "Smug doesn't suit you, Sarah," Katherine said bitterly, wallowing in yet another defeat, and because of that, Katherine couldn't break her right now. Because Sarah now realised something Katherine just couldn't accept.

"You no longer have a hold over any of us," Sarah stated confidently, closing the book in her hand with an audible thud, as the spin folded in and the ends clapped together. "That must kill you," she added knowingly.

"Please," scoffed Katherine in denial, rolling her eyes as she did. "All you've done is trade me in for Elena. She's got a more possessive hold on all of you than I ever did."

Sarah shrugged, ignoring the crux of what Katherine was saying and pocking at the one part she knew Katherine couldn't stand. "I say it was a worth while trade, and a definite upgrade."

"You can't hurt me, Sarah. I know how you really feel about me," Katherine declared, turning to face her full on as she took a few steps towards her, but still leaving plenty of space between them. "So why not just stop the games and come out and say it. You love me," Katherine announced with a confident smirk in place as Sarah approached her, book now held to her chest like a shield.

"You know I hate you, Katherine," Sarah said directly into her face, watching as Katherine's smirk faulted. "You just haven't accepted it yet," she added, sounding as if she pitted her – she didn't of course but the desired effect was to get under Katherine's skin with the remark. And from the look of irritation on her face, Sarah had certainly done that.

This morning might have shaken her, worse than usual because of what had happened the previous night. But after spending time with her friends, she realised she didn't have to be scared of Katherine any more. She had them, Katherine had nothing. No one to trust, and no one to manipulate, not in this town. She'd used up all her tricks, played every card she had, and now they all saw right through her.

Sarah was starting to win again. And this time, she wouldn't let Katherine get inside her head. Now, it was time for her, to play inside Katherine's head.

"Good night, Katherine," Sarah concluded, in mocking civility, as she backed into her bedroom door, bumping it open as she stepped in. And with her smug smile still on her lips, and Katherine's irritated eyes on hers, Sarah shut the door on the Bitch – knowing that Lexi would be proud.

That would have been a nice note to end her night on, but instead she fond Scarlett on her bed, curled up in her pjs with a sorry look on her face. With a soft smile Sarah approached her, placing her book down on the night stand, before kicking off her shoes and joining Scarlett on the bed. "You okay?" Sarah asked, though she already knew the answer.

"No," Scarlett answered simply, allowing herself to cuddle against Sarah when the vampire put her arm around the uncharacteristically timid werewolf.

"Do you think I can fix things with Jeremy?"

"Yeah," Sarah said optimistically. "I think it's just gonna take time. But you did the right thing by finally telling him."

"Then why does it feel so crappy?" asked Scarlett in a very young and naive way. Your first true heartache was never an easy one to get through. It wasn't even something that got easier with time and experience, but it was something everyone had to go through at some point in their life.

"You want me to say that's life?" asked Sarah, as she looked down at Scarlett, who'd begun playing with her mother's necklace.

"No," she said quietly. Letting the silence stretch on before she then said, "Do you think he'll ever forgive me?"

It felt like a drastically different question to the one she'd asked before that, but even so, Sarah knew which answer her ward needed to hear in order to get through this. "Yes, I'm sure he'll forgive you one day," Sarah promised, squeezing Scarlett in her one arm. "Unfortunately you might just have to wait a little while before he gets there."

"I hate waiting," mopped Scarlett, to which Sarah let out a soft chuckle.

"Me too," she agreed.

"Can't I just skip to the part were everything is perfect?"

"That's not how life works," Sarah explained, a sadness to her voice. She didn't think it was right to add, that life never got perfect. From Sarah's experience, it only had extremely high points, and then extremely low ones – constantly going up and down until the final end. All you could do was hope to create as many ups as possible before that time. But since Scarlett was currently in the middle of one of her lowest downs, Sarah decided to keep all that to herself for now.

"You mind if I sleep in here tonight?" Scarlett asked quietly, afraid of Sarah's possible rejection, much like Jeremy's. "I can keep Katherine away if she tries to come in," she added a little louder, hoping to sway Sarah. It was a nice idea, but after her little chat with Katherine out in the hall, Sarah doubted the vampire would be dropping in on her again. At least tonight.

Even so, she wasn't about to turn away the werewolf in need. She hadn't yet, and hopefully she never would.

"Sure, you can be my guard dog," Sarah agreed as she stroked Scarlett's hair in a soothing motherly fashion. Scarlett merely nodded, cuddling into Sarah before the two drifted off, just grateful the day had finally reached its end.


	34. Know Thy Enemy

_Review responses:_

Sarcasm15Key: _She's still not back to full form yet, but it was_ _definitely_ _a_ _positive_ _step which continues in this chapter too. And yes, you are along the right lines..._

Guest: _I'm glad they do, I love them both very much._

 _Okay, here we go! Last five episodes, come on! Of course though, my favourite stuff from this episode comes next week because I'm cruel like that. It also feels like forever since I last updated this story! Really wanting to get it finished so I can start planning – and then writing – season three! I'm so pumped for for it...! But knowing me, my hype and enthusiasm will be gone by this afternoon. Alas, until next week, enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 34: Know Thy Enemy**

* * *

When Sarah awoke the next day, she'd hoped yesterday's drama would have been said and done with no second act. Unfortunately, at the very least, there seemed to be an epilogue.

Isobel – Elena's birth mother and Alaric's ex-wife – had just returned to town. And rather than phone ahead like any sensible person would do, she showed up at Elena's doorstep in the middle of the night demanding an audience. Unfortunately, it had been Jenna who answered the door, to which Isobel introduced herself by dropping bombs all over Jenna's life. Now she knew Isobel was alive – not dead – and that everyone close to her had been keeping it a secret from her.

Honestly, Sarah was surprised the vampire secret had remained a secret, but the only reason for that was probably because Elena managed to keep her out the house and then closed the door on her. But the damage between her and Jenna had already been done. Since then Jenna had been held up in her room over night and was still refusing to come out. So Elena had called both Stefan and Sarah, asking them to come over and help. She wanted her boyfriend for her own comfort, and Sarah since she was a close friend to both her and Jenna, a possible bridge in which to open up a dialogue.

So for the second day in a row, Sarah woke up running, quickly getting herself together before meeting her brothers at the staircase. Stefan was filling Damon in while he waited for her, and Sarah had left Scarlett to sleep on in her bed. She'd decided what that girl needed right now, was rest and time to heal. Besides, there wasn't a lot that she could do in this situation, other than comfort Jeremy if he was willing to accept it. Better to bench her for today at least and give the two some space.

"So, Isobel just showed up at their front doorstep," Damon was saying, as Sarah joined her brothers and they began to make their way down the stairs. "What's she even doing here?" he asked aloud.

"I don't know. But we're heading over there now to see what we can find out," Stefan said in his usual worried manner.

"And to make sure Jenna's okay. There's no telling what she's thinking right now," Sarah added, to which Stefan nodded in agreement as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Heading for the front door until Katherine stepped out of the living room and into the hallway, blocking their path.

"I don't think that you should tell her that I'm here," Katherine announced, as if she'd been part of the conversation since the beginning.

"Because what you think means so much to us," Sarah sneered, glaring at Katherine who just shot back an equally heated smirk.

"All I'm saying is, I think it would be better if she and John not know that I'm still in town," Katherine said calmly, which told Sarah she really wanted this, which in turn spawned more questions in her head. Number one being, 'Why?'

"Aren't you the one in cahoots with them," pointed out Damon. "You made the deal with John that almost got me killed." Sarah hadn't heard much about this, but since Damon was down playing it, and it obviously hadn't worked, Sarah wasn't too focused on it right now. Besides, she knew the essential bullet points. Katherine, John and Isobel had struck a deal, Katherine was supposed to get out of the tomb and in turn Damon was supposed to die.

Annoyingly, only half of that plan had been prevented.

"I did what I had to to get out of the tomb," Katherine replied, as if that justified her actions. "Now, I'm reconsidering my alliance," she explained, nervously scratching her neck as she turned away.

It was hard to know what to trust about Katherine's actions. A nervous scratch like that could be just that, but Sarah doubted it. Even with her body language, Katherine was just as crafty as she was with her words. She knew how to play the insecure damsel when it suited her, just as much as she could play the ball buster if she had to put someone in their place. One thing was for sure though, Sarah didn't take anything Katherine said or did at face value. Not anymore.

"What do you know?" Stefan asked, knowing that was sometimes the only way to get anything out of Katherine – by playing her games.

Turning back around with a smile, Katherine continued with, "I know that I want Klaus dead, which puts me squarely on team you. And besides, if you three ever need me to swap places with Elena again, the less people know that I'm here, the better."

As much as it pained Sarah to admit, she saw the sense in what Katherine was saying – but that in there lay the trap. And as Sarah knew from experience, Katherine was extremely good a laying traps. "You know I'm right, Sarah," Katherine spoke up, stepping towards her as her eyes narrowed. Sarah hated when she did that, speaking as if reading her mind. "Be smart about this. Let me help you."

After taking in a breath and calming her racing thoughts about Katherine manipulating her, Sarah smiled back politely. "I'm good, Katherine," she said, before stepping towards her. Leaning over to her ear as she whispered, "But if you really want to help, you can do us all a favour and get out of _my_ house."

As she pulled back, Sarah took in Katherine's scowl, before heading for the front door with a smile on her face. Stefan followed shortly, after sharing a grin with Damon and reminding him to call Alaric in case Elena hadn't already. Once outside, he and Sarah began to laugh, taking enjoyment from tormenting Katherine, even if it was only a little in comparison to what she'd done to them.

However, the moment was short lived, as when they reached the garage – Stefan using his remote to open it up – his phone went off. He answered, only to instantly receive the mad ramblings of Caroline. It was quite possibly a solid minute before he then calmed her down enough for her to explain – at a speed at which, both vampires could understand – what had happened.

Matt had found out her secret, and by extension theirs. During Jonas attack at the Grill, Matt had apparently been injured and Caroline healed him with her blood. But he passed out before she could compel him to forget and when he then awoke he bolted before she could try again. "I can't find him anywhere," Caroline was saying. "He's not at home. He's not answering his phone."

"How did he even get away from you, Caroline?" Stefan asked with a critical tone. He wouldn't normally have used it but this was a big secret, plus they already had enough to deal with in Isobel and Katherine, never mind what problems Matt could bring to their front door now that he knew they were all vampires.

"My mom walked in," Caroline sighed. "He took off. I–I didn't know what to do," she explained, sounding exasperated.

"Did your mom hear anything?" Sarah asked, having been listening.

"No. She just thinks we're fighting but he knows about me, and he's freaking out about Vicki," Caroline explained, reminding them all of yet another skeleton in their closet.

"Great," Sarah sighed as she rubbed her head, wondering if it was to late for her to call it quits and go back to bed.

"All right, listen, I'm gonna come to you and we're gonna map out where he might be and find him, got that?" Stefan said into the phone.

"Okay," Caroline replied.

"Start brainstorming, I'll be there soon," Stefan said before hanging up. "Are you okay to handle Jenna and Isobel?" Stefan asked with his usual concerned frown as he looked to Sarah.

She nodded. "Yeah, I've got that. You just get to Caroline and try and join us when you can."

"All right, thanks," Stefan said as he opened up his car door and climbed in. "Tell Elena, 'I'm sorry, and I'll be there as soon as I can,'" he said before starting the engine and racing out of the garage and down the driveway. Once he was clear, Sarah mounted her own vehicle, donned her helmet and raced towards the Gilbert residence, arriving just as Alaric was climbing out of his own car.

"Hey," Alaric said hurriedly as he approached Sarah.

"Hey," Sarah replied sympathetically, before climbing off her bike and strapping the helmet onto the handlebars. "How you holding up?" she asked, looking over her shoulder until she was able to fully turn around and face him.

"Not great," admitted Alaric with a heavy sigh. "You know how it goes. Girlfriend gets mad at you for not telling her everything, then your supposedly dead vampire wife comes into town and spills everything," he said in a miniature rant, followed by another heavy sigh. "Oh, God, this is a nightmare."

Sarah put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, offering him a smile to boot. "Hey, we'll deal with this like we do everything else, all right?"

"Right," agreed Alaric before the two began to make their way towards the Gilbert house.

"Besides, maybe it's time for Jenna to hear everything," Sarah added as they climbed the steps.

"Yeah, well. I just hope she's ready to hear it," Alaric mumbled unenthusiastically, as he knocked on the door. Elena answer it, waving them in as Alaric asked, "Hey, is she up yet?" entering the house, followed by Sarah.

"She won't come out of her room," Elena sighed, shaking her head like she had no idea what to do.

"What have you told her so far?" asked Sarah, glancing up the stairs in case Jenna had come out at the sound of hers and Alaric's voices.

"Nothing. She won't talk to me," explained Elena, as if on the verge of tears. From the looks of her it had been a rough tearful night.

"All right, so what does she know so far?" asked Sarah, turning to Elena, trying to gather all the facts before confronting Jenna again in any capacity.

"Only that Isobel is alive and that all of us knew about it but didn't tell her," Elena explained with a sniff.

"So nothing about vampires?" Sarah asked.

"No," Elena said with a shake of the head. "She doesn't know about any of that."

Sarah nodded, trying to think up how best to proceed, when Elena asked, "Could you go up and talk to her? She trusts you, and she's outright refusing to speak or listen to me."

"And I can't imagine it'll go any better coming from me," added Alaric with self hatred in his voice. It was clear he was wishing he'd told Jenna everything now, or at least before Isobel had. And with her humanity still switched off, it wasn't like any of this mattered to her anyway – which was probably why she was so quick to spill everything to Jenna, thinking it would be the quickest way to get to Elena.

"All right," Sarah said with a sigh, suddenly feeling the weight of both their hopes resting on her. "I'll go up and see what I can do."

"Thank you, Sarah," Elena said with a brave smile, which Sarah returned before she ascended up the stairs.

She hadn't actually been in Jenna's room yet, but she could work out which one was hers by process of elimination. She knew which was Elena's, which was the bathroom and which was Jeremy's. That left only their parents room and Jenna's, which was the locked one.

"Jenna," Sarah called out softly as she rapped on the door with her knuckles. "It's Sarah. I'm on my own… Can we talk?" she said uneasily, feeling about as guilty as those waiting down stairs. Because even if Jenna wasn't aware of it yet, Sarah had lied to her along with the others and she too had hated it. But it was too late to fix that now, all she could do was try and get Jenna to listen to them.

"No!" Jenna shouted back through the door, and even without her vampire hearing, Sarah was sure she heard a sniff follow. "I don't want to talk to anyone," she added, her voice wavering more with each word.

Sarah couldn't stand it, having a door between her and her suffering friend – because Jenna truly was a friend to her and she wanted to make this right. So she grabbed the door knob and twisted it with her superior strength, snapping the lock before opening the door.

As she walked in, Jenna jumped around to face her. A bag full of cloths on the bed behind her. "How–How'd you do that?" Jenna asked, pointing to the open door that had been locked.

She was panicked, afraid and feeling betrayed, so obviously opening with the vampire part of the story wasn't the best way to go, meaning Sarah had to quickly think on her feet. Even if she wanted to tell Jenna the truth. "Old lock I guess," Sarah said while looking back at the door, thankful that the lock did look old enough to back up her story. And while Jenna probably still had follow up questions, Sarah got hers out first as she looked to the bag on Jenna's bed. "What's with the bag?"

Hitting Sarah with a pointed look that made her want to spill her guts about everything, Jenna broken away as she grabbed one last things from her open wardrobe and stuffed them into her bag. "I'm sick of all the lies," Jenna cried out angrily, shoving in the items into bag as she violently pulled the zip shut. "I'm sick of it all and I just need to get away from it all and catch my breath."

"Where are you going to go?" asked Sarah as Jenna finished closing up the bag.

"Whitmore. I'll crash at my old dorm room until I'm ready to come back," Jenna declared as she picked up her bag and turned to leave until Sarah stepped in her path with both hands raised.

"Okay, Jenna. I completely understand why you might be angry right now, but–"

"Angry! I'm beyond angry, Sarah!" Jenna snapped, tears forming in the corners of her eyes – and Sarah wasn't even sure if they were fresh or not. "They lied to me, for months and I'm just supposed to be okay with that?!"

"No. Of course not, no. But maybe we can sit down and explain it," Sarah said, not realising her wording until Jenna's shocked and hurt gaze became fixated on her.

Her lower lip started to tremble, and Sarah watched in agony as Jenna slowly asked, trembling with rage, "Were you lying to me too, Sarah?"

 _She had to be truthful, she had to, she had to tell the truth_. Sarah told herself as she took in a deep breath, only to then find she couldn't say the words. So she had to settle for a guilty nod of the head, as her lips rolled in words. Watching in heartache as more tears fell away from Jenna's painful and betrayed eyes.

All of a sudden Jenna was storming past her and out of instinct, Sarah turned, grabbing her arm with enough vampire strength to stop her from leaving as she called out, "Jenna, wait!"

She wheeled around, daggers in her eyes. Daggers of betrayal that made Sarah feel like the worse person in the world for lying to her friend. But she had lied, and she had to own up to it and make things right. That was all that matter in that moment. Not Isobel, not Katherine, not Klaus and the fact he was coming for Elena. All Sarah wanted was to make things right with Jenna and repent for all the lies she'd told.

"I'm still your friend, Jenna. I've told you a hundred times, I'm your friend above everything else, and I care about you, and I'm sorry that I lied but we all had to for your own protection," Sarah tried to explain hysterically, and all while looking into those hateful eyes. The look of someone who felt truly betrayed, and for a moment Sarah thought that would be the end of their friendship.

"Why?" Jenna snapped, catching Sarah off guard. "Why did you have to lie to protect me – and tell me the truth," she demanded.

But Sarah froze, still caught off guard by Jenna's forwardness. _Where would she even start with something like this? Should she come straight out and tell her about the vampires, or tell her about Isobel and build from there?_ Unfortunately, in her indecisiveness, Jenna yanked her arm free from Sarah and stormed out the room with her bag in hand.

Still speechless, Sarah followed after a hesitant moment, reaching the top of the stairs as Jenna reached the bottom.

"Jenna–" Alaric began only to get cut off swiftly by his ex-girlfriend.

"I don't want you here, RIc. You need to go," she stated simply, dropping her bag as she grabbed her coat.

"Okay, listen," Alaric started up once more, as calmly as he could while Sarah came down the stairs to join him and Elena. "I can't begin to imagine what you must be feeling right now."

"Rage and betrayal would pretty much cover it," Jenna said with a spiteful glare to the man she thought she loved, as she fiercely pulled on her jacket.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked softly.

"Ask Sarah," Jenna said simply, as she grabbed her bag, shooting the green eyed vampire just as spiteful a look as she'd given Alaric. "She's just as bad as the rest of you."

"Jenna…" was all Sarah could get out in a pleading tone.

"Please, just, let us explain to you what exactly is going on," begged Alaric, but Jenna looked right past him, and Sarah, to Elena, the only one who hadn't received her wrath yet. However, she then took a breath, and her eyes turned more neutral, as if remembering she was still responsible for her and Jeremy, even if she was extremely angry with them. They were her niece and nephew after all, and even while angry she still loved them enough to not snap at them for their betrayal.

Sarah and Alaric on the other hand, weren't protected by that clause.

"Elena, I need you to go to the Lockwood's today and accept the Historical Society's check for your mom's foundation," Jenna said calmly to her niece, before she turned to leave as he eyes no doubt filled with fiery hurt once more.

"Okay, but, Jenna, please just–" Elena began, shaking of the least important thing her life at the moment – her mom's foundation – as she tried to get Jenna to stay. But as she spoke, Jenna cut her off, turning back around to face the three guilty parties, as she unleashed the true hurt she was feeling through her eyes and quivering voice.

"I don't have it in me to hear any more lies from you!" she snapped, trembling as she grabbed the door and slammed it shut behind her.

"Jenna," Sarah said as she began to follow, opening up the door and stepping out onto the porch as she pulled it shut behind her. "Jenna, wait, please!"

She didn't look back though, merely threw her bag into the back of her car before climbing in as Sarah ran up to the driver's side window. It was only when she got there, ready to bang on the window, that she saw Jenna break down into tears. She's obviously forgotten that Sarah was following her, because she was just letting it all out. Or maybe she simply couldn't hold it in any longer.

Sarah knew that feeling.

Gently tapping on the window, Jenna jumped when she realised Sarah had indeed followed her. "Jenna, I'm sorry," Sarah said again as Jenna turned away, using her amber blonde hair to shield her face as she started up the car. "Just… Just call us when you decide to come back, please."

"Don't count on it," Jenna snapped, as she drove off out of the drive and down the road, leaving Sarah on the front path, watching as she lost yet another of her friends.

In that moment it felt like that was all she'd been doing lately, losing friends. She'd been having a lot of moments like that. She'd lost Lexi to Damon and Katherine, lost Rose to Jules' werewolf bite. Then almost lost Elena because of her deal, and might still lose her because of Klaus. And now she'd lost Jenna, one of her closest friends.

A bigger person might have blamed themselves – and Sarah had done that to a degree – but there was someone else more deserving of that blame, and Sarah could hear him from inside the Gilbert house.

So with a furious fire now burning inside her, after losing yet another friend, Sarah stormed back into the Gilbert house passing Alaric as he stormed out. They barely acknowledge each other as Sarah entered the house, eyes locked on the jackass who'd started all this by putting doubts in Jenna's head, who'd brought nothing but trouble since he'd come back into town.

He was just one person on a list of people who'd taken Sarah's friends from her, but in that moment, Sarah considered the bleeding nosed idiot to embody them all, as she strode past Elena who was still reeling in awe from what Alaric had done to him.

John then looked up, confused as Sarah glared at him. She then grabbed his head and snapped it with all her vampire strength, before letting his dead body collapse onto the ground, dead.

But even that wasn't enough, she still had rage to get out, and as she lunched her foot into John's corpse, sending it hurling into the kitchen table, which broke apart upon impact – Sarah cried out, "ASSHOLE!" with such force and volume she was certain the whole neighbourhood heard her.

And after all that, she felt marginally better, as she heaved in and out heavy emotional breaths, turning to see Elena stood behind her in the hallway, staring in shock.

"Sorry," Sarah muttered as she fell against the wall, still catching her breath.

"Don't be," Elena said as she stepped towards her friend, although her eyes were still on John. Now surrounded by the remains of her broken up kitchen table. "He had it coming."

"I was talking about the table," Sarah explained, grinning as Elena chuckled.

"We can get another one. He should just be lucky he was wearing his ring," Elena said, nodding to John.

"Damn," Sarah groaned. "I forgot he had that."

* * *

When Scarlett awoke to find Sarah gone from her side, she was up like a shot. Considering what had happened the previous morning, Scarlett wouldn't have put it past Katherine to kidnap her for another repeat. But after a quick sniff around the room, she only caught the recent scents of herself and Sarah. Nothing from the notorious Katherine Pierce.

So she poked her head out into the hallway and followed Sarah's sent down the stairs and to the front door. She also picked up Stefan's scent and judging by how they were already fading into the smell of the house as a whole, she guessed they'd both left together. That, and she didn't want to go outside in her pjs. In fact, she wanted to get up stairs and change out of them before–

"Cute pjs, Scrappy."

Scarlett rolled her eyes, turning around to glare at the smugly satisfied Damon. "I was picturing something with more horsies or kitties, but, yeah, doom and gloom grey works for you," he said in reference to the colour of Scarlett nightwear.

"Screw you," Scarlett said, folding her arms across her chest in a defiant stance.

Damon raised a finger in the air. "Isn't that what you're suppose to do to Mason and your boyfriend?"

The switch from, 'bad girl,' to, 'hurt girl,' must have been pretty quick, because Damon all but lost his mirth when he saw Scarlett's response to what he said. Her arms dropping as her eyes welled up shamefully, right before her head lowered.

Damon was at a loss on how to proceed, frowning and moving his mouth in uncertain ways, before finally he drawled out an, "Okay… Guess you're not over the whole, betraying Jeremy thing."

"It's not the kind thing a good night sleep fixes, Damon," Scarlett muttered, dabbing her eyes with her long sleeve and willing herself to stop crying in front of Damon of all people.

"Fair enough," he said before she looked up sharply, as his hand landed on her shoulder. And what she found was very un-Damon. He a friendly smile on, and his blue shining eyes were filled with sympathy. "You'll get through this. Just…take the day off. Relax. I'm sure by the end of it Gilbert will be begging for you to take him back." It wasn't exactly the most moving of speeches, but Scarlett could tell it was coming from Damon's heart. The nice part of it as posed to the snarky part.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure staying here's gonna do me much good," pointed out Scarlett as she slouched in Damon's grasp.

"How come?" Damon asked, letting go of her shoulder.

"One word, 'Katherine,'" Scarlett said dryly.

"Oh, yeah," Damon mumbled in agreement, pausing to think. He quickly found an answer to the problem though, and began to smirk. "Well, you can always bite her ass if she starts bugging you."

"Point," agreed Scarlett with a small grin.

"So it's agreed, you're staying here, great, I'll see you later," Damon said with a big old smile, as he patted Scarlett on the shoulders, before side stepping around her and heading for the door.

"Hold on," Scarlett said with a frown, turning around to see him opening the door – and about to make his escape. "Where are you going?"

"Out. Got some… _things_ to do…" Damon said, trailing off as he glanced around. Scarlett wasn't an idiot, whatever he was up to he obviously didn't want Katherine knowing about it, and for that reason she didn't push the matter. But she was always smart enough to know when Damon was playing her, and while she was forty precent sure he had been genuinely kind to her a moment ago, she was one-hundred precent sure he wanted her to stay in the house for a reason.

"And why do you want me to stay here so badly?" she asked boldly, to which Damon instantly began his innocent act.

"I'm just look out for you, Scrappy," he said before snapping his fingers and pointing back at her. "You need mopey day. You know, a day in bed, with a box of tissues and day old chocolates while you play dumb rom-coms on the TV."

"In that case," Scarlett said, putting a little playfulness into her voice, that she felt nowhere near ready to use. "I think I'll spend my mopey day in the woods," she declared, striding towards the open front door when Damon blocked her path with his arm across the door frame. She looked over at him, finding his irritated face on. The one he used when people weren't doing what he wanted them to do.

"Could you, please, just take my advice for once," pleaded Damon in a mixture of begging and ordering as he glowered at the blue eyed werewolf.

"I'm not a guard dog, Damon," Scarlett said, already out of juice on her playfulness. Because he was right, she did need a calm slow day, at least for now anyway. She was still recovering from what went down with Jeremy, and while she wanted to be active, she didn't want to deal with any more drama than usual. "Just be straight with me, for today, and I'll stay here, promise."

Seeing his options laid out before him, and very much aware that he was dealing with an emotionally unstable werewolf who could kill him at any moment if she so choose, he decided to play along. "All right," he said slowly, dropping his arm as he leaned back against the door frame. "Number one, obviously I don't trust Katherine."

"Obviously," agreed Scarlett with a nod.

"Second, though I doubt _she'd_ do it, I'd prefer it if someone was always here to keep an eye on the two Originals we have chilling in our basement. After all, it was only yesterday, a couple of idiots tried to remove those damn daggers – and once their out, we'll have two very pissed Originals to deal with." Scarlett could see his point, grimacing at the thought.

"Is that straight enough for you?" asked Damon, attitude flaring.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, before stepping over and wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you," she said softly, suddenly finding herself in need of a hug, but also grateful that Damon had been straight and honest with her for once.

Although, Damon didn't seem quite so in tune with his emotions, as he merely patted Scarlett on the head with an awkward grin. "There, there," he said as if Scarlett were an actual dog. She rolled her eyes and pulled away, turning to leave before Damon called after her. "Hey, Scarlett." She turned to look back at him, finding another genuinely fond, even if small, smile on his face. "I meant it when I said you'd be fine… You're a Salvatore after all."

And as he said those words, Scarlett felt bits of her broken heart begin to mend.

"At least that's what Sarah told me to say. As far as I'm concerned your still, Scarlett – whatever your last name is. See you later," he said with a shrug before walking out and closing the door behind him.

"Jack ass," Scarlett mutter. _As if she should expect anything better from Damon Salvatore of all people._

* * *

Thankfully John took a good while before he woke up from his death. Neither Sarah nor Elena was in a mood to deal with him. There was however, still the matter of Isobel to be discussed. Although when Stefan phoned saying he was on his way over, they held off on the conversation until he arrived.

In the time between, Elena asked Sarah to move John's body, since she was far to nice a person at times. Sarah obliged, though it would hardly be described as compassionate as she threw John from the kitchen and onto the nearby couch in front of the TV. Elena didn't say anything, though did raise a somewhat mature eyebrow. Maturity could be an overrated thing in Sarah's mind, at least when it suited her.

Once Stefan arrived the trio then moved up to Elena's room. None of them wanted to be near John and they certainly didn't want him waking up and playing dead while eavesdropping on them. From there they went over what Isobel had done since being back. But all they really knew was what had already been discussed about her coming by last night and dropping the news on Jenna. Everything else was just speculation, and since they weren't getting anywhere Elena asked Stefan about Caroline and Matt.

It wasn't any better. Caroline was in a panicked state, though seemed happier once she set about trying to solve the problem with an actual plan – or at least that was how Stefan saw it when he left. There was truly no one alive who could understand the inner workings of Caroline's mind. But apart from coming up with a search plan for Matt, there had been no progress on that issue either.

"This is bad," sighed Elena from her window seat with Stefan, while Sarah laid sprawled out on her bed, thinking the same thing. "Between Isobel and Jenna and now Matt, this is a disaster bad."

"Yeah," agreed Stefan quietly, rubbing Elena's back in comfort as Sarah listened to someone's footsteps coming from the stairs.

"And it doesn't look like it's going to be improving," she groaned, sitting up as she prepared her glare for the man who was about to step through the door.

"Elena, can you come downstairs, please? I need to talk to you," John said as he stopped at his daughter's open bedroom door. At least he had some sense in that thick skull of his, Sarah through. Although, she couldn't quite decide if it was respect for his daughter's privacy, or fear from the three glaring supernaturals – none of which wanted to hear from him right now.

"I have nothing to say to you," Elena said spitefully, looking away from John all together.

"Please. It's important. You two as well," he added, looking to both Stefan and Sarah.

The trio looked to one another, silently debating whether it was worth the argument, before rising as one and heading out the door. Sarah lead the way, making sure to bump John forcefully in the shoulder on her way out. He wisely held his tongue, as Elena followed with Stefan closely at her back.

The four then descended the stairs and turned to enter the kitchen when Sarah stopped, everyone behind her doing the same before spacing out to see what she saw. Isobel stood in the Gilbert kitchen.

Sarah kept her eyes on the emotionless vampire, taking her in and watching for any sign of an attack. She imagined Stefan was doing much the same as she was. A vampire with their switch flicked off was not something to be taken lightly, as they both knew. That said, Isobel was rather tame compared some of their other encounters.

"I asked John for a do-over." Immediately Sarah was caught off guard by this. Not so much because of the words, but the odd mixture of her voice. Cold emotionless words were what you normally got from a vampire like Isobel, one who'd turned it off. But there was sadness in her words, a sort of longing that did not go with the person she was.

And while Sarah kept watch, her curiosity honing in on the mysterious Isobel, Elena turned to let loose at her uncle/father. "You invited her in?!" she exclaimed in white hot anger.

"She has information about Klaus. Please, just listen to her, okay?" John pleaded.

Sarah was skeptical, and not just because this was Isobel, but because this was an Isobel that was different to the previous one she'd met. There had been no denying the lack of emotion the first time they'd met. Now there was something, Sarah just wasn't sure what. Maybe that was why Stefan said, "All right," to the discussion. Because he too wanted to figure this out.

They moved into the kitchen. Isobel taking a seat by the remains of the dinning table along with John, while Elena paced back and forth before them. Stefan was leaned back against a countertop beside the door, Elena always with in reach in case of an emergency, while Sarah was behind the island in the kitchen. Leaning down on her elbows as her hands cupped her face, with a frown that had embedded itself along her forehead, as she watched the curious case that was Isobel.

"Since I was last here, I've been doing everything possible to find Klaus. We knew out best chance was to find him before he could find you," Isobel was explaining, and again there was that same thing about her words. They were cold and detached, and yet sincere in a way that didn't suit her. So conflicting in what they were, what she was that it just didn't make any sense.

"Best chance at what?" Stefan asked with a frown of his own.

"Keeping Elena alive," John said strictly, before Elena snapped at him.

"You don't get to talk, okay, not after everything you've done," she declared, as Stefan smoothly moved to her side for support.

"Where you able to find Klaus?" Sarah spoke up, looking directly at Isobel as she studied her response in depth. Her breathing, her body language, the way she continued to speak in that odd way. Any sign that might give her a further clue to what was going on with this woman.

"No. Nobody knows where he is," Isobel answered before very naturally moving on. That was when Sarah knew she was starting to get paranoid, because she was thinking that Isobel had been too natural in her response. And there was still that pestering emotion to her voice. That worry that seemed almost genuine. _Emotions creeping back through? Was her switch beginning to flick the other way?_ _Maybe_ , Sarah thought, still watching with a keen eye. But she'd seen a vampire's emotions come back before, experienced it herself even, and something just didn't fit right with this.

"But there are these rumours that are flying around. That a doppelgänger exists," Isobel continued.

"Which means any vampire that wants to get in favour with Klaus, will be lining up to capture you," John concluded, pointedly looking to his glaring daughter.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be talking," Sarah said loudly, though her gaze never broke from Isobel – who'd obviously noticed the attention she was getting from the Salvatore, but was choosing to ignore it as her eyes followed her daughter.

"All right, Isobel," Sarah said as she straightened up, drawing the vampire's attention. "Let's say you are here to help. Which if true means you can easily answer one question for us. Why?" Sarah asked as she stepped around the counter, moving in front of Stefan and Elena as she begun her interrogation.

"She's our daughter, I think–" John began before Sarah cut him off with a throat punch that almost sent him falling out his chair.

"I'm asking her," Sarah said in a raised and serious voice, eyes still focused on those cold green eyes of Isobel. Those eyes that seemed so conflicted over who she was. The emotionless vampire, or the caring mother who wanted to protect her child.

"I've been helping all along," Isobel said in a level tone. "I helped stop the tomb vampires. If one of them had gotten out and spread word about–"

"You helped, Katherine," Sarah cut in sternly, leaning in towards Isobel, who wouldn't flinch. "We know this, so don't even try and claim it was for the good of your daughter. And don't waste my time with the, 'it was all an act,' bit. I looked into your eyes the last time I saw you, Isobel. And those were the eyes of a vampire who'd thrown their switch right off. So if there's one thing I know, it's that you've not been part of some greater scheme to protect Elena. You might be able to pull that over on John, but we're not a bunch of idiots like he is. To do something like that takes dedication, and to do it for someone specific, like _your daughter_ , that takes love. And despite what I see in your eyes now, back then, I saw no love in those eyes. I saw nothing. Which, of course, means your lying. So I ask again, why are you insisting that you want to help Elena?"

It was then Sarah got a good up close look at the conflict brewing in Isobel's eyes. Something was wrong with Isobel all right. Very wrong. But unnoticeable to those that apparently weren't looking for it. Sarah just needed to identify what it was, that thing that was going on behind Isobel's eyes right now as she said, "I just want to protect Elena." A statement that had genuine truth to it, but felt so hollow and wrong at the same time.

Isobel then rose, stepping past Sarah as she looked to Elena. Stefan taking a subconscious step closer to her, his sharp eyes waiting for Isobel's next move. "I have a safe house that I can take you to. The deed is in your name. No vampire can get in without your permission, not even me. Let me help you?" Again, that nagging conflict of emotion and nothingness in her voice. Sarah was going to lose her mind if she had to remain in the room with this walking talking paradox. Thankfully, Elena seemed to have a perfect solution to that problem.

"You wanna help?" Elena asked rhetorically, before getting up in Isobel's face. "Then get the hell out of my house!"

"Elena…" John croaked, still recovering from his punch to the throat, when Sarah grabbed his ring hand and began to squeeze.

"If you break our no talking rule again, I'm going to take that ring of yours and see if it still works while shoved down your throat," she snarled, with a warning glare to John before turning back to Isobel, who'd backed away from Elena. A look of shame almost upon her face. For all intents and purposes, this woman should not exist. An emotionless vampire who was expressing emotions.

It was then Stefan stepped in, choosing to end the conversation before tensions could get any higher. "I think it's time for you to go," he said calmly, gesturing for her to use the door.

"Promise to think about what I said?" Isobel asked hopefully. Elena didn't say anything but looked to Stefan who nodded, more just so that they could get Isobel out the house for the time being. So Elena nodded to her vampire mother, who then left with a small unnatural smile on her face.

Once she was gone, Sarah released John's hand and declared they should leave. No one had any objections, not even John. He'd gotten what he wanted for now, which for them all to hear what Isobel had to say. So he remained quiet as the trio grabbed what they needed and left the house, returning to the Salvatore boarding house.

There, they joined Damon and Scarlett – who was now dressed for the day in a plain t-shirt and jeans – in the study, catching them both up on what had happened while at the Gilbert's.

"Do you really think that Isobel's telling the truth, that word's gotten out about the doppelgänger?" Elena asked after they'd gone over everything that had happened. She was sat on one side of the large couch, her legs crossed, and playing nervously with her hair. Understandable, if this rumour turned out to be true their problems could be about to double, if not triple through more vampires coming to town.

"Look, none of us trust a word she said, but I think we'd be stupid to ignore the warning," Stefan said in a clam and collected tone, from the armchair next to Elena's side of the couch. Damon was across from in him, lazing in the other armchair with his back against one arm rest and his legs hanging over the other. As for Sarah she was sat on the other side of the couch, face contorted in intense thought while Scarlett had made herself comfortable on the ground, leaning back against the couch.

Even though there was a perfectly good space between Sarah and Elena, Scarlett still opted for the floor. A juvenile form of self punishment, but Sarah decided to leave it be for now. As much as she didn't like it, she had to give Scarlett a few days to wallow in self pity. Part of her completely understood where Jeremy was coming from, but there was also a part of her that was mad with him for hurting Scarlett.

It was a hard situation all right, and while Sarah would be there for Scarlett, she couldn't get involved. This was her and Jeremy's relationship and they would have to deal with it themselves.

"What you thinking there, Little Sister?" asked Damon, eyeing his sister from his reclined position.

She had been thinking about her ward, but there was something else on her mind that she imagined Damon would be much more interested in. "Isobel," she answered in a word, before looking over to Stefan. "Didn't she seem weird to you, I mean for a vampire who claims to have flicked their switch."

Stefan nodded in agreement. "I agree with what you said back there. Her humanity was definitely off the last time we met her. But there was something there today, I saw it."

"So what, just because her humanity is flaming up, that means we can trust her?" scoffed Damon.

"The opposite actually," Sarah said with a look over to her quick draw brother.

"What are you trying to get at?" asked Elena, frowning at her friend from across the couch.

"It just doesn't add up," Sarah began to explain as she stared off into intense thought. "Her humanity was clearly off. But at the same time, she was showing emotions…only they felt…kinda forced?" Sarah finished in uncertainty, unsure if she was using the proper words to describe just what Isobel had been like.

"Well, that makes zero sense," muttered Damon with a dramatic eye roll.

"I think that's her point," Stefan said in defence of their sister. Again Damon just rolled his eyes.

"Well, not that I don't love chatting about, you're messed up family," Damon said with a causal finger point to Elena – who shot him an irritated glare in response. "But, I think we have more pressing matters to discuss. Say, your protection form you're messed up family," he suggested with another point at Elena.

"You got a plan?" Sarah asked her brother skeptically, running her hand through her hair as she did.

"Yeah," Damon said with mocking enthusiasm. "She moves in with Stefan, here. Would make it a hell of a lot easier for us to keep an eye on her."

"What, in the house that any vampire can enter?" Stefan said, pointing out the obvious hole in Damon's plan.

"Plus, you're always complaining about how crowded it is here," added Scarlett, speaking up for the first time since she'd sat down.

"Go back to moping," Damon snapped, not liking the fact he was getting ganged up on.

"Leave her alone, Damon," Sarah warned.

"She's a tough kid," Damon said with a shrug, before returning from the tangent. "So if Elena can't stay here what's your plan then, Stefan?"

"Her house is safe," Stefan argued.

"Yeah, and also accessible to Katherine, Isobel and anyone else posing as a pizza delivery guy," pointed Sarah.

"We'd have to stay there with her then," Damon said, which Stefan seemed to agree with. "It's probably a good thing Jenna's done a runner then. No awkward questions," he added, earning a glare from those on the couch. "Well, it's either that or you two lovebirds find an apartment to rent," Damon added with a teasing look to Elena and Stefan.

"You're hilarious," Sarah said dryly.

"Thanks, Sis," Damon said with a mocking smile in return, at which Sarah sneered before folding her arms in a huff.

"So, that's it? That's the plan? I have to spend the rest of my life with one of you by my side at all times?" asked Elena, hardly sounding thrilled about the idea, not that Sarah could blame her. While she loved her family, she wouldn't want them hovering around her during every second of every day during every aspect of her life. Some lines had to exist, but in the case of Elena's safety, those lines were becoming increasingly hard to draw.

"Let us know when you come up with a better one," Damon said with the usual amount of sympathy they'd all come to expect from him.

With a sigh of contempt, Elena took a breath, accepting the situation for now before looking back up at the group. "Fine. Then I guess we'll all be going to the Lockwood Luncheon."

"Joy," Sarah sighed, but left it at that, remembering that Elena was only going on behalf of Jenna.

"Well, you two have fun, because I've got witch stuff to attend to with Bonnie," Damon said with a knowing smug grin.

"What about me?" Scarlett asked lifting her head.

"You're on guard dog duty, remember," Damon said with a pointed look.

"You can come if you want, Scarlett," Stefan said more sympathetically. Although Scarlett considered it for a moment before looking to Elena.

"Will Jeremy be there?"

Elena was a little surprised by the question. "Maybe?" she said uncertainly. She hadn't seen Jeremy since before Sarah arrived at her house. After he'd found out about Jenna and tried and failed to talk to her, he'd gone out for a long walk to clear his head. There really was no telling if he'd show up or not, maybe thinking he could catch Jenna at the event. Elena had texted him to let him know what had happened with Jenna, but there'd been no reply as of yet.

"I think I'll just stay here," Scarlett then said quietly, looking down at her feet.

"If that's what you want," Sarah said, reaching forward and placing her hand on Scarlett's shoulder. Offering her a supportive smile when she looked up at her. She appreciated it, but quickly went back to looking at her shoes, hiding away from everything as she was with Jeremy. _Hopefully she'll get through this phase soon_ , Sarah thought. She didn't like seeing her ward like this, it was so unlike her. But at the same time, there was nothing she could do to speed up the process.

"And what about me?" asked a voice nobody wanted to hear, as Katherine walked into the room, leaning down on the back of the couch Elena and Sarah were sat on. "Where do I fit into this amazing plan of yours?"

Everyone went silent, making a point of not answering Katherine as she looked between them all. "You do realise I can't help you if you don't tell me the plan, right?" she said, pointedly glaring at them all.

"Almost as if that was by design," Damon pointed out, grinning when Katherine looked his way.

"Seriously?" groaned Katherine with a tilt of the head. "I've been honest with all of you, I think it's time you returned the favour."

Sarah instantly snorted, before then looking over her shoulder at a glowering Katherine. "You seriously think, after everything you've done, that anyone in this room would trust you?" Sarah asked, before offering her enemy a sarcastic smile. "You're lying to yourself. And if I say only one honest thing to you for the rest of my life it'll be this. None of us will ever trust you again."

Katherine's glare intensified, though she wisely held her tongue, which made it all the more enjoyable for Sarah to watch her. Seeing her enemy struggle in a way she never thought she'd get to. Katherine had always been a step ahead with the Salvatores, but now she was in their house, asking for their help because they held all the cards. Finally, she was at their mercy, in a way that was completely different to the tomb. Because here she wanted to stay, to be a part of their group and their plans. She wanted to help, but they could just keep denying her – and while she had other options, this was the one she wanted. And Katherine hated not getting what she wanted. So she'd keep punishing herself, in hopes that she would get her way, get what she wanted. Their acceptance. But Sarah was never going to let that happen.

"Besides, if you're being nothing but honest with us, you won't mind telling us where you've been all morning?" Scarlett asked from her spot on the floor. She then looked up, grinning with mirth in her eyes as she saw Katherine struggle to answer, all eyes on her.

"Yeah, Katherine," Stefan added with a grin of his own. "After all, if your as open as you say, that should be a pretty easy question to answer."

The vampire's brown irritated eyes flicked between them all, giving them each a scowl as they all grinned smugly back at her. She had to think fast, but if there was one thing Katherine Pierce was good at, it was thinking on her feet. "I was looking for another weapon to kill an Original with," she said smoothly, with a triumphant grin at having found her wording at just the right time. "You know, since you've used the only two we currently have."

Silence stretched out for a moment, annoyance at her clever answer passing over everyone's face – save Scarlett's.

"You're lying," the werewolf said knowingly.

"You're one to talk," Katherine bit back pointedly, and Scarlett caught her meaning, as she tried to hide the hurt in her eyes.

Katherine smirked in victory, before finding herself shoved against one of the wooden beams in the room, Damon in front of her with Stefan at his side. Neither said anything, but there stance and actions made everything clear to Katherine – and Sarah, who grinned proudly at her brothers, while Katherine could only scowl in annoyance.

"Fine. Be that way," she spat, stepping through the gap Damon left her and leaving the room. Unfortunately, she didn't leave the house all together, so they couldn't continue to talk openingly about their plans. And unable to discuss their plans, they had no choice but to move on.

Damon left first, the others remaining behind to make sure Katherine didn't follow him. She didn't, apparently more focused on sulking than what they were up to. Stefan took Elena home to get changed – it was a formal event so she wouldn't be getting by with just her jeans, t-shirt and cardigan. Sarah remained behind to keep Scarlett company, making sure she was okay until Scarlett finally assured her she was fine being in the house along with Katherine – promising that if the she devil tried anything, she'd bite her arm clean off.

Marginally more satisfied, Sarah left with a soft smile to her ward, before meeting Stefan and Elena at the Lockwood Mansion, where Elena was scheduled to accept the 'whatever' on behalf of Jenna. Heading in, they mingled as perusal with these sorts of things, until Caroline approached them, looking very flustered.

"Hey. Any luck finding Matt?" Stefan asked hopefully.

"None," Caroline heavied out, before continuing on in true Caroline fashion. "What if he tells somebody? What if he tells everybody?" she exclaimed in a hushed and panicked whisper, forcing herself to smile in case someone saw her and asked what was wrong.

"No, we just gotta find him and make sure that doesn't happen," Stefan said calmly before turning to Elena. "Do you have any idea where he would be?"

"I wish I did, but he wasn't really one to run," admitted Elena nervously, which did little to help Caroline, who was practically bouncing from foot to foot with anxiety as another shaky smile found its way onto her lips.

"You know, this wasn't how it was supposed to happen," Caroline said with a nervous laugh. "You know, I was supposed to tell him at the right moment in the right way, and he was supposed to be okay with it because he loves me."

"Hey, that still might be the case," Elena objected reassuringly, nodding her head along as to help Caroline believe her.

"Yeah, I mean, it took Elena a little while to adjust to the situation," Sarah added, gesturing to the affirmatively nodding brunette between her and Stefan.

"Exactly. We all just need to talk to him, like Stefan and Sarah did with me," Elena said before looking past Caroline and into the room full of guests. "I just have to accept this thing for Jenna and then we'll help you find him," she promised.

"All right. Well, call me when you're done, and I'll be out looking for him," Caroline said, before quickly exiting through the front door as Sarah sighed, gripping the bridge of her nose.

"Oh, God," she groaned before looking to Stefan and Elena, her hands moving to her hips. "Everything is turning into a complete disaster."

"We'll get through it," Stefan said calmly, nodding his head at both his sister and girlfriend. "We just need to take it one step at a time."

"Starting with this award," Elena said with a sigh, before plastering on her most appropriate smile and stepping into the room with Stefan and Sarah behind her.


	35. Leiah

_Review responses:_

Sarcasm15Key: _Thank you, and I know, me too! But we've still got a few more chapters to go, and things are about to start ramping up._

Guest(1st): _I try not to get too far ahead of myself in case I change things and it throws everything out of whack, but yeah, I do think about what I'd do with Legacies. I'm watching it myself and have to say I'm enjoying it a fair bit, it also helps with motivation for writing this story. So I do have a few ideas about what I'd do if I ever got that far with this series, but I'd rather not say anything just yet. Just in case I do somehow make it that far. You never know!_

Guest(2nd): _Season 3 will definitely have more of Elena and Sarah getting closer, but by the end of this season, I think Sarah's mind's going to be just a little too distracted to think about Elena unfortunately._

 _I have been SO looking forward to this chapter. Fun fact, I actually wrote this opening scene here way back in 2018 when I started writing this story ahead of publication. And I did think about adding this to the end of last week's chapter but then I thought it made more sense to have it in this one, as you'll soon understand why. And as you'll probably guessed from the title, I've got another OC character coming in here. She's going to be very important down the road so I hope you all come to love her as much as I do. So without further adieu, here is the latest chapter!_

* * *

 **Chapter 35: Leiah**

* * *

Being alone in a house with Katherine Piece was not fun. Being expected to babysit said vampire was even less fun. For one thing, Katherine hated her, not that Scarlett cared. But it meant she was getting insulted and mocked ever time she passed the vampire, making sure she wasn't up to anything. Katherine always tried to get a reaction out of her, but Scarlett knew better by this point. She'd fallen for Katherine's games one to many times now. So even when she brought up Jeremy and her betrayal, Scarlett just walked away…and then smashed something once out of sight as she screamed internally.

All she was supposed do was remain inside the house and keep an eye on Katherine. That was it. Make sure the Originals stayed dagger and try to think of ways to make it up to Jeremy.

Thinking about him once more filled her with guilt. The same guilt she'd been experiencing before she decided to shove the truth deep down. Only she apparently hadn't buried it deep enough, seeing as she'd spilled the beans the moment said guilt resurfaced. Now it was worse than ever before, and the secret was out there and Jeremy knew it all.

 _Love is just far to complicated_ , Scarlett decided. Especially if your supernatural. She just had to look at her friends relationships to understand that.

There was Sarah and Ronnie: Disaster and one dead. Elena and Stefan: One being hunted for some supernatural sacrifice. Damon and Rose: One dead again, and another in denial about it all. Caroline and Matt: Broken up because the vampire didn't want to hurt the human. Not to mention Katherine and the Slavatores: The most manipulative and abusive relationship of their lives.

Thinking about them all only confirmed Scarlett's thoughts on love. What she really needed was a restart, a new fresh relationship, preferably with Jeremy. A blank slate without any of this stupid supernatural drama – which had infected her relationship with Jeremy. Although, that was kind of hard when neither of them could forget about what she had done.

A knock at the front door caught Scarlett's attention. Being on the couch in the living room, she frowned, sat up and looked over to the front door. _Who in this town knocked when visiting the Salvatores?_ The answer was very few people, most just barged in, friend or foe. So there could be just about anything behind that door. Sniffing the air, it wasn't a familiar scent that Scarlett picked up, which was something.

Another knock, prompted Scarlett to answer the door. She strode from the living room and into the hallway, opening up the door to find a petite girl grinning back at her. Taking in everything about her, Scarlett was more than surprised to say the least. The grin screamed impulsive and mischief, and her blue eyes seemed to light up just at the sight of Scarlett. As to why she had no idea, but as she looked the girl up and down, Scarlet could see her doing the same to her.

The girl's hair was dirty blonde, straight and below her shoulders on both sides. 'Simple,' was the word Scarlett might use to describe her dress sense. Or maybe convenient, like what she wore. Plain grey t-shirt, a light grey silk scarf loosely wrapped around her neck, jeans and laced up boots that stretched halfway up her legs. Not unlike Scarlett's own dress style.

Another subtle sniff confirmed that the girl was a vampire. Hardly surprising for this house. And since she was out in the daylight, Scarlett assumed that the little gold ring on her right pinkie finger, was in fact her daylight ring. A weak spot should this vampire cause any trouble. Although Scarlett knew her bite would kill, she didn't like to use it as an opening move in case of misunderstandings, or if the vampire had information. And this one clearly had a reason for being here, despite the casualness of her body lounge. Draped against the door frame with her left arm above her head, acting as a cushion for her head, as if she were posing for a magazine or something.

Their eyes met again, having finished sizing each other up. The girl's grin had broadened now, blue eyes filled with a hungry fire. "You're cute," she said simply. Scarlett opened her mouth to reply but the girl pushed her aside with clear supernatural strength and sauntered into the house, hips waving from side to side as she did. "So, where's Sarah then?" she asked aloud coming to a stop in the living room and have a look around, as if expecting her to appear.

"Sorry?" Scarlett said with a frown, following the mystery girl.

"Come on, Sarah!" the girl shouted teasingly. "It's rude to keep a girl waiting, you know!" She twirled around on her feet, evidently having fun as she shouted at the ceiling. Then her head dropped and her gaze landed back on Scarlett. Now further apart, she got a much better look at her whole body, since Scarlett was stood under the archway to the living room.

The girl bit down on her lip, fire reigniting once more. "Although, I wouldn't mind waiting around with you," she deiced as she took a step towards Scarlett. She stood her ground, unthreatened by whatever this girl was implying.

Apparently the girl liked that, judging by her chuckle as she stopped, keeping a large enough space between them. Scarlett continued to frown, which only seemed to make the girl enjoy this all the more. "Sarah's not home," Scarlett eventually said. She then decided to go that little bit further and asked, "Who are you exactly?"

Another chuckle, but no answer. The girl's eyes then moved down to the necklace on Scarlett's neck. "Nice necklace," the girl said before suddenly she was an inch in front of Scarlett, blue eyes compelling her as she said, "Give it to me."

Scarlett smirked, letting her eyes talk for her. The golden glow appeared from her eyes and the girl seemed gleefully surprised by that. Not exactly the reaction Scarlett had been hoping for. "Well aren't you full of surprises," the girl said in delight.

The wolf inside Scarlett was kicking up a fuss now. It'd shown itself and still the girl mocked her. The wolf wouldn't stand for it and nether would Scarlett. Impulse took over and she shifted halfway between wolf and human. That seemed to surprise the girl and Scarlett punched, thinking she'd caught her off guard.

And then suddenly she completely changed direction and found herself against the wall, gasping and struggling to breath. Her werewolf features all but disappeared in an instant, the agonising pain breaking her concentration and turning her back to human form. Her eyes shot down trying to locate the reason for such pain. The reason was pretty obvious once she saw it. The girl's hand had gone right through her ribcage and now had a grip on her heart. Scarlett could feel her whole body going into panic mode, even the wolf was shut up by that. It was surreal, feeling her heart quicken but unable to beat properly because of the girl's grasp on it. And still she smiled away, as if this was all normal.

She lifted Scarlett up, her feet dangling above the floor while keeping a tight hold on her heart. Her supernatural abilities were the only thing keeping her alive right now. Any human would be dead and if this girl moved or crushed her heart she'd be done for. No one could survive heart extraction, not even werewolves or vampires.

"Look at that, I'm _literally_ holding your heart in my hand," the girl explained playfully, as if life and death was just that to her. A game. "Right now, I have complete control over your life. I can let you live to see another day, or I can make my beautiful face the last one you'll ever see." Her grin grew. "Now let's see, what to do… What to do to you…" She tightened her grip and Scarlett groaned in pain, blood beginning to fill her mouth. "Oh, that's right, heart extraction. Nah. Too boring. Decapitation, too messy. Compulsion won't work, you're a werewolf."

Again she bit down on her lip, but not in the same way as before. This time she was thinking, hard apparently about how to kill Scarlett. And all the werewolf could do was try not to move despite the agonising pain. To stay perfectly still and hope her heart didn't give up or move and kill her. She didn't want to die like this, not now. Not with things the way they were. She had so much still to do – to fix – this couldn't be how it ended. Not here, not now.

The girl looked up at Scarlett's pleading blue eyes. Scarlett hated to think of herself as pleading, but she couldn't help it, the survival instinct was too strong. In contrast however, all she could see in the girl's blue eyes was a cold hard stare. The fire was gone now, there was just a monster looking back at her, one who had so little care for life and death that it might as well be a plaything to her. This was a vampire that terrified Scarlett.

"Actually, you know what…" the girl then decided, tilting her head to the side. Scarlett braced herself. Eyes closing as her face contorted in pain, waiting for the final blow. She mentally got ready to say goodbye to everyone. Her new friends, the Salvatores, Elena, Caroline, Tyler, Sarah…Jeremy.

At least she'd finally get to see her mother again. A silver lining, she thought.

"You're too cute to kill."

Scarlett's eyes shot open, looking down to see if the girl was serious. She never got to know though, as next thing she knew she was on the floor, hands going to cover the wound over her chest as it began to heal. Not fast enough though as blood began to pour out. Her heart was still beating though, still in place and had been the first thing to heal up, making sure all the connections were still there. She was alive.

She looked up, finding the girl standing over her, a dark looming shadow making that grin of hers seem a lot more sinister. "What was your name again?" Scarlett hesitated in answering, visibly shaking from her brush with death just then. "It's not wise to keep me waiting. You're cute but that won't stop me from killing you if you really irritate me."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Scarlett sat up on her elbows and answered, "Scarlett."

The grin turned into a smile that somehow seemed just a little less sinister. "Nice name." And with that she turned, heading back towards the open front door with her hips swinging once more. Scarlett watched her go, still in shock at the whole event when the girl spoke up without looking back. "Make sure to tell Sarah I dropped by."

She was out the door and about to close it when Scarlett suddenly realised she didn't know the girl's name. She clambered up to her knees, chest still in the process of healing and called after her. "But I don't know your name?" It took so long for her to respond that Scarlett thought she'd just left with the door a crack open. Then it opened back up, enough for the girl to poke her head back through, her playful grin back once more.

"It's Leiah," the girl answered, eyes locking with Scarlett's once more. That fire having returned but as a spark in the distance now. She winked at Scarlett, which seemed to surprise her yet again, before saying, "Catch you later, Cutie." Then her head was gone and the door was closed, leaving Scarlett injured and completely and utterly confused by what had just happened to her. As she sat on the floor and waited to be healed.

* * *

Unfortunately, it wasn't just as simple as grabbing the award and leaving. No, Elena was excepted to sit through the entire event that was being held before the award ceremony. Which in turn meant that Sarah and Stefan had to wait through all that as well. Something which Sarah wasn't very happy about. And even though she was hungry, Stefan and Elena had made it clear she wasn't to feed on anyone until after the event, which didn't leave her with a whole lot to amuse herself with as she listened to long winded speech after long winded speech.

Now, it had probably only been an hour really, but each fifteen minute speech felt like it had an hour of its own in Sarah's mind. And for a century old vampire to say that, a woman who knew a thing about time dragging on, that was saying something. Even she thought this was a waste, of her otherwise limitless time on this planet.

"I swear to God, if I have to listen to one more speech…" muttered Sarah, face in her hand as she leaned against the wall next to Elena, Stefan on her other side.

"I think we're almost done," Elena whispered as the final speaker concluded his talk on…whatever it was these historical people cared about. Alaric would probably know, though Sarah suspected even he'd have found it boring just a little. If not him, then Jenna certainly would.

And just like that, Sarah had reminded herself of her close friend's departure, putting her in an even more irritated mood. She began to scowl, while the audience before her clapped and the speaker departed from the podium at the front of the room, making way for Carol Lockwood. Finally, Sarah let out a tense breath, realising that things were almost over as Carol said, "And here to accept the donation to the Miranda Sommers-Gilbert scholarship fund, is Elena Gilbert."

"Please, don't give a speech," Sarah muttered, before join in the applause as Elena made her way up to Carol Lockwood with a smile. They exchanged the standard pleasantries for this sort of thing, Carol handing over the envelope with check inside before Elena took the podium on her own to address the Historical Society.

"The Historical Society was my mom's baby," Elena began, to which Sarah's head dropped dramatically, and the brunette had to fight to stop herself from grinning during what really should a serious and heartfelt moment. "She considered all of you family and would be honoured and touched by this gift," Elena went on to say before a series of loud thuds came from the main staircase.

Stood by the archway into the room, Sarah and Stefan naturally turned to see what the cause of such a loud noise was, only to find it was John falling down the stairs in an alarming way. They watched him tumble over himself, head bashing off the stairs as he gained moment. More people turned to look, some gasping as John hit the bottom of the stairs, the back of his head whacking of the tiled floors.

Unable to stop themselves, both Sarah and Stefan moved towards John's body, a crowd following them. They glanced up, trying to see if anyone had caused him to fall down the stairs, but if someone did, they were gone now. Not exactly impossible for anything supernatural, which if the cause of this, meant that John would be fine. Though from the smell of blood in the air, only picked up by her heightened senses, Sarah would guess vampire – and she already had several prime suspects in her mind.

Standing beside her brother, Sarah watched Stefan bend down to inspect John's body, rolling his head over to expose the bloodied bite on his neck. He looked up to Sarah who could only grimace, seeing as there was nothing they could do about it now, other than play dumb that is. They were just the little brother and sister of Damon Salvatore after all, the council's favourite vampire killer, and they weren't supposed to know anything. Which meant when the Sheriff pushed through they had to act all confused and shocked, stepping back as the adult took over from the teenagers who'd arrived on the scene first.

"Uh, he's-he's bleeding. Is he okay?" asked Stefan as the Sheriff bend down next to him to see it for herself.

Already knowing how she would respond, Sarah pulled out her phone and asked, "Do you want me to call an ambulance?"

"No. If we need one, I'll call it in. It'll get her quicker," the Sheriff said, glancing up to make sure Sarah didn't call said ambulance. It was a lie, but one Sarah had been expecting. So she nodded, frantically. Putting away her phone as she played the part of the shocked teenage girl, who her brother shielded from the sight of John as he lead her back through the crowd. It wasn't a part Sarah loved to play, but needs must.

Once they got through the crowd, they found themselves back in the room where Elena had been accepting her mother's reward. The room almost empty as the last of the attendants tired to get into the hallway for a better look at what was going on. That made it easy to spot Elena, stood by the podium with her phone in hand as she paced back and forth, other hand holding her necklace nervously. "I'm calling Damon," Elena quickly clarified, to which Stefan nodded, while Sarah kept her eyes on Elena.

She then glanced back, watching the last of the Historical Society members leave the room before she rushed Elena at vampire speed and pinned her to the wall. "You really think we're that stupid, Katherine?" snarled Sarah in a low voice as not to catch anyone's attention from the very next room – although they all seemed a little preoccupied with John's possibly dead body. "I know a distraction when I see one, now where's Elena?" demanded Sarah, holding Elena against the wall as the facade fell and the doppelgänger – turned vampire – grinned.

"Well, done, Sarah. You're actually improving" taunted Katherine in mock congratulations. "But you're still too late." Before Sarah or Stefan had a chance to respond, Katherine turned the tables on Sarah. Grabbing her arm and twisting until she was free. Sarah fought to hold back a cry of pain, but only then succeeded in giving Katherine an opening to twist her arm completely behind her back, before kicking her into Stefan.

Neither fell, but it was enough of an opening for Katherine to vamp speed out the back door while everyone was still distracted. The Salvatores were right on her tail though, once they found their footing, rushing into the Lockwood's vast back garden by the woods where they spotted Katherine waiting.

It was bait obviously, but she was the only lead they had to Elena, so both Stefan and Sarah foolishly charged after her and into the woods where she stopped, turning to face them. They both stopped before her, facing her off as she stood before them in Elena's exact clothing and necklace. "Where the hell is she?" growled Stefan, barley holding himself back, while Sarah watched the confident Katherine more cautiously. Because when Katherine was confident, there was usually a good reason for it.

"Sorry, Stefan, but I can't have either of you following me just yet," Katherine declared before the sound of an electronic beep sounded from nearby. Next thing Sarah knew, she'd been hit int he back by three needles, all of which unleashed and wave of vervain upon her system. It wasn't enough to knock her and Stefan out, but it was enough to momentarily bring them to their knees. Their bodies weakened, and giving Katherine an easy window, to speed over and snap both their necks.

Sarah really should have known better than to follow Katherine into woods.

* * *

You'd think after all her time with the Salvatores, Scarlett would know a thing or to about cleaning up a mess. Truth was though, she hadn't done that much cleaning up in her supernatural life time, at least not in relation to blood. Whenever she'd been involved in a messy situation it had always been someone else who cleaned up, while she went home to lick her wounds. She was now both grateful, and annoyed about this.

Grateful, because she'd never had to have gone through the tedious and boring part after their adventures. But also annoyed because she had no idea where to start. Heck, she'd had to google, 'how to clean up blood,' – which she was sure would put her on some watch list somewhere.

She could have asked Katherine for some help, but she was pretty certain she knew how that would go. And it wasn't like she'd even cared enough to come down and see what was going on, when Leiah was threatening to kill Scarlett a good hour or so ago. In fact, Scarlett hadn't heard a peep from Katherine, which she was starting to find very odd, until the front door opened and Damon walked through.

Both paused to frown at one another. Damon, because he'd found Scarlett hunched over on the floor, with yellow gloves, a cloth and a bucket cleaning up a thinning pool of blood. And Scarlett because Damon had John Gilbert slung over his shoulder – dead from the looks of things.

"He dead?" Scarlett asked with a nod to John, sitting up on her knees as she threw the damp cloth into the nearby bucket of water.

"Uh huh," Damon replied, still frowning at the sight of Scarlett cleaning. Although he wasn't quite sure if he was frowning _because_ she was cleaning, or if it was because he was curious about _what_ she was cleaning up.

"He going to come back to life?" Scarlett asked casually, pulling of the rubber gloves with a snap.

"Probably," Damon said, before discarding John to the floor, tired of carrying him. "Sheriff found him with a vampire bite mark on the neck after he fell down the stairs. Had to tell her all about the ring to keep her and Carol Lockwood off my back, so now I'm stuck with him until he wakes up," Damon explained, before gesturing to the carcass now sprawled across the front hallway.

"Great," Scarlett sighed, as if John dying and coming back was just plain old normal now. When really it was a pain because he wouldn't just stay dead and out of their lives.

"Am I too hopeful in thinking you finally dusted off the other blood hound living in this house?" Damon said with a pointed look to the blood stains still on the floor, from where Leiah had stabbed her fist through Scarlett's chest. The thought brought back a shudder, but it past quickly enough as Scarlett went to answer Damon.

"Yeah, you are," Scarlett sighed again, catching his referral to Katherine, as she climbed up to her feet. "You know anyone named, 'Leiah?' Little shorter than me. Blonde hair, blue eyes, freckles, possible psychopath?"

"Leiah?" Damon said with a frown, before shaking his head. "Never heard of her." Scarlett would have been more concerned by this, except she was well aware that neither Damon, nor Stefan, knew everyone from Sarah's past. For example, she'd been the only one to know Rose when she'd first shown up in Mystic Falls. So it was equally possible that Leiah was just another vampire from Sarah's past, one that Damon didn't know about, just like Rose.

Their conversation was then put on hold, as Damon answered his ringing phone. He glanced at the caller ID before then answering. "Well, I hope you're happy, Stefan. 'Cause thanks to you, I've now got to deal with a dead John Gilbert – Oh, and thanks for the heads up on that by the way. You have any idea how annoying it is getting a call from the Sheriff, telling me everything that you should have told me before hand, because you were apparently the first one to arrive, and leave the scene–"

"Damon!" Stefan shouted over his brother, finally getting him to shut up. "Damon, listen to me. Katherine has Elena! She was behind what happened with John at the Lockwood's today. She's planning something and is probably working with Isobel. We need to find her right now!"

"How's that possible, she's been here the whole…" Damon trailed off, looking to Scarlett who'd gone wide eyed. After hearing Stefan mentioning Katherine, she'd done a sniff of the house from where she stood, and one thing was clear to her – Katherine Pierce was no longer in the house with them. And if Katherine had Elena, there was only one other irreplaceable thing that she'd need to do what she'd originally come to Mystic Falls to do.

"Oh, Crap!" shouted Damon, before he and Scarlett bolted up the stairs, Damon running into his room with Scarlett behind him. He dashed into the bathroom, Scarlett skidding into the archway that separated the two rooms, watching as Damon rummaged through a soap tray before violently flinging it aside.

"You had one job, Scrappy!" snapped Damon as he swung around to glare at the werewolf stood in his bedroom, now glaring back at him after his outburst.

"Sorry, I got a little distracted by the nutcase who came through the door and tried to rip out my heart!" Scarlett shouted back sarcastically, to which Damon raised his hands, before curling them slowly into trembling fists of rage.

"Just…pick up her damn scent so we can find her. Now!" Damon grumbled, giving her all of three seconds to do so before heading down the stairs and out to his car. When he started honking relentlessly, Scarlett knew to go out and join him in his car once she had a good fix on Katherine's dying scent. So with the scent acquired and firmly held in her nostrils, she sped out and into Damon's passenger seat, before he floored it and raced back into Mystic Falls.

On the drive he asked if Scarlett still had Isobel's scent too, which she did. He then took a detour, based on a hunch that turned out to be correct, as they drove through the nicer up town part of Mystic falls. While prowling the streets in search of vampire scents, Damon had Scarlett texting Sarah and Stefan updates on their progress, alerting them to where they were and what Damon was thinking. They agreed, and were on their way when Scarlett finally caught Katherine's scent in the air.

She directed Damon, feeding another update to Sarah and Stefan, before they pulled to a stop at the side of the road, where she also caught wind of Isobel's scent, though Katherine's was much more recent than Isobel's. They climbed out the car, meeting on the sidewalk before Stefan pulled up behind them in his own car, he and Sarah quickly get out to join them.

"Is this where her scent leads?" asked Stefan hurriedly, panicked over Elena's safety.

"It's where she was," Scarlett clarified, before looking to Damon. "We didn't follow it directly here, so I have no idea how far along we are in relation to her." The point behind her words was that because Damon had taken a detour – rather than let her follow the trail in its entirety – she couldn't be as sure as she would've been, had she followed the scent up to this point. That was to say, she'd come to realise how close she was to a target when following a trail without short cuts. As she went along, she'd get a feel for her prey and how far ahead they where. But because they had taken a short cut here, Scarlett had no idea if this was the end of Katherine's trail or somewhere in the middle. But in doing it her way, it would have also taken longer to get there.

"Well, it's the nicest foreclosure in town, my guess is we're in the right place," Damon said, looking over the house before them.

"Certainly fits them MO," agreed Sarah, before they all set off in a line towards the front door.

Stefan went in first, practically storming through the hallway before heading right for the stairs. "I got the upstairs," Stefan called back as he went up.

"I'll go with him," Sarah said before looking to Scarlett. "Stay by the door and keep your nose open." Scarlett nodded, remaining by the door with her senses open and receiving, while Damon checked the down stairs. He came back with nothing, though they both noted the luggage that was waiting in the hallway, as Stefan and Sarah came back down the stairs.

"There's nothing upstairs," Sarah reported as they regrouped. "You getting anything?" she asked Scarlett.

"Katherine's trail stops dead here," Scarlett explained, pointing to a spot in the middle of the hallway. "I can't tell you why, but that's just what I smell. As for Isobel, she hasn't been here since a couple of hours ago, but I can probably find her scent again after I get a whiff of her luggage there."

"What about Elena?" Stefan asked urgently.

Scarlett could only look at him apologetically as she shook her head. "She hasn't been here, sorry."

"So where is she then?" Stefan pressed, though he knew no one had an answer for him.

"We don't know, Stefan," Damon answered him back crassly, before his little sister stepped in.

"All right, I'll go with Scarlett and find Isobel, you two try finding Katherine," Sarah said, before motioning for Scarlett to get what she needed. The young girl nodded before heading over to Isobel's luggage, kneeling down as she inhaled the scent that lingered all over.

"And how are we supposed to find her when Lassie there says her trail stops right here?" complained Damon.

"Well, she's not here is she? Which means she out there somewhere, so go and look," Sarah snapped back at her brother, gesturing to the outside. "I'll call you both when we've caught up to Isobel. Scarlett, you ready?"

"Yeah, this way," she said, before leading the way out the house, Sarah right behind her before Damon and Stefan shortly followed. Each of them then got into their own car before driving off while Scarlett and Sarah proceeded on foot after Isobel's scent.

* * *

They got lucky in finding Elena when they did. As it turned out, even though Scarlett could now easily identify the scent of Isobel, because of the amount of time she'd spent in moving vehicles, most of her trails ended or started by the side of the road. That made it extremely hard for Scarlett to find and even when she did all of them had been cut off by her getting in a car.

That was until she caught something fresh on the wind, nearby and definitely recent. So recent in fact, that it turned out to be Isobel herself.

She was at the cemetery, with Elena. Stood in front of a grave talking to her daughter. There was no one else insight, but Isobel could easily prevent Elena from escaping on her own. But with three older vampires searching for her, plus one werewolf, it almost seemed foolish for her to be on her own with Elena. So Sarah proceeded with caution in case it there was a trap.

For starters, she texted Stefan the address and told him to pass it on to Damon – putting emphasis on the fact that they had Elena in their sights. After that it was a case of asking Scarlett to tap into her superior werewolf senses, but she got nothing, claiming it was just as they saw it. Isobel and Elena. So they hung back and listened to what was being said. Mostly it was just Isobel talking about the grave they were stood before. Her grave, that her parents had left for her after she went missing – presumed dead. Then there was more of that confliction between emotions and none, as Isobel confessed that she might have at one pointed wanted to know her daughter.

Elena was shocked by this, but Isobel hardly seemed to care, shrugging it all off like any vampire without emotions would.

Then her phone rang. She answered it. And Sarah was surprised when she heard Isobel say, "Let her go?" It was obviously in reference to Elena. However, part of Sarah couldn't help but feel it was bait, a way to lure her in. So she got Scarlett to do another search for anyone nearby but it came back the same. So Sarah told her to move to another place of cover, check again, and then text her with an all clear. Once that was done, Sarah stepped out of hiding, and made her way into the cemetery, with Scarlett watching her back in case it was a trap.

"Elena?" Sarah called out from the pathway, the mother and daughter stood a few meters away in front of the tomb stone that belonged to Isobel. Elena turned, relieved to see her friend, but what really surprised Sarah, was Isobel's relief as she hung up the phone. A genuine smile on her tire face.

"I'm so sorry, Elena," Isobel said, promoting Elena to turn away from Sarah and back to her, with tears beginning to form in Isobel's eyes. Tears of emotion. Sarah stared, eyes widening in thought that Isobel might have actually flicked her switch back on, although she couldn't help but be curious as to why she'd done it now. "I was such a disappointment to you."

Shame. There was shame in her voice. An emotion which confused both Elena and Sarah, more so just because they'd heard it.

Then she reached up, grabbing onto her daylight necklace, and ripped it off, discarding it to the ground. Elena gasped. Sarah gasped. Both taken aback as Isobel spread her arms and screamed in agonising pain, as her skin quickly began to blister and peel all over. Parts of her skin catching fire and quickly spreading while she burnt beneath the bright sun.

She wasn't on her feet long, collapsing after a couple of seconds, in which Elena stepped towards her. Her instinct to help unwavering, until Sarah stepped in. Within the blink of an eye, she was at Elena's side, holding her and turning her away from the sight. Isobel might not have been anything like a mother, but she still was _Elena's_ birth mother. And she'd already lost the people who raised her, her parents. There was no need for her to see Isobel actually pass the line between life and death too – this time permanently.

So she forced her to look away, and Elena hurried her shocked and confused face in Sarah's chest, as a strange kind of tear found its way down her cheek. And while she struggled with what to feel, Sarah watched Isobel burn on the ground in front of her grave. Scarlett was approaching from the other side of the pathway, running up with just as much a shocked expression as Sarah imagined she had. She came to a stop, both standing and watching until there was nothing left of Isobel but black ash remains. Her entire being burnt down by the sunlight that Sarah and many other vampires took for granted at times.

After that there wasn't much left to do but to take Elena back to the Boarding house. They waited for Stefan and Damon to arrive, Stefan quick to console Elena and make sure she was okay – not just because of Isobel, but because of the whole kidnapping experience. Something which, unfortunately, Elena was getting used too.

When they arrived back at the house, John's dead body was lying in the hallway. None of them paid it any mind, though Sarah did make sure to give it a good kick on the way past. She, nor anyone else, committed. Instead, they settled Elena down in the living room with the fire roasting, before Damon took off, mumbling something about paper work. Stefan then offered to get her something drink. From tea to anything stronger. Elena opted for tea. And once he was gone, Scarlett gave Elena Isobel's daylight necklace, explaining that she'd picked it up off the ground when they were leaving in case she'd wanted it.

Elena thanked her as she took it, holding it in hands while slowly wrapping the chain around her fingers as Stefan came back in, checking up on his girlfriend while he waited for the water to boil. "Is that Isobel's?" he asked gently, sitting down on the couch next to her, while Sarah and Scarlett sat opposite.

"I never thought I would feel bad about her being dead, and yet…" Elena trailed off, thin tears shimmering in her eyes.

"She was your mother," Stefan said simply, making sure Elena knew it was all right to feel sad about Isobel's passing, even if she didn't see her as her mother. Accepting this, Elena nodded, lowering the necklace down onto her lap. Taking a moment to mourn for her birth mother and the person she could have been to her, had she not become an emotionless monster instead.

"Why did they let me go?" she then asked when the moment of silence was done with, brushing away what little tears there were in her eyes.

"Good question," Scarlett muttered, still not feeling up to involvement beyond a few words apparently. When they'd been looking for Elena, she was focused on her actions, pushing aside her thoughts. Now that they were slowing down and talking, thinking even, Scarlett couldn't be as involved. Because whenever she thought, Sarah thought it likely she thought about one thing.

Reaching over, she placed her hand on Scarlett's shoulder, pulling her in to a half armed hug as she smiled sympathetically at the girl. She turned the corner of her lip up slightly, but other wise just leaning into Sarah while Stefan brainstormed for a moment.

"Well, anything John told Isobel, we have to assume that Klaus knows, right?" Stefan proposed.

"So then he'd know about the deal with Elijah and Amelia," Sarah pointed out.

"He'd also know that we've taken care of them. And that we're now protecting you, and keeping you safe," Stefan added.

"He knows I'm not gonna run," Elena said, as they all realised why Klaus had let her go. Because there was no need to take her. Why deal with all the hassle of kidnapping, holding her captive, fighting off her friends and family when they came to rescue her, when he can just leave her with them and she'll be safe anyway. Safe until he could easily get at her for his sacrifice, because he knew exactly where to find her. And he knew she wouldn't be leaving either. Everything was going perfectly for Klaus – and other than Isobel, he'd hardly even made a move yet.

"Which is why we need to take some precautions, 'cause we got played, all of us," Damon declared as he came back into the room, a handful of papers in hand, which he thrusted towards Elena before throwing a pen onto her lap. He then made his way around the coffee table, throwing himself down on the couch opposite so that Scarlett was squished between him and Sarah, while Elena shifted in her seat to see what she'd been handed.

"What's this?" Elena asked as she looked up, frowning at them all.

"It's the deed to our house," Stefan said with a pleased smirk from next to her. Sarah couldn't help but smirk too, and Damon wasn't even trying to hold it back. She had to admit, it was a good idea. "It's in Zach's name. As soon as you sign it, it'll be in your name," he explained.

"You're giving me your house?" Elena said in shock.

"More like, we're give you the power to control who enters it," Sarah corrected, allowing for wiggle room. It would always be her house anyway, no matter which human owned the deed.

"By the way, if you lock me out, I'll be super pissed," Damon added with a mock warning glare over to Elena.

"Although, no one would blame you if you wanted to keep him out in the yard for a few nights," Scarlett spoke up, earning a chuckle from Sarah.

"Look who's talking," Damon shot back, turning his now very real glare onto Scarlett who looked back with a small smirk.

"At least I don't need an invitation to get in," she teased.

"Oh, no. You just walk into any old house and make yourself at home, don't you?" Damon mocked in turn, before Sarah flicked him in the ear.

"Shut up, Damon," Sarah said with a laugh, as Damon rubbed his flicked ear. Four out of the five of them enjoying the peaceful moment until John rudely ruined it by awakening. Damon went to grab him, but Sarah got past him and made it to John first, hoisting him up into the air by his jacket as she glared up at the man through suddenly furious green eyes. A fury she'd been keeping down until just the right moment.

"You give me one good reason not to make sure you stay dead right now?" Sarah growled angrily.

"I swear, I had no idea what she was gonna do!" John pleaded feebly.

"You think I give a damn. Far as I'm concerned you do more harm than good. You've driven Jenna away, you've tried to have me and my family killed – all because of what we are, and now you've give Klaus everything he needs to know in order to get to your daughter – the one you're claiming to protect," snapped Sarah, holding John closer as she rage-fully shook him back and forth like the pitifully man he was.

"I know! I know and I'm sorry!"

"Sorry, ani't gonna cut it, John," Sarah snarled, ready to permanently finish him off until Elena stopped her.

"Wait, Sarah, let him go." She didn't but she did turn around to hear Elena out. "He and I need to have a talk," Elena said firmly, and Sarah could tell she wasn't going to be going easy on him. Something of which she greatly approved considering his track record. And right now, he just might listen to her too.

"Do I get to kill him afterwards?" Sarah asked as threw John down on the floor. She wasn't entirely playful about her question.

"Depends on how well he listens," Elena answered back, the firm look still planted on her face. Her answer not entirely playful either. Sarah approved of that too.

"We'll give you the room," Stefan said, taking the paper work and passing it off to Damon as they walked out. "We can deal with that in the morning. Still want that tea?"

"Please," Elena answered, sitting herself back down, awaiting John who was climbing back up after a heavy fall.

Damon, not getting any fun out of the situation, left to go to the study with the deed paper work, while Stefan went to get Elena her tea. Sarah was on her way to follow Damon into the study, when Scarlett came out of the living room after her at a brisket pace. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked, both stopping in the hallway as they turned to meet.

"Of course," Sarah said openly, ready for whatever Scarlett wanted to talk about. Be it Jeremy or anything else.

"Today while you were all out, a vampire stopped by. She was looking for you, said her name was, 'Leiah.'"

"Leiah?" Sarah frowned, "I don't know anyone called, 'Leiah.'"

* * *

As Katherine slowly came too, the sound of distant words floated into her ear. She tired to focus on them, to understand them, but they were so soft and quiet she couldn't make any sense of them. Very quickly she started to groan, irritated by the repetitive noise that would not cease. Over and over, the same foreign phrase, driving Katherine insane until finally her eyes opened up.

The room was blurry, but she had enough sense of direction to tell were the speaker was standing. She rolled her head on to her other side, the blurry shapes becoming clearer as she saw someone sat in a chair across the room and someone stood over him. With a frown, Katherine pushed herself up slowly, still aching from whatever witchy trick she'd been hit with. The same witch that'd gotten her, was now stood over the person in the chair, hands held out on either side of the man's head, while the witch chanted out his spell over and over again.

Taking a closer look, as everything else came into focus, Katherine saw that some kind of homemade blood transfusion device had been rigged up. A vase on the ground, full of blood, with a tube that reached up around the chair and into the man's arm.

Ignoring the spell – and the irritably loud words coming from the witch – Katherine glanced around the room, having nod idea where she was. It was then she looked down and found Elena's necklace was gone. Confusion flashed across her face, unsure as to why this witch would take the necklace. It would have meant nothing to him and had more value to her anyway. She looked across the floor, but the thing was nowhere in sight, and Katherine slightly cursed for the inconvenience of this whole damned day.

Then she looked back across the room, to the witch and his project. His words were growing in strength, and Katherine could tell he was near the end of his spell as she started to push herself up to her feet. The witch finished the last few words and then fell silent, arms lowering as the head of the man sat before him lifted up. Katherine watched, poised between standing up and kneeling down. Worried to move in case she drew too much attention and was suddenly attacked again.

But the witch paid her no mind, and instead stepped back from man who was sat down. That man then looked over to his left arm, before pulling out the bloodied tube that had been used for the blood transfusion. With it now gone, he stood up, and the witch opposite him bowed down. It was then Katherine realised who it was that had been in that seat.

"Alaric?" Katherine said, voice dry as she stood up and Alaric turned to face her. But those weren't Alaric's eyes. Something was different about those eyes. The same colour yes, but there was something…not human in them. Something only someone as old as Katherine could see.

The witch stood ready at Alaric's side, but he waved him down and the witch obeyed. Katherine frowned, watching as a very un–Alaric smile formed on his face. A sinister devilish smile that made Katherine's subconscious think of only one word. _Run!_ And so she did. As fast as she could she vamp speed past Alaric, and his new witchy friend, and right towards the door. Only to throw it open and find a face from her past stood before her.

She gasped in shock, jumping back as she found a freckled face, blue eyed petite blonde stood in front of her, blocking her exit. She looked no more than sixteen, but even so, Katherine was shaken to her core by the mere sight of her. And knowing who wouldn't be far behind if she was here.

"Leiah…" Katherine breathed out, unable to do anything other than gape at the woman who grinned back at her, obviously enjoying herself.

"Katerina," Leiah purred, grin turning into a smirk. Katherine then realised what she was doing. She tired to look away, but by then it was already too late. "You're going to stay inside and do everything I tell you to." And just like that, Katherine had been compelled, now trapped in an apartment and unable to escape. All she'd done was trade the tomb for another prison, and while that horrifying realisation settled in, she could only stare helplessly at the grinning blue eyed Original.

Taking in Katherine's terrified expression, Leiah began to chuckle sinisterly, smiling away as she stepped into the apartment. Katherine stepped back to allow her the space to enter, and once she was in Leiah closed the door behind her. "Where's Klaus?" Katherine asked shakily, prompting Leiah to chuckle once more.

"Zdravei, Katerina," came the voice of Alaric from behind, but notably different to his usual tone. It sounded more foreign, in an accent like… Katherine's eyes widened even further as she realised what had happened. She didn't dare turn around to confirm it, knowing that if she did it could very well mean her death. And personally she didn't want Alaric's ugly face to be the last thing she saw.

And yet, as if reading her thoughts, Leiah began to smirk once more. "Go on, Katerina," Leiah began, eyes locking with Katherine's once more. "Turn around," Leiah ordered, sinister mirth all over her face as Katherine slowly turned to face Alaric, unable to stop herself, no matter how much she fought the compulsion. She took one step, then another, feet moving beneath her until she was face to face with Alaric. But she could see what was really underneath now, and for her, it was like coming face to face with the man himself.

"I have missed you," Alaric said, still in the foreign accent as he took Katherine's face in his hands.

"Klaus…" Katherine said, trembling in his hands while Alaric's face twisted into a smile that horrified Katherine to her core. Because she could see his smile. Klaus's smile. And she could hear his laughter too, as he and Leiah laughed at her. And there was nothing she could do about it. After five-hundred years, they'd finally caught her.


	36. Klaus

_Review responses:_

Sarcasm15Key: _Thank you, and I'm equally excited to show you more of her!_

Guest(1st): _Yep, definitely need to worry about her, as well as everything else going on._

Guest(2nd): _I know, and it's only going to get worse for them from here on in._

 _I've made a few cannon changes in this one which I think are small in the grand scheme of things, just so you know. But down the line it'll look very small compared to what I want to do next season. So that's a little heads up. Plus the thing I changed always bugged me in the show anyway. I understand they couldn't easily get around it, but with my OC there is a way around it so I'm going with it._

 _And, enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 36: Klaus**

* * *

"Ugh. Who is this guy, Safari Sam?" complained Klaus from the closet, as he shifted through what clothes he had at his disposal. Trying to find something that suited his style, as well as that of the teacher he was currently possessing. And while he had been occupying himself with a supernatural version of dress up, Leiah had been, 'playing,' with Katerina. Or at least she had been until the fun got to loud and Klaus told her to stop. So now Katerina was sat in a chair opposite her, bound as if tied down, thanks to the compulsion Leiah had used on her.

"All right…now, how about a happy face?" asked Leiah, in a manner which suggested she wasn't really asking for Katerina's opinion. Knowing this, Katerina smiled happily, compelled to obey Leiah, as the Original vampire took yet another photograph on her phone. Her dress might have been torn and bloodied, and she might have looked exhausted after a night of casual torturing, but that didn't mean Leiah couldn't turn her into her own personal model.

"Oh! I like that," Leiah said as she tapped the button on her screen, snapping a shot of a smiling Katerina. "But how about something a bit more sinister?" Katerina obliged, head titling forward just enough to cast a sinister shadow over her smiling face. "Oh, perfect. So you," Leiah said eagerly as she snapped another photo.

"You almost done playing photoshoot in there?" called Klaus from the bedroom of the body he'd inhabited, still searching through the closet for something he liked.

Putting down her phone, Leiah cast a glance towards the bedroom where she saw the body her brother was in. "You said to keep it down. This is me keeping it down. But don't ask me to sit here in boredom when I have a new toy right here in front of me," argued Leiah, as she gestured over to Katerina.

"All right, all right. You've made your point," Klaus muttered from the bedroom, before stepping away from the closest holding up two shirts. Each as ugly as the other, but at least one was dark and more hidden in the shadows. "Okay, bad, or badder?" Klaus asked his sister, looking between the two shirts as Leiah raised her brow at him. "Work with me, I have to fit the character."

"In that case, Katerina, which one should he wear?" Leiah asked. "Keeping in mind we need people to believe he is who he looks like," she then added with a raised finger and a grin.

Katerina resisted for all but a second before answering, "The dark colours suit you better."

"Can't argue with that," Leiah said, snapping another photo of Katerina who could only pout in defeat – which as it turned out, made a very good picture.

"Okay, pop quiz," Klaus said – apparently getting into character as a teacher – as he pulled on the shirt that had been picked out for him. "The two daggers and white ash are in the Salvatores' possession, correct?" Since Katerina hadn't been compelled by Klaus she was under no obligation to answer him. That was unless Leiah wanted her too, which she did.

"Answer the question, Katerina," Leiah ordered clearly with a grin, loving the chance to remind Katerina of her control over her.

Grudgingly, Katerina then answered, "Both daggers were used to kill Elijah and Amelia. You'll find them both in the basement of the Salvatore house."

"Okay, that dagger needs to stay _exactly_ where it is. The last thing I need to do is resurrect those two," emphasised Klaus as he buttoned up his shirt.

"About time the, Boring Twins, were put down," agreed Leiah, with a bit of bitterness to her voice.

"Don't forget you're on the outs with your girlfriend Jenna," added Katerina, offering up additional information in obvious hopes that Leiah might not order her about as much. It wasn't going to happen, but Leiah still enjoyed Katerina's willing participation, almost as much as she enjoyed the unwilling parts that were forced upon her.

"Right," Klaus said with an exasperated nod of the head. There was so much for him to remember, but this wasn't his first quick study. "Elena's aunt. For all the lies about Isobel," he listed off, having done a crash course in all things Elena last night. That was in-between the torturing anyway. "What else?"

"That's it," Katerina said, to which neither Original believed as they shared a grin.

Klaus then advanced on her, as Katerina averted her gaze as to keep him out of sight, trying to ignore how close he was to her. Because as much as she was fearful of Leiah – as well she should – Klaus was the real threat in any room he was standing in. No matter who else was in the room, even his own siblings. As evidenced by the fact that when he touched Katerina's cheek, she almost jumped out of her chair. Probably would have if she hadn't been compelled to remain in it.

"Oh, so jumpy," taunted Klaus.

"Please, just…kill me. I've told you everything that I know," Katherine said shakily. Rightfully frightened. So frightened that she saw death as her only way out. Because that's how scared she was, so much so that she would embrace death, just to get away from Klaus.

"Leiah, if you'd please," Klaus said, stepping back as he gestured to Katerina. They'd both been at this a long time, they knew how to question someone and get everything they could out of a compelled subject. And while Katerina might think she'd told them everything she could, interrogators such as themselves knew how to get what they _didn't_ know out. Their suspicions, the things they didn't know to be fact, which was all Katerina had told them so far. – facts. It was time to find out what she suspected.

Standing up from her seat, Leiah strode over to Katerina, before bending down far enough to make level eye contact with the former doppelgänger. "Katerina, as I'm sure you're aware, you're not exactly the most trustworthy person. I mean, you were supposed to be used in my brother's sacrifice and you ran off after all," chuckled Leiah as Katerina grimaced.

"Yes, let's not reopen old wounds shall we," suggested Klaus form behind. A tad of bitterness to his voice. He didn't appreciate his past failings being brought up when he was in the middle of being menacing. So Leiah wisely left it at that, but continued on in the same playful manner.

"So, what me and my brother want to know is, what could they be keeping from you? What might they be planning that they wouldn't trust you with?" Leiah asked. Her compelling blue eyes forcing their way into the centre of Katerina's, as her own brown eyes stared blankly back, and she answered.

"They were trying to see if Bonnie could find a way to kill an Original without a dagger."

"Bonnie the best friend?" Klaus asked, as he folded his arms. Now changed from his menacing demeanour and into one of minor concern. "I thought you said she didn't have her powers anymore."

"She doesn't or didn't – I don't know. You kidnapped me, remember? I'm kinda out of the loop," Katerina pointed out, a spark of fire to her words. Brave, consider the position she was in.

"Something tells me you would have been kept out of the loop, regardless of the kidnapping," Leiah pointed out smugly, stood up straight along with her brother as Katerina went back to pouting.

"Well, I need to know for certain if she has her powers or not," said Klaus aloud, chewing on his lip as he thought about how best to go about doing that.

"Please, just kill me, Klaus, and be done with it," Katerina begged once more, though refusing to meet either of the Originals' eyes now.

"And show you kindness?" asked Klaus, as if insulted. "I've searched for you for over five-hundred years. Your death is going to last at least half that long," he said with a sickening smile. One which his sister grinned at, as they watched the horror consume Katerina's face, at the thought of over two hundred years as a prisoner to Klaus.

"We're leaving now, but I assume Leiah has some idea of how you can amuse yourself while we're out," Klaus then said, looking to his sister who pulled out a flick knife she'd borrowed from Klaus' host body.

"All right, Katerina, here's what I want you to do," Leiah began, holding out the knife as she locked eyes with Katerina once more. "I want you to take this knife…and stab yourself. But I don't want you to scream or cry out when you do it. No. I want you to laugh. Laugh like you've just seen something that amuses you, or heard a joke. And I want you to do this, every second or third time you stab yourself," Leiah explained as she pushed the knife into Katerina's willing hand. "And I want you to start, now."

And Katerina instantly brought the knife down into her leg, holding back any sound of a scream or cry and instead laughing. In spite of this though, she still looked in pain at the motion. "Oh, and don't forget to pull out the knife," Leiah pointed out with a smugly satisfied grin, as she watched Katerina pull out he knife.

"Now do it again," she ordered, and Katerina obeyed, her face once again contorting in pain before she pulled the knife out and stabbed herself again, in the same spot.

"That's it, now you've got it," Leiah said cheerful as she straightening up once more, admiring her handy work along with her brother. "And one other thing. If you get bored at any point, if you lose sight of how funny this is, then I want you to pick another limb, and start stabbing that one." At that Katerina laughed, head going back as her face conveyed the opposite of laughter and joy. "I knew you'd appreciate that," Leiah said, before looking to her brother.

"Come along, little sister," Klaus then said as they began to walk towards the door. "Time to lay eyes on my precious doppelgänger." And as they left, Klaus grabbing his host's jacket, they heard Katerina laugh once more, before they shut the door on her and left her to her orders.

* * *

Since Elena was taking ownership of their house today, the Salvatore family was waiting outside while the deed was signed over. They couldn't very well be inside when it happened, since they wouldn't have been invited in – and none of them had any inclination to find out what it was like to be in a house when it was signed over. Anything could happen, from them being forced out, to them being torn to shreds by the magic that prevented them from entering an owned home without invitation.

Scarlett didn't have that issue, but she'd come back after her morning run to find the Salvatores all outside and so decided to join them. Thankfully, she'd already grabbed her cloths and pulled them on before joining, otherwise they'd have had some very awkward questions when the lawyer came out and found them with a naked teenager.

"You really think Bonnie can take on Klaus?" Damon asked, leaning against the short stone wall that ran along the far edge of the front porch.

The reason he was asking such a question, was because that yesterday – while Sarah and Stefan had been playing bodyguard to Elena, and Scarlett had been at home – Damon had been out with Bonnie and Jeremy. Thanks to his time searching for Katherine and his connection with Emily Bennett, Damon knew where to find the sight of the massacred witches – the one Elijah and Amelia had been looking for. Upon speaking to them, the witches, they'd granted Bonnie immense magic power, which she claimed she could use to take on even an Original. And the best part, was that no one other than them knew. Katherine had no idea, Isobel had no idea, which meant Klaus had no idea. She was their secret weapon, and they all fully planned on using her when they found him.

"She said she could channel enough witch's power to kill him," Stefan pointed out from next to his brother, hands on his hips as he patiently waited for Elena to be done with the paper work. "Elijah and Amelia thought that would work and they were Originals, so…" He trialed off, not knowing what else to say as he shrugged. There was an element of hope in this plan. It was no secret it was hard to kill an Original, but that didn't mean it couldn't be done. And this was how Elijah and Amelia had planned to do it, and with no other plan, the Salvatores had little choice but to use theirs and hope they'd been right.

"We just need to find him," groaned Damon impatiently.

"Something tells me, he'll come to us," Sarah pointed out, leaning against a stone pillar with her arms folded.

"Yeah, but if we can find him before then, then we can add the element of surprise to our list of advantages," Damon argued as he turned towards his sister.

"You really think you can get the drop on this guy?" Sarah asked skeptically.

Damon shrugged. "It worked with Elijah and Amelia," he pointed out.

"Actually, it didn't," Scarlett argued from the floor sheepishly, sat against the wall of the house. "It would have worked, had we not removed the daggers the first time."

"Look there's no need to get into specifics," Damon said dismissively as he waved his hand towards Scarlett, who grinned at his denial. "We beat them, that's my point, so if we find him before he's expecting us then we can do the same to him."

"And how are we going to find him then?" Sarah asked, already knowing he didn't have answer. Nevertheless, her stubborn brother tried, racking his brain while he glared at her.

"We'll just get Bonnie to do a tracking spell," he shrugged, as if it was that simple.

"She needs something that belongs to Klaus for that," Stefan pointed out with a small smirk from behind his brother. "Believe me, I already asked."

Damon shifted his weight, seeing it wasn't as easy as he'd thought, and that he might have to concede to his sister. Something of which he was not fond of doing. So he tried something else, looking to Scarlett. "Could you…sniff him out?" he asked, not sounding terribly hopeful.

"I'd need to already know his scent in order to do that," Scarlett said with the same small smirk as Stefan. "And even then I'd only pick that up if he was already here."

"Why do we keep her around again?" Damon asked rhetorically, pointing to Scarlett before leaning back against the stone wall and pouting.

"I thought you called me family?" Scarlett pointed out, reminding him of the dinner party.

"I was joking, obviously. You clearly know nothing about me," Damon declared, rolling his eyes as he tried to be dramatic, but they all saw right through it.

There was then a pause, and after it the mood dropped considerably when Stefan asked, "Do you think she's dead?" None of them needed to ask, to know who he was talking about.

"We can only hope," Sarah said with a bitter sigh, before the front door opened up and Elena finished shaking the lawyer's hand.

"Thank you," she said before he picked up his briefcase and walked out. Out of instinct, the Salvatores went to walk into their home, only to hit the invisible wall that hadn't greeted them in some time.

"Eh, Elena?" Stefan spoke up sheepishly. She had already turned to walk away, thinking the same as them, but realised her mistake as she turned back around, gasping in mild amusement.

"I'm sorry. I completely forgot," she apologised, making her way over to the open door where the four residents were waiting to be invited in. "Stefan. Would you like to come inside my house?" she asked teasingly with a grin.

"I would love to. Thank you," Stefan replied, playing along as he stepped across the threshold and back into his home.

"Sarah, please, come in," Elena then said, gesturing for her friend to enter in the same tone she'd used on Stefan.

"Don't mind if I do," Sarah replied, grinning and giggling with Elena as she now crossed the threshold.

Now Elena was left with two choices of how to invite in next. Playfully she looked between them, grin growing before she looked to Scarlett. "Scarlett?" she offered in one word.

Sticking her tongue out at Damon, Scarlett skipped across the threshold before he could grab her, now safely inside the house with the others. "What are we, twelve?" groaned Damon, trying to hid his annoyance with playfulness as he glared at those inside his house – of which he couldn't get in himself.

"Do you really want any of us to answer that?" asked Sarah with a grin, which she shared with everyone except Damon.

"If I let you in, do you promise to obey the owner of this house?" Elena asked seriously.

"No," scoffed Damon.

"All right then, enjoy the front yard," Elena said as she swung the door closed on his face.

"Not funny, Elena!" Damon shouted from the other side of the door, once again struggling to cover his anger with playfulness.

"It is from this side of the door," Scarlett called back as they all chuckled.

When they stopped, Elena opened the door back up, revealing a glaring Damon who forced a smile up in hopes of getting back into his house. "Have you reconsidered?" she asked seriously once more.

"Do I get a choice?" Damon growled through a tight jaw that was struggling to maintain its friendly smile.

"Yes, you do," Elena said sincerely. "But I want you to promise that you'll listen to me. I don't want any more lies, secrets or agendas. We're doing this my way, all right?"

"Fine," Damon grudgingly agreed. "Now can I please come in?"

"One another thing," Elena began, to which Damon groaned. "You have to apologise to your sister."

"For what?" exclaimed Damon.

"Locking her up when she was taking my side. Because of you Katherine managed to hurt her, again, so apologise," Elena explained, dead seriousness in her voice as she stared back at Damon through level brown eyes.

He stared back, confused before looking to Sarah to see if she could get him out of it. "Are you seriously going to go along with this?" Sarah shrugged, though made no effort to hide the amused grin on her face. "This is ridicules, she's fine, now let me in."

"Apologise."

"No."

"Bye, then," Elena said before shutting the door on him once more.

"Elena. Elena!" Damon shouted, banging on the door for half a minute before Elena opened it back up. Damon was past his breaking point now, glaring at her as he let out heavy impatient breaths.

But he knew when he was beat, and right now, he just wanted back into his house. That and he did own his sister an apology. At least this way he could keep up the, 'I don't care,' act and claim he only did it because Elena forced him into doing. "I'm sorry, Sarah," he said, looking to his sister with his sincere blue eyes.

"It's okay, and thank you," Sarah said, before looking to Elena to let her know it was enough and to invite him in now.

"All right, Damon, you can–"

"Hold on," interrupted Scarlett, to which if Damon had been able to get at her, he most certainly would have attacked her then. "Could we maybe keep him outside for one night? I'd appreciate the irony."

"Scrappy…" growled Damon lowly.

"Don't you think that'd be a little cruel?" Stefan asked, grinning all the same, as he looked to Scarlett who shrugged.

"Yeah, but he's a little cruel himself," Scarlett point out, to which no one could argue.

"Would someone just let me in already!" snapped Damon before focusing his glare on Elena. "I said I was sorry, I said I'd do things your way and I'll stop making dog jokes about Scrappy, now can I please come in?!"

Elena looked to there others, who while all grinning, nodded in agreement. So she turned back to Damon, grinning herself, and invited him inside. "Come in," she said smugly. He shot her his own smug smile, entering as she closed the door behind him.

"Consider yourself cut of from doggy biscuits," Damon snarled towards Scarlett who was smiling regardless of the insult.

"Well, it's been all of a second and he's already broken one out of his two promises," pointed out Sarah, to which everyone grinned as Damon stormed off into the living room. Stefan then went to follow him, but the others instead remained in the hallway as Bonnie joined them.

The witch then handed Elena her jacket while pulling her own on, and both Sarah and Scarlett grabbed their bags from the floor. It took Damon and Stefan a second to realise they weren't following, and then turned with frowns when they saw the four women getting ready to leave. "Wait, where are you going?" Stefan asked, walking back towards them.

"School," Elena answered.

"No, no, no. We didn't create a safe house for you to leave it," Damon argued, striding back over to join his brother in a united front against those in favour of going to school. Which was a side Sarah never thought she'd been on, but it was what Elena wanted and as agreed, they were doing this her way.

"Yeah, guys, Klaus is out there. We know that," Stefan pointed out, in agreement with his brother.

"Right. But where? No one knows," Elena pointed out, stood alongside those who were supporting her. "Look, I really appreciate what you guys are doing. And I'll be able to sleep at night knowing that I'll be safe here, but I'm not going to be a prisoner."

"You sure? I mean, we've already got the guard dog right there," Damon argued, pointing to Scarlett.

"Is it too late to un-invite him?" Scarlett groaned, to which Sarah and Bonnie offered her sympathetic looks while Elena continued to stare down her opposition – the Salvatore brothers.

"My way, remember?" Elena said to the both with a pointed look.

The brothers shared a look, Stefan trying his best to remain supportive of his girlfriend, in spite of the fact that he didn't like this idea – while Damon just shrugged and forced up sarcastic smile. "Your way, Elena," he grudgingly said, somehow managing to hold himself back in spite of everything that had just happened.

Elena nodded happily, looking to Sarah who seemed impressed by how the doppelgänger was handling her brothers.

"Don't worry, I'm ready," Bonnie reassured them. "If Klaus shows his face, I can take him. I know it."

"And the way I see it, next to Bonnie is the safest place that I can be," Elena added eagerly, taking her best friend's hand and holding it up for all to see. "Plus I'll have Sarah and Scarlett for back up," she added, then taking Sarah's hand and holding it up with a smile that grew. "Come on," she then said to her girlfriends, before the four made their way out of the house, leaving the two brothers looking to one another.

"Wait…I'm…coming," Stefan called after them, still reeling from this decision as he then followed them out the door and to school. He took his own car however, while Elena took her, Bonnie, Sarah and Scarlett to school. A short of mini punishment for trying to keep her inside the boarding house, but all was forgiven when they arrived at the school. From there, they said bye to Scarlett as she went on her own to class, while the four others walked together to first period history.

The bell rang as they entered the room, Alaric no where in sight yet. It wasn't the first time he'd ran late, and considering what was going on with Jenna – not to mention everything else – Sarah and the others were surprised he was even bothering to come in. Then again, maybe he wanted the sense of normality, much like the rest of them.

However, Sarah did find that her normal seat in front of Stefan was already taken up, so instead she grabbed the seat in front of Bonnie who hardly complained. Though it seemed like fate, since when Sarah looked over to Elena, she saw the doppelgänger showing her brother a poster for the Sixties decade dance that was scheduled for tonight. Stefan was shaking his he'd in disagreement, to which Elena pouted, before turning to her friends. Both Sarah and Bonnie nodded with a grin when Elena showed them the poster. Now things were perfectly lined up. Those who agreed with her on one side, and those that didn't on the other.

"Hello, class," Alaric said as he walked into the room, pausing as he gestured to a new girl who followed him in. She was a little on the short side, long dirty blonde hair, freckles and sharp blue eyes. "Before we begin, I'd just like to take a moment to introduce you to our newest student. I'm sure you'll all make her feel at home.

"Now if you'd grab a seat," Alaric said to the new girl, who shot him a smirk before grabbing the seat in front of Sarah. Before she did however, she gave Sarah a very flirty look which caught her off guard. For a moment Sarah could only stare at the new girl's back in bewilderment, before she looked back at Bonnie and Elena who were also frowning in confusion.

"What was that about?" mouthed Elena, an odd amount of seriousness in her features.

"I don't know," Sarah mimed back to them both with a shrug, before looking back to the girl ahead of her, dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and a long silk scarf. She stared intently at her, trying to will her into looking back at her, but the girl refused to turn around. And for some reason Sarah was almost certain she was still smirking.

"Now…what are we learning today?" muttered Alaric aloud, flicking through the pages of a random book he'd picked up off his desk. Almost as if he had no idea what he was doing. _Must have been a late start for him_ , Sarah assumed.

"With the decade dance tonight, we've been covering the Sixties all week," one student spoke up.

"Right. The Sixties," Alaric said as he dropped the book down on his desk. He then seemed to pause for a moment, staring out at the class as his smile grew ever so slightly. But then he seemed to snap back and turn to the board, grabbing a piece of chalk before scribbling on the blackboard, 'The 60's.'

"The Sixties," he said, before discarding the chalk and turning around to the class. "I wish there was something good I could say about the Sixties," he said casually before he began to pace back and forth before the blackboard. Something which Sarah had rarely seen him do. What was also odd was how he was regarding history, with so little care and interest – especially for that of a history teacher.

But in spite of the alarm bells this might have been set off inside Sarah's head, she was more focused on the blonde in front of her. The one who silently giggled as Alaric spoke in his new careless manner. "Actually, they kind of sucked," Alaric admitted to the class, of which he and Sarah apparently disagreed. Then again, she'd been around during the Sixties to enjoy them. He hadn't. "Except for the Beatles, of course," Alaric continued, still pacing. "They made it bearable. Uh, what else was there? The Cuban missile thing, the…we walked on the moon. There was Watergate."

"Watergate was the Seventies, Ric," Elena pointed out with a smile, before all eyes suddenly went to her and she realised her mistake. Though those in the know could hardly blame her considering all they'd been through with the history teacher. He really was more of a friend than a teacher now anyway, but they still had to keep up appearances while in public. "I-I mean, Mr. Saltzman," Elena said, correcting herself, mildly ashamed.

"Right," Alaric conceded with a smile, choosing not to address the name slip-up. "It all kind of mushes together up her, the Sixties, Seventies. Thank you, Elena." He then turned back to the board, recomposing himself after his mistake before continuing on with the lesson. He was probably just tired or still sleepy, Sarah assumed. Besides what really had her interest was the girl in front of her who had once again been giggling at Alaric's mistake and Elena's correction. So while Alaric was getting ready for his second attempt at teaching this class, Sarah reached forward and tapped the girl's shoulder, finally getting her to turn around. And when she did, Sarah saw her blue eyes light up as they connected with hers.

While it threw Sarah once more for a second, she powered on through and asked, "What's so funny?"

The new girl only smirked back knowingly. "Don't worry about it, hot stuff," the girl said with a flirtatious wink that had Sarah's eyes widening at her forwardness. The blonde then went to turn back around, before then eyeing Sarah's jacket and grinning. "Killer jacket by the way," she then added as an after thought, before her eyes snapped up to connect with Sarah's again, as if sharing a secret message with her. One that ever Sarah herself could not understand, as the girl turned her back to her once more.

Once again baffled, Sarah found the need to turn back around to her friends for conformation. If there looks were anything to go off though, she was right to be baffled, as both had similar wide eyed looks. Bonnie's was directed more to Sarah, sharing the same surprise at the girl's forwardness. But Elena's was aimed at the new girl's back. And hers wide eyes seemed to resemble a glare more than anything else.

The wide eyed convention did however end, when Alaric went to continue to the class. And it was by far one of his strangest lessons ever. He seemed to have a loose grasp on history at best, at least in relation to the Sixties. He kept going off on tangents and asking the class to answer even the simplest of things that a history teacher ought to have known. Throughout it, the four supernaturals kept sharing odd looks, unsure whether or not to step in and ask if he was okay. But he managed to get through the lesson and dismissed them early before making a hasty retreat.

Definitely a late night and an early rise, Sarah thought, which they should have probably seen coming considering his ex-wife had only just died the other day. In the same day his current girlfriend ran away from him in fact. Which was a pretty good justification for his odd behaviour. But none of that explained the girl that had joined their class. The one that had continually been glancing back at Sarah and smirking, but other wise ignoring her whenever she tried to talk to her. Even after class when Sarah tried to follow her, and get some sort of an explanation to her eagerly remarks and looks, the girl seemed to vanish in the crowd of students.

The rest of the day Sarah kept an eye out of her, but she never popped back up. She didn't even have a name to give to Caroline when she told her about the new girl, because Alaric had never said what it was. Even if he had been told, Sarah had doubts that he'd remember.

But then her new girl case was put on hold when Elena and Bonnie came running up to her, explaining that a compelled girl had just told them that Klaus wanted to share the last dance tonight with Elena. After that, they rounded up Stefan and Scarlett and returned to the boarding house, leaving a message for Alaric who they'd been unable to find. Damon had been waiting for them at the house when they arrived, and once there Elena and Bonnie went over the encounter again for those who hadn't heard it completely through.

"So, we go to the dance and we find?" Damon shrugged like it was no big deal. His usual reaction to anything problematic – treat it like it's not a problem.

"Really?" Stefan asked, frowning along with everyone else who was staring at Damon. "How are we going to do that? We don't even know what he looks like," Stefan pointed out.

"Something tells me he's not going to be sixteen and pimply," Damon argued.

"How would you know?" Sarah argued back. "We don't even have an age to pin him to, never mind a description. He could have been hanging around in that school for months and we wouldn't even know it."

"I guess the school wasn't all that safe after all, huh?" Stefan pointed out with a look to the four women who'd stepped out of the safe house this morning.

"Oh, give it a rest, Stefan," Sarah snapped. She'd been hearing nothing but, 'I told you so,' on the ride back and she was in no mood for another repeat, as were any of the other women.

A knock at the door broke the tension though, before Alaric let himself in. "There you are," Damon said in greeting as Alaric closed the door behind him.

"Sorry I'm late," apologised Alaric as he joined the group in the living room.

"Hey, I need you to put me down as a chaperone at the dance tonight. Klaus made his first move," Damon quickly explained, getting down to business before turning and then frowning at the brunette teenager sat on his couch. Staring with an odd look at one of his few friends. "Problem, Scooby Doo?"

Snapping from her stare, Scarlett shook her head as she straightened up, blinking as she came out of her intense thoughts. "Sorry…" she trailed off, before going back to looking at Alaric, her nose flaring.

"Do you smell something?" Stefan asked, quickly becoming alert at the mere movement of Scarlett's nose.

"Yeah…?" Scarlett said slowly, eyes narrowing in confusion at Alaric who seemed perfectly content. "It's, Alaric?" she said in a puzzled manner.

"What? Me?" Alaric asked with an uneasy chuckle, unsure as to what he'd done wrong.

Sniffing once more, Scarlett then boldly declared, "You smell…funny."

"So?" Damon scoffed with a shrug. "The guy didn't shower today, big whoop. Considering his wife just preformed a self cremation and his girlfriend's made a mad dash for the hills, I'd hardly blame him for forgetting to shower this morning," Damon pointed out with a grin as he patted Alaric on the back in a friendly gesture. One that Alaric both smiled and frowned at.

"Yeah, how are you doing by the way?" Elena asked with a concerned look. "I never got a chance to ask."

"I'm…I'm hanging in there," Alaric said with a deep sigh. "But right now, we need to be focused on you and Klaus."

"Spoken like a trooper," Damon said, once again patting Alaric roughly on the back. "Now, could someone find some nose plugs for Scrappy until Alaric here takes a shower, so that we can get back to what matters – killing Klaus."

"Okay, so we find him and then what, hmm? What's our plan of attack?" Elena asked, looking around the room for an answer.

"Me," Bonnie spoke up confidently, drawling all eyes to her. Including a skeptical Damon and an intrigued Alaric. "I'm the plan. He has no idea how much power I can channel. If you can find him, I can kill him," Bonnie explained with absolute certainty.

"That's not going to be that easy. I mean, he's the the biggest, baddest vampire around," Alaric pointed out with a patronising chuckle.

"Alaric has a point. I mean, what if he–" Damon cut himself short as he rushed Bonnie at vampire speed, only to then find himself flying back across the room before he could even get close to Bonnie. And she barely even flinched.

As everyone looked over to Damon, the blue eyed vampire's head popped up from behind the couch, looking mildly dazed from Bonnie's counter attack. "Well, I'm impressed," admitted Stefan with a nod, to which Sarah smirked at her brother while her other rubbed his backside.

"Could I ask you to do that again? Please?" asked Scarlett from the couch, holding up a finger with a pleading look to Bonnie who blushed a little at the praise she was receiving.

"Shut up, Scrappy," grumbled Damon as he rejoined the group, still rubbing his rear, and his wounded pride.

"It doesn't matter if he's an Original," Bonnie began, stepping closer towards Elena and filled with confidence that seemed to flow of her and inspire everyone in the room as well. "I can take down anyone who comes at me. I can kill him, Elena. I know I can," Bonnie explained to her best friend who smiled gratefully back at her, happy to put all her trust in Bonnie – believing in her completely.

* * *

Klaus wasn't happy. Which meant no one was allowed to be happy. Which naturally made Leiah annoyed and unhappy. She'd come to Mystic Falls with her brother in hopes of finding a good time and some excitement. Now she was stuck in some teacher's apartment, slouching in a chair, trying her best not to let her brother's bad mood make her snap. Which was proving rather challenging as he kept going on about some stupid witch that might stand a slim chance of killing him and sending him back to his own body. And while an inconvenience, it wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be. However, Leiah, while knowing her brother loved her dearly, wasn't about to tell him to shut up about it. She knew far to well where that path would lead to.

But while she dare not challenge her brother, there were another ways around avoiding his less attractive traits, such as his moaning. "Okay, that does it, I'm going out," Leiah boldly declared as she stood up from her chair and strode towards the front door.

"Like hell you are," snapped Klaus in his foreign body's voice. Despite it not being his true voice, Leiah did still halt, screwing up her face in anger since he couldn't see her from the bedroom. "I need you here with me, in case I need Katerina to do something." Since he was in the human's body, he was unable to compel anyone, which meant Leiah was his controller for the likes of Katerina.

Turning on her heels back towards her brother, Leiah pointed out with a forced smile, "I could always just compel her to obey you." She was trying to cut herself out of the equation, but her brother wasn't having it apparently.

"So that you can then go out on the town and announce your presence to the doppelgänger and her friends?" Klaus asked patronisingly, his hands clasped behind his back as he stepped out of the bedroom and towards his little sister. "I don't think so. From what Katerina's told us, they have no idea who you really are, and I'd like to keep it that way for now." A fact which Leiah was not at all pleased about.

Out of all the Originals, this little gang only knew about Klaus, Elijah and Amelia – two of which being among the most dull of all the Originals, at least in Leiah's opinion. "You should be counting yourself lucky that I'm not punishing you for your little visit to the Salvatore house."

Leiah rolled her eyes dramatically, matching her brother's attitude to her little visit. "Nothing happened, Nik. I told you I didn't even see any of the Salvatores." Which she admittedly was a little disappointed about.

"But you did run into their little guard dog, didn't you, who now knows your name and has undoubtedly told the rest of them," argued Klaus his anger growing as he advanced on Leiah with another step. However, he hardly got the desired reaction, when Leiah instead began to smirk, at the reminder of the Salvatores' werewolf. "Oh, stop daydreaming about your latest crush," snapped Klaus, forcing Leiah to exchange her dreamy smirk for an irritated glower.

"I'm bored okay? And it's not like I'm needed around here, other than to compel her," Leiah argued back, gesturing to a bloodied and weak Katerina. Still restrained to her chair by sheer compulsion.

When they'd arrived back, they'd found her legs and arms covered in dry blood and more still coming. The beauty of vampire healing. But they hadn't been gone long enough for it to stop hurting, and with Katerina laughing away like a maniac, she looked some mad, twisted freak of a woman, out of a victorian novel. Leiah had been rather proud of her work, but the moment had been short lived because of her moody brother, who had ordered her to end Katerina's torture as they entered the door – apparently needing silence while he complained. Now, Katerina was struggling to stay awake, in need of blood and rest.

"You're supposed to be helping me think of a way to stop this witch," snarled Klaus.

"That sounds like a _you_ problem," replied Leiah with sneer. "Besides, you have Maddox here to help you with that. Just let me go and have my fun!"

"You're not leaving, and that's final," Klaus declared, the discussion apparently over. Because big brother Klaus always got his way, whether it was through his siblings submitting, or getting a dagger through their hearts. In spite of that possibility though, Leiah continued to stare defiantly at her brother, before Maddox then spoke up from the kitchen.

"All I could find. Guy likes his bourbon," the good looking muscular witch said, pouring two glasses of bourbon from a bottle he'd found. He was rather strange in that sense, most witches that Leiah had met throughout her lifetimes were not the muscular type. Maybe that had been why she found Maddox more interesting than other witches. It was more than likely the reason she slept with him, a fact which Klaus was yet to discover. Perhaps to today Leiah would rip that bandage off and really piss him off. Then again, maybe not.

Storming over to the counter, Leiah snatched up her glass before downing it like a shot. It had been direly needed. She then shot Maddox a look, that told him to fill her up again as Klaus joined them, taking his own glass for drink. By the time he put his glass back down after one sip, Leiah had finished her second glass and Maddox was filling her up again.

What could she say, Leiah liked her drink, whatever it was. It was also helping to calm her present nerves, though maybe not as quickly as she'd like. Thus the third drink. That one helped loosen her up, at least to the point where she was no longer needing to drink the bourbon like it was in a shot glass, just to stop herself from arguing with her brother some more. "I knew there was a reason you picked this guy to possess," Leiah said, as she finished off her third glass, nodding for Maddox to give her a refill. He was blocked off however, as Klaus put his hand over the top of Leiah's glass.

"I think that's enough for now little sister." The tension in Leiah's shoulders was coming back. "We don't want you getting to drunk before the party even starts," he told her with a grin. A grin which told Leiah her brother had a plan, one which he assured her she would enjoy.

Doing her best to grin along, Leiah asked, "So, you want to take this witch out at the dance then?"

"No, I want Maddox to take her out," Klaus explained, grinning as he pointed his bourbon glass towards his loyal witch.

"If she has as much power as you say, she'll be able to sense me coming from a mile away," pointed out Maddox regretfully. "I won't be able to get near her. One of you will have to do it." Each of them looked to Leiah who instantly scoffed.

"No way am I going near this witch if she can kill an Original." Now, Leiah very much doubted this little nothing of a witch could in fact kill an Original. No one had been able to since their creation. But they could be put down for a time, such as with Elijah and Amelia. And even if the witch could only put her in that state, Leiah had no desire to miss out on any more time than she already had.

Looking to her brother, Leiah pointed out, "You're the one with spare body, you kill her."

"Awe, is my little sister scared?" teased Klaus mockingly with a chuckle.

"No more than you," snipped Leiah, earning an unamused glare from her brother. She didn't care, she'd made her point and he knew it. If he was too chicken to face this witch in his possessed body, then Leiah was no way facing her in her actual body.

"All right, fine," grumbled Klaus. "Say I face this witch in this body. What's a haggard history teacher going to be able to do against a super charged witch?"

"You could always possess Katerina over there," Leiah pointed out, smiling at the horrified look on the vampires face, at the thought of being used by Klaus in such away. "Or any of the other supernatural beings in this town," she then added.

"That won't be necessary," assured Maddox with a confident grin which intrigued the two Originals.

"How so?" asked Klaus.

"No witch could handle channeling that much power. It'll kill her. It would kill me. You just have to make her use it," explained Maddox, pointing out what Leiah hadn't even considered – the sheer amount of power needed to take down an Original vampire, never mind killing one. There was no way one person alone could do that, heck even a coven of witches would struggle with such a task.

"So all my brother has to do is provoke this witch to death?" Leiah asked with an eager and excited grin at the prospect.

"It wouldn't take long," Maddox continued to explain, specifically to Klaus who still didn't seem sold on the idea. "You'd just keep attacking her until it kills her. His body, Alaric's, will last longer than hers will."

"How? He's human," said Klaus, addressing the crucial pitfall in this plan.

"I can help in that department. I can do a spell to protect you from her."

"What about the others. As nice as it would be, I hardly expect them to just stand around and let me kill their witch," argued Klaus as he leaned down on the counter.

"Oh, I may have a few ideas on how to keep them busy," said Leiah with a devious grin, having snatched her brother's bourbon and now taking a sip as Klaus and Maddox grinned at her.

"What do you have in mind?"

* * *

Since Sarah had a whole room sized wardrobe stocked full of various styles of outfits from over the years, she kindly offered Elena and Scarlett their pick, since neither had anything to wear for that night. She understood, their minds had been on other things. So while Stefan and Damon got ready in their own rooms, Sarah and the girls went into her room.

Before entering, Scarlett had made several remarks about Sarah's organisational skills, in relation to her wardrobe. Elena had laughed at this, thinking it was a joke until Sarah brought her into the room sized wardrobe.

The place was a mess, various items dangling precariously from hangers, mounds of cloths here and there, no order to where things went as colours and styles clashed from all angles. And yet, Sarah easily began to hand out various outfits that she knew to be from the Sixties era, passing them to Elena who passed them to Scarlett who then threw them onto Sarah's bed.

"If you ever let Caroline see this, she'll probably murder you," Elena pointed out, still in awe as she handed out the next set of outfits to Scarlett.

"She'd probably find a way to blame me for it," Scarlett muttered, dumping the cloths onto the fully formed pile as she began to rummage through in search of something to wear.

"Is that everything?" Elena asked as Sarah walked in with a dark green, marbled, short sleeved dress in one hand, and a pair of matching caramel boots and scarf in the other – looking rather pleased with herself.

"If you want to look for more be my guest," Sarah said as she sat herself at her dresser, where she'd asked Scarlett to leave a folded up cardboard box. After laying her selected cloths across her dresser, Sarah leaned over to open up the box and pulled out a selection of small plastic flowers.

Elena couldn't help but smile as she watched Sarah begin to link the green and yellow flowers together into a crown for her head. "Did you wear a lot of those in the Sixties?" Elena asked, nodding to the crown Sarah was making when the vampire looked up.

With a grin Sarah answered, "Probably more than I'd care to admit?"

"Were you a hippie?" Elena asked curiously, though she never would have pegged her friend to be the type.

"A couple of times," Sarah said while nodding, before pausing to test out the crown she'd made so that she could see how it felt. It turned out it needed a few more flowers, so she lifted it off and added some more while Elena watched. "The free spirt thing was kinda appealing – plus Lexi was going through a phase," Sarah elaborated as she added the necessary flowers, so that the crown would fit her head appropriately.

Then, with her crown donned, Sarah took her outfit to be and headed into her bath room. It was only once she was out of sight that Elena joined Scarlett at the bed, picking out pieces of outfits still clinging to hangers.

"How's Jeremy doing?" Scarlett asked quietly, but Elena heard her, pausing in her search to give the girl next to her an unsure look. She was in an awkward position on this. On the one had, it was her brother whom Scarlett had cheated on, and the defensive big sister inside Elena wanted to give Scarlett a piece of her mind. But at the same time she'd lived in this supernatural world long enough now to understand what had happened was outside of Scarlett's control. That was why she hadn't pushed her to tell Jeremy, though she would have after all this Klaus busy was done with – assuming she was still alive at that stage.

Thankfully, Scarlett had told her brother the truth, but seeing how miserable they both were, part of her couldn't help but think, maybe it would have been better as a secret. She knew that wasn't true, and that in the long run the truth was better for them both. It was just hard to believe that when looking at Scarlett, her head hung low. Or when she saw Jeremy, so depressed the only thing she could compare it too was their parents death. And all this in amongst Klaus' arrival.

"About as well as you I imagine," Elena answered as she put back an outfit she thought was too bold for her style – even if it was a Sixties party.

"Is he going to be there tonight?" Scarlett asked, acting like she was searching for something, but obviously more focused on what Elena was about to say.

"I would assume so. He found out from Bonnie about what we're planning, and now he wants to help."

"Aren't you going to try and talk him out of it?" Scarlett asked, almost as if exciting Elena to do it right now in front of her. She recognised the tone in Scarlett's voice though, for what it really was. Concern.

"I've tried that before, it's never ended well. And to be honest, none of us are really safe while Klaus is around anyway. Maybe if he's close by, I can protect him? And he's got his ring… I just don't want him to get hurt," Elena admitted, ceasing in her search as she let out a tired sigh and a longing look. A look that said she wished things could be simpler.

"Will you keep an eye on him tonight," Elena asked Scarlett.

"I'm the last person he wants to see right now," Scarlett muttered to herself, discarding an outfit she lifted up with a touch of anger.

"He still cares about you, Scarlett. He's just hurting because he feels…"

"Betrayed," Scarlett finished for her, as Elena grimaced at the harsh word. "He should. I let him down," Scarlett continued mournfully. "I'd been lying to him for months, letting him think everything was all right while I just trying to forget about it, pretend it never happened."

"But you told him," Elena said supportively, putting her hand on Scarlett's shoulder. "And, yes, your both hurting now. But I've seen the way you look at each other. And I know my brother hasn't felt about anyone else the way he feels about you. You're special to him. And I honestly think you two will work this out some day."

"Maybe…" Scarlett trailed off sadly, looking back down at the outfits, before Elena grabbed one and thrusted it towards her in hopes of cheering her up – even if she knew it wouldn't last.

"Try this on," Elena declared encouragingly. "I think it suits you." Scarlett frowned in disagreement at her, before looking down at the bold black and hot pink, large checkered, sleeveless dress – with matching hat and bright purple go-go boots.

"Do you think I want to look like an idiot?" Scarlett proclaimed, glaring to Elena who just continued to smile.

"Everyone in the Sixties was an idiot," Sarah announced as she walked out her bathroom, now dressed in stylish hippie dress – which she was totally pulling off in Elena's opinion. "That was part of the appeal."

"People are still idiots," Scarlett countered moodily.

"Yeah, but their not as open about it," Sarah pointed out, as if disappointed, while adjusting her flower crown atop her smooth raven hair.

"You make a good hippie," Elena said with a grin, as Scarlett made her way into the bathroom to change.

Sarah seemed to smile in agreement, as she wrapped her thick caramel scarf around her neck, letting it hang loose as she approached Elena. "Now, what are you wearing?" Sarah asked, hands on her hips as she awaited her friend's answer.

Picking up to outfits, Elena held each in front of her as she said, "Twiggy? Or sexy hippy?"

"Are you trying to copy me?" Sarah asked in mock criticism.

Elena shrugged. "I figured if you could pull it off…" she teased with a grin, before both girls laughed.

She enjoyed this. The laughs, the parties, the fun. She hoped tonight wouldn't be her last chance to do something like this, but she didn't like her odds. Klaus was an Original, a supremely powerful vampire, and they only had one means of stopping him, Bonnie. And while Elena had complete faith in her best friend, it unfortunately made her a target. But Elena already knew she'd give herself up before letting Bonnie die for her. She'd surrender, despite what she'd said to her friends and family. Their lives were what mattered to her, more than her own. So she had to be ready, because anything could happen tonight. Anything.

The door to the bathroom opened, and both Elena and Sarah looked over, stifling grins when Scarlett walked out, glaring at them both. "All right, fine, I'll wear it," she snapped, before pointing a stern finger at them both. "But if Damon says one word about me looking like Daphne because of these boots, then I'll stick them so far up his ass, that you'll have to get Buffy to remove them."

And at that Elena and Sarah burst out into laughter.

* * *

Leiah had an undeniable love for the Sixties. Sure the Twenties had their appeal, but for her, the Sixties had been like one huge coming out party. In a sense, it had been for her, as that was when Klaus let her out. And it had been the perfect time for him to wake her from her eternal slumber, and she'd always be grateful for that fact.

Sure, she would have preferred to never be boxed up at all, but she took what she could when her brother was involved. And the Sixties had been one of the best things she ever got out of her brother. A whole decade of mischief and mayhem – and all in the name of freedom and expression. It was her paradise. At least that was how she chose to remember it, something her brother had criticised her for over the past few decades – whenever she brought up her fondness for the period. He always preferred the Twenties himself, but that point in time wasn't as well remembered by Leiah.

But that was why – as she stepped into the school hall with her brother – she felt her face drop into a pouty frown, as a crummy cover of Billy Joe Royal's Hush played over the loud speakers.

"They're butchering my favourite time of history," Leiah grumbled, angrily folding her arms as she glared out across the room – namely at the DJ.

From next to her, Klaus grinned. "I don't remember you complaining during the history lesson today?" he pointed out, bringing his little sister's glare on to him.

"That was boring stuff, like politics and…whatever else," Leiah dismissed with a confused shake of the head. "But these are my songs, my styles, my dance moves!" Leiah cried out in horror.

"Come now, little sister. You don't own the Sixties," scolded Klaus mockingly, still grinning away like the smug brother he was. "And remember, I was there too."

"Maybe, but I think we both know, I had way more of an influence on that period of time than you," pointed out Leiah in spite.

"Are you still going to maintain you invented that stupid dance," mumbled Klaus beneath a sigh, but Leiah caught it.

"The Locomotion is not a stupid dance and I _did so_ invent it," snapped Leiah possessively.

"All right, in order to save us sometime, – as well as further kicking of that particular dead horse – let's assume you're correct and that you did invent a specific dance move – which, let's face it, in the grand scheme of things, really has no impact on history whatsoever," Klaus declared before turning to his sister and forcing a cheerful smile through his borrowed lips. "Happy?"

"Hardly," Leiah huffed. "But it's a start I suppose.

After rolling his eyes at the dramatics of his little sister, Klaus then began tapping his foot, only to let out a sigh as he then said, "All right. The doppelgänger and her friends aren't here yet. So until they arrive, how about you and I fix up this Sixtes party to your liking?"

Now this, Leiah could get behind, as an irresistible smile slid onto her face. "Thank you," Leiah said gratefully, to which Klaus tipped his head in a short bow. And no sooner had he risen back up, had Leiah grabbed one individual who was not dressed in a very Sixties fashion – choosing instead to don jeans and a t-shirt which just so happened to have a peace symbol over it.

"We'll start by getting rid of you," Leiah said to the boy, who had no idea what she was on about. To him, she was just another student that he didn't recognise. Dressed in a worn poncho, black t-shirt beneath, and jeans with various smily faces, love hearts and flowers sewn in. The passing boy had no idea who the freckled face girl was. But after her got sucked into the whirlpool of her compelling blue eyes, it didn't matter. "You're going to go to his classroom, and wait for me there. You will not leave, you will not make a sound. Now go," Leiah ordered, before shoving the dazed and compelled boy away.

"I'll handle the music. You wrangle me some kids who clearly don't respect the Sixties." Klaus understood her meaning and nodded before Leiah took off towards the DJ. She moved at her supernatural speed, in a hurry to get things ready for the real party as she appeared next to the DJ's desk, as if appearing from out of thin air.

"Hey there!" Leiah called in a cheerful girly tone. Despite the one headphone covering his ear, and the loud music blasting out from the speakers around them, the DJ still heard Leiah and nodded in acknowledgment. Then, while he stared, waiting to hear what she had to say, she pulled him into her compelling eyes, as she stepped up towards him. "I think it's time we gave these people some real Sixties music, don't you think?" The DJ nodded in agreement.

"Great, now allow me to tell you the list of appropriate songs to play for the rest of the night," Leiah began, before lunching into a detailed list of songs that DJ would be compelled to play – she also provided a historic backstory for each song as she said them. When that was finally all said and done, the DJ switched the song to the true Hush by Billy Joe Royal. It confused more than a few of those on the dance floor – more so for it's change in pace and tone – but they quickly got on with it and either went back to dancing or temporarily abandoned the floor.

Satisfied the music issue had now been solved at least, Leiah returned to find her brother waiting with a group of students that all looked her age. "Ah, and here's the woman who will be in charge of this extra credit assignment, Leiah," Klaus introduced her, before the group of students turned to look at her. There were at least fifteen of them, all dressed in poor excuses for Sixties outfits. They were either so lazy that they were just wearing anything with a flower or a peace sign on it, or had grabbed some cheap ass costume out a store. They were perfect.

"Now, Leiah, why don't you tell them what you'll be up to?" Klaus suggested. And with all eyes on her, Leiah easily began compelling all of them at once.

For an ordinary vampire it might have been hard to compel so many people at once. Even Leiah had struggled at first. But she was a pro when it came to mind control, and had spent a time in her early life evolving the skill beyond that of her siblings. For that reason, she was one of the few vampires, capable of mass compulsion. It was a trick that took up a lot of energy though, so she used it sparingly. The most often usage was in situations like this, were she had to quickly get control of a crowd. She only had time for one command that would be beamed directly into the forefront of their minds, so she had to chose carefully. Or she did back in the last century. As stated, she was a pro and had perfected this style of mind control to such a degree that she could be as vague as she was with one on one compulsion and still get her ultimate goal across to her subjects.

"You're all going to follow me and stay silent." Instantly a dazed and blank look befell the students before her, and Leiah grinned, seeing that she captured them all without missing a beat. Klaus smiled at her proudly, and Leiah soaked up her little moment in the sunlight before saying to her brother, "I'll wait for your signal." With that she then walked away from Klaus, her group of students in tow, as she left the gym and headed for her brother's temporary classroom.

"Take a seat," she ordered each student, one at a time, before taking her position at the head of the classroom. Leaning back on the teacher's desk, as her blank and impressionable students stared up at her, awaiting their orders. She quickly looked from face to face, before picking two out from the group. "You two, come here."

Both stood and joined her before the class. The first was the one she'd initially sent to the classroom for being dressed in nothing but jeans and a hippie styled t-shirt. The second was another boy, dressed in a cheesy Sixties halloween outfit that made Leiah's eyes hurt just by looking at it. "What's your name?" Leiah asked the boy in the peace symbol t-shirt.

"Jerry," answered the boy.

"Well, Jerry, guess what? It's your lucky day, because you're about to join team V," Leiah declared cheerfully, before bitting into her wrist and holding it out towards Jerry – careful not to get any blood over her lovely poncho. "Drink it," she ordered, and the boy did so without hesitation, only stopping when Leiah's skin healed and her blood ceased.

"Now what?" he asked with a confused frown.

"Now the fun part," Leiah said with a mad grin, before she snapped his neck, his dead body collapsing at her feet.


	37. The Last Dance

**Chapter 37: The Last Dance**

* * *

Scarlett could feel her stomach doing summersaults as she exited Damon's car. Her whole body was uneasy, her inner wolf trying to run but unable to as her body propelled itself forward, following Damon and Sarah as they walked through the school parking lot. All around them were other students dressed up in Sixties outfits – some more convincing than others it must be said.

In spite of this, it didn't put Scarlett anymore at ease. She still felt like an idiot in her bright pink and black chequered style outfit – and matching hat – but that wasn't the cause of her restlessness. It wasn't even the deadly ancient vampire that was lying in wait for them, who could probably kill them all whenever he wanted. What she was in fact truly scared of, what was giving her cold feet and making her want to run home – was Jeremy.

She could see him up ahead, with Bonnie, talking about something. She was consciously choosing not to eavesdrop on him. She didn't feel she had that right anymore – assuming she ever did – to listen in on his private conversations. He would almost certainly agree, assuming he would even talk to her.

And with that depressing thought, Scarlett came to a stop, thinking of what it would be like to never hear Jeremy's voice again. His sweet loving voice.

Sarah and Damon took a few more steps, before stopping too, as they both looked back at their little wolf.

"Everything all right there, Daphne. Or are you still scared to go near Freddy since you came clean about your love affair with Uncle Werewolf?" Damon asked, with his usual level of subtlety.

He'd already made plenty of Scooby Doo jokes back at the house and on the way over. But even if Scarlett hadn't been numb to them by this point, and she'd felt like in acting what she'd described to Sarah and Elena back in the bedroom – she couldn't take her eyes off Jeremy. Nightmares flashing through her mind of how he'd react to her being here, to her being near him for the first time since…

"Hey," Sarah said, stepping towards her and pulling her ward from her thoughts. What Scarlett looked up to was a supportive, and understanding face. While she herself could only grimace in shame. They weren't even inside the school yet and already she was making things more difficult for them all.

"I know you promised, Elena you'd look after him, but if you don't want to go near him I can handle that for you," Sarah offered.

Scarlett smiled appreciatively, but found herself declining the offer. "No. Even if he's mad at me I still want to protect him. Not just because Elena asked me to, but because I don't want to see him hurt anymore than he already is." Sarah offered her another soft smile, before giving her one more hug.

"Besides, I don't necessarily need to be near him to protect him, right?" Sarah chuckled at that, before looking down at her ward and then guiding them both over to the others.

Damon was already with Jeremy and Bonnie, exchanging hellos, but left to go inside before Sarah and Scarlett arrived. Thankfully not all the attention was on them, as Stefan and Elena joined the group at the same time, each of them dressed up in a stylish way representative of the Sixties. They all said their hellos, complimenting each others outfit before Bonnie and Elena shared a hug.

Then Scarlett realised that all eyes where shifting between her and Jeremy, the latter of whom was yet to look her in the eye – or even say hello to her. So, trying her best to be brave, she kept her gaze low and said, "Hey," to Jeremy.

"Yeah, hey," Jeremy replied dismissively, still not glancing at Scarlett. Elena shot her brother a warning look but he ignored that too. Scarlett didn't blame him. He was here for his sister after all, to help her, not make amends with his cheating ex-girlfriend. But if Scarlett could help Elena and Jeremy she would, just like she'd done before. Maybe that was why Jeremy was tolerating her presence at the moment, because he knew she wouldn't let anything happen to him or his sister. Not without a fight at least.

When the awkward silence that followed got to be too much, Stefan said, "You all ready to do this?" They all nodded, and then made their way inside and towards the gym, where the dance was being held. Scarlett had to admit, the decoration committee – or whoever organised these things – had done a really good job. The room was so bold and colourful, with cardboard slabs hanging from every wall. Showcasing groovy flowers, wavy colour palettes and peace symbols. The overhead projector was showing iconic clips from Sixties news and TV on the only bare wall, and they'd even decorated a van. Turning it into what Scarlett assumed to be the classic hippie van that she'd heard people mentioning in the run up to the dance.

And the whole room was packed. Everyone swaying to the ending slow song, as one student took to the stage at the front of the room. "Thanks for being here, everybody!" she called out into the provided microphone, as the DJ turned down the music for her. Everybody cheered and clapped in response, as the tightly huddled group of supernaturals entered the room, eyes all peeled for Klaus and whatever tricks he might have install for them.

"We have a special shout-out tonight," continued to the girl on stage, as the supernatural group reached the centre of the room, having formed a protective circle around Elena without realising it. But that circle couldn't protect her from what was said next.

"This is for Elena," the girl said with a smile, as one by one, the group around Elena looked to the stage. All knowing what was about to follow. "From Klaus."

Naturally the crowd cheered, but those with Elena remained vigilant. All knowing what the request really meant. It was a warning, telling them all that Klaus was here and ready to make a move against them.

Scarlett's nose flared, searching for any scent that she might be able to recognise or which might lead her to Klaus. But having just entered the party, her nose was overcome with the scents of everyone around her, making it hard even to pick out her friends, the ones who's scents she knew of by heart. It would get easier the longer they were here, as her nose acclimatised to the mass of scents, but the ultimate problem still remained, she didn't know Klaus' scent, giving him a huge advantage over her and by extension the group.

"That was a lame, cheap shot," scoffed Damon as if unimpressed, while the requested song by Klaus started to play – 'Dedicated to the one I love' by the Mamas and Papas. "He's just trying to bait us," Damon added casually, though he was still searching the crowd along with the rest of them. Looking for someone who stood out, or was out of place.

"I know everyone here," Elena said, looking around and seeing nothing but familiar faces.

"What about you, you smell anything?" Sarah asked Scarlett who shook her head.

"Already tried. There's too much for me to pick anything out at the moment," Scarlett explained.

"Maybe he's not here. Maybe he just wants us to believe that he is," pointed out Stefan. Though he was remaining extremely close to Elena's side, showcasing that he wasn't overly confident in what he was suggesting.

"It's a party, people. Blend. Let him come to us," Damon said, still unfazed and confident as he tried to get the others to move on, rather than stand huddled together like the easy prey they were.

"I'm going to go and get a drink," Jeremy said, hands shoved in his pockets as he made his way through the crowd towards the food and drinks tables lining the back wall.

"That's the spirit. See even mopey's getting with the programme," Damon said enthusiastically, earning a glare from his two siblings. While that was going on, Elena looked to Scarlett with plea in her eyes. Scarlett quickly got the message, and nodded before going after Jeremy.

She made sure to keep him in sight the whole time, although she also made sure to give them plenty of distance between each other. A strategy that worked up until Jeremy reached the punch bowl table, and Scarlett found herself beside him, wishing she'd remained hidden in the crowd of dancing couples. It would have still been awkward, but maybe less awkward than standing with her ex, whom she'd cheated on.

When Jeremy noticed her presence, he let out a groan before filling up his plastic cup with punch. He quickly downed it, and Scarlett had an idea why. Though she decided it was probably best not to tell him that it hadn't been spiked yet.

"What do you want?" Jeremy groaned, refilling his cup once he'd finished swallowing.

"Elena asked me to keep and eye on you tonight," Scarlett answered, keeping it simple and brief.

"I don't need protecting, and I especially don't need you hanging around me," he replied spitefully, taking another swing at his punch and hoping Scarlett would be gone by the time he finished. She was not.

"Can't you just…" he then trailed off, sighing as he put down his cup, leaning down with both hands on the table. The frustration radiating of him.

Scarlett wanted to comfort him, to say something to make him feel better. But she was well aware anything she said would most likely only make Jeremy even madder. She couldn't support him the way she once could, and it wasn't helping knowing that she was the cause of all his pent up aggression. So she silently stood a meter or so away, her arms folded as if to protect herself, while her eyes remained on her ex's feet because she dear not look up and risk locking eyes with him if he turned around.

"Why Scarlett?" he said quietly, but Scarlett heard the whisper like voice, even through the music. "Why'd you have to do this to me?"

"I never meant to," Scarlett replied just as quietly, almost certain he hadn't heard her.

Whether he did or not, his reply was, "I loved you," his back still to her. "And what's worse is I still love you, despite what you did." Scarlett's eyes widened with surprise and longing all in one second, only to be snuffed out in the very next. "I hate that I still love you, but it's the truth. Only now, every time I think about us being together, I can't stop thinking about you and Mason," explained Jeremy, turning back around to finally look Scarlett in the eye. As if automatic and knowing, she too lifted her gaze to meet his, finding tears in his eyes.

"So why? Why did you have to ruin what we had?" he demanded, stepping towards her.

"Jeremy…" Scarlett said, before taking a second to compose herself, before she could descend into hysteria. "Like I told you, I didn't understand what was happening at the time. I was confused, and I was…and I was in a rush from finding another person like me, and it all happened so fast." Seeing that he was getting more frustrated – about ready to blow once more after hearing a repeat he did not need to hear again – Scarlett quickly moved on, grabbing his arms and forcing him to hear her out. "But now I understand it. And I can make sure it never happens again. I promise you Jeremy, it was just an accident, nothing more. And I can only guess at how hurt you're feeling right now, but I love you, Jeremy. I love you so much. And I want nothing more than to make this right, so that we can get back to where we were before."

"I think I want that to, Scarlett," admitted Jeremy through his slowly dripping tears. Scarlett's hold on his arms falling away at the sign of just a little hope in the darkness. "But I…I just don't know how I'm going to get past this," he explained tearfully.

"I know. I know and I get that," Scarlett said as Jeremy wiped away his tears with his shirt sleeve. "And I'll wait, Jeremy. I'll wait until–" Scarlett froze all of a sudden in mid speech. Completely froze as her nose picked up a familiar scent. One she'd not learnt about until a couple days ago.

"Scarlett?" Jeremy asked, frowning at her as she slowly turned, wide alert eyes following her nose, as she looked across the gym, through the crowd and towards one of the doors leading out into the hallways. And there, she saw Leiah. Appropriately dressed up in a worn with time poncho and jeans covered in hippie's idea of graffitied jeans. With the same smile she'd had on that day she visited the Salvatore house.

"Go on," Leiah said, as Scarlett watched her lips move from across the room, but her voice sounding as if she was right there in front of her. "Keep apologising to your boyfriend there. I'm rather enjoying the show," she said with a giggle.

"Jeremy, get the others," Scarlett ordered, as she quickly began making her way through the crowd. No suspiring though, by the time she'd reached the door, Leiah had already retreated into the hallways and was no where in sight when Scarlett stepped through.

Her trail was obvious though, and Scarlett was about to run after it when Jeremy came through the door behind her. "I told you to get the others," she repeated to him.

"What's going on?" Jeremy demanded, the door slamming shut behind him and leaving them alone in the hallways.

"Some vampire who came by the house a couple of days ago is here and I'm guessing that's not a coincidence. Now, please go and get the others," Scarlett pleaded, but it was clear from his determined gaze that Jeremy had no intention of doing that.

"No, I'm not going to leave you alone. Not if this vampire's working with Klaus, you could be walking right into a trap," argued Jeremy.

"Smart boy," came Leiah's voice, making both Scarlett and Jeremy jump back around, to find her behind them and leaning against the door they'd just come through. An incredibly satisfied smirk upon her freckled face. "Shame he's a little too slow to put that brain of his to use," she added mockingly. "Honestly, I think you can do better."

"Jeremy," Scarlett growled, her glowing eyes locked on Leiah as her canines quickly formed. "Run!"

But before she could make a move, or Jeremy could attempt to flee, they were jumped from behind. Three students grabbing Jeremy and one Scarlett.

The three on Jeremy got him good, two holding an arm each while another grabbed him in a headlock, already dragging him away as Scarlett flung her head back and caught the one who'd grabbed from behind on the nose. The distinct smell of blood filled the air, before Scarlett flew around and landed a solid kick to his chest sending the boy to the ground.

But in doing that she'd turned her back to the real threat, Leiah. Who was on her faster than anything Scarlett had ever experienced.

All of a sudden her arms were beneath Scarlett's, wrapping themselves around her like two agile snakes. Holding her in place while simultaneously granting her an excellent chance to snatch her necklace. Scarlett gasped, feeling her strength drop to an all time low, as she watched her necklace vanish along with Leiah's arms.

She turned on the spot, ready to confront Leiah and take back her necklace only to find her gone.

"I was looking forward to spending more time with you, Cutie," came Leiah's voice from right next to Scarlett's ear, making her jump back as she realised Leiah had been right beside her – having remained perfectly in her shadow as she'd turned around.

Once she'd recovered, Scarlett went to lunge again. But before she could get off the ground she was once again grabbed from behind. Her arms being yanked back by a superior force. The strength of a vampire.

Normally she could have put up a fight. But with her werewolf abilities dampened by the loss of her necklace, and without a full moon, she was no match for a vampire in a physical confrontation.

"And now it looks like I'm about to get my wish," said a gleeful Leiah, before nodding to the vampire that had a hold of her. He dragged her off after Jeremy and the others, and Leiah followed while admiring the necklace she'd just stolen off of Scarlett.

* * *

After her brother's demand for them to blend in more, they all broke off into pairs. Scarlett went after Jeremy, keeping an eye on him per Elena's request. Damon went to check in with Alaric and Stefan offered Elena a dance, which she sheepishly accepted. Which then left Sarah and Bonnie, who found themselves dancing for a short while with a group of other singles, before they made their way over to a table. They'd come to the decision dancing wasn't as fun without a partner, and while their friendship was improving, they weren't at dance partner stage yet.

"You think they'll be okay?" Bonnie asked suddenly, grabbing Sarah's attention as she turned from a far off stare.

"Hmm?" Sarah asked, not understanding and only just having heard her over the music.

"Scarlett and Jeremy," Bonnie clarified. "Do you think they'll get back together?"

Sarah's look wasn't very optimistic. "I'm hopeful for Scarlett's sake. But having been in the position Jeremy's in… It's hard to see them coming back from that. Even if it was all one big misunderstanding," Sarah said remorsefully, before taking a drink of her punch.

"Do you think they should get back together?" Bonnie asked, a more knowledgeable look on her face for a girl of seventeen.

Sarah thought for a moment, before shaking her head. "No," Sarah answered honestly. "I've seen people work it out before, but those people weren't as deeply involved or in love as those two. That kind of betrayal leaves a mark, and not one that goes away. And the stronger the connection, the worse the scar. If they got back together, I couldn't see it lasting. The best thing for them both would be to move on."

"Why don't you tell Scarlett that then?" asked Bonnie curiously.

A sad smile touched Sarah's lip, eyes briefly looking off in thought before returning to Bonnie's. "Because she's not ready to let go yet. Neither of them are. First loves are hard like that." She went back to looking out across the dance floor, leaning back against her plastic chair. "I'm still getting over mine."

Just then, Sarah caught sight of Stefan and Elena dancing in the centre of the crowd. They'd been talking about something and looked worried. Sarah was about to start listening in when she saw that Stefan was motioning her over, to takeover from him and keep an eye on Elena.

"Excuse me," Sarah said to Bonnie as she got up. "I'm being asked to switch partners with Stefan." And with that she was then behind Elena, deeply embedded in the crowd without any of them noticing. Seeing she was ready, Stefan twirled Elena around before stretching out his arm. Elena did the same, mirroring his move, only to then find him letting go and stepping away. She'd been about to follow when Sarah grabbed her other hand and spun her into her. "Hello there," Sarah said with a smirk, surprising Elena as she found herself smiling.

Then releasing Elena from her hold, the two began to dance opposite each other in simple hip swaying dance move. "You doing okay?" Sarah asked, more energetic in her dancing than Elena as the girl craned her neck to look past and try and spot Stefan.

"Freaking out a bit," Elena said with a touch of misery as she scratched her neck. "You?" Sarah shrugged, trying to play it off as casual, while the song playing died down and something much faster in pace started to play. Truth was she was a little tense, but that came with the territory as of late. And with the song change, she was almost grateful to feel that tension lift, as he body moved to a recognisable beat in a way it hadn't done so in years.

Then came Elena's laughter as she stood back, hands covering her face as she tried to stop herself. "What?" Sarah asked as if not realising how ridicules she was looking while doing the swim. A ludicrous dance move that involved her pretending to swim while also wobbling her limbs so that she might try and pass it off as dancing.

"What is that?" chortled Elena, trying to hold down her laughter.

"You mean you haven't heard of the Swim?" asked Sarah sarcastically, before pretending to go under water as she held her nose, waving to Elena as the girl let it all out.

"You look ridicules," laughed Elena gleefully, unable to dance with her sides aching.

"Remember what I told, Scarlett?" Sarah pointed out. "That was the whole point of the Sixties. To look like an idiot cause everyone else was too. Now come on," Sarah insisted, succeeding in distracting Elena as she took her hands and tried to get her to copy her moves.

Having not actually been there to learn them as they were invented, Elena, it had to be said, wasn't very good. But the smile on her face clearly showed that she was having fun, as she moved her limbs in such a foolish manner along with Sarah. "You know, I think this is the first time we've dance together since the Founder's Day Kick party," pointed out Elena suddenly, a thoughtful expression on her face as she went back to swaying her hips instead of trying – and falling – to imitate Sarah's nostalgic dance moves.

"Obviously," Sarah said with a smirk. "I can't dance with you all the time, otherwise I'd up stage Stefy."

"With dance moves like that? I don't think so," teased Elena with a smirk of her own, to which Sarah cocked a challenging eyebrow at the girl.

"Not impressed?" Elena shrugged back, only to then move without her control as Sarah grabbed her arm and pulled her. One second their faces were right against each other. Elena breathless from the surprise while Sarah grinned confidently back. Then Elena was twirling away, threatening to keep going until she hit something, when Sarah's hold on her stopped her.

Sarah then pulled her back in, Elena now twirling the opposite way. Skilfully Sarah switched hands, continuing Elena's momentum the other was before stopping her just as she had before. Only rather than pull her in again and risk making Elena any more dizzy, Sarah twirled towards her, her back against Elena's front.

She then spun again, catching Elena's arm with her twirl and sending her spiralling out of control before Sarah caught her in a dip with her outstretched hand. She smiled down at the still shocked Elena, pulling her back up before centring her. She then opened up her hips, grabbed Elena's waist and lifted her up into the air.

With a shriek, Elena went up, only for Sarah to then pull her back down and throw her between her legs. And then she went back up, feeling the extra vampire strength in the action, before Sarah let go and sent her up into the air by a few inches. The shriek this time was twice as loud, before Sarah caught her and threw her between her legs again.

Elena prepared her lungs, ready to go through the motion again, when Sarah brought her up more gentle and set her down on her feet. "Impressed now?" asked Sarah cockily, to which Elena laughed with a wide smile, feeling her pulse racing all of a sudden.

She was still a little dizzy though, so she held onto Sarah's supportive arms for a moment longer. Feeling the warmth and safety of her touch through the material of her dress – until she noticed Bonnie and Damon dancing not too far away from them. "Now there's something I never thought I'd see," Elena said with a concerned frown, before Sarah followed her eye to her brother and the witch.

Turning back to Elena, Sarah brushed back her now wild hair. Specifically moving it back behind her right ear, so that she could listen in on whatever Damon and Bonnie were talking about.

"I didn't want anyone to worry. So, yeah, I lied to him so he'd keep quiet," Bonnie was explaining in a serious tone. The only kind she ever really used when Damon was involved in the conversation.

"What are they talking about?" Elena asked, to which Sarah motioned her to keep quiet for a moment, while the continued to casually sway to the music.

"So you'd lay it all out on the line fore Elena, no matter what? Even if using this magic kills you" Damon asked curiously. The casualness to his own dance moves stopping as he stepped closer to Bonnie, looking down at her as they both came to a halt.

"No matter what," agreed Bonnie, before they slowly began to move to the beat of the song once more.

"Good," Damon said simply, as Sarah broke off her eavesdropping and turned to Elena with a mournful look.

"What is it?" Elena asked worriedly.

"It's Bonnie…" Sarah said slowly. "If she tries to use her magic against Klaus…it'll kill her."

A look of horrific heartbreak came over Elena's face, tears almost coming to her eyes until she realised that she could stop this. Like she'd said before, she wasn't letting anyone die for her, least of all one of her best friends. She'd been fine with this when Bonnie was able to use the magic, but if using it was going to kill her then it wasn't an option anymore.

"I–I need to talk to her," Elena said quickly, to which Sarah nodded.

"Go and get her away from Damon. I'm going to grab Stefan and then we're going to have a little family talk," Sarah replied, before they spit lit up. Sarah did watch Elena however, until she reached Bonnie and Damon. Making sure no one grabbed her at the last second, before she began searching for Stefan.

She found him leaving Caroline and Matt behind when she stepped into his path. Her concern must have been showing on her face – even if it was mild – because Stefan instantly began to frown and asked, "What's wrong?"

"We need to talk to Damon. Now," Sarah stressed before leading them back through the crowd towards him.

"Why, what's he done?"

"Nothing. But he know something about Bonnie that he didn't care to share with the rest of us," explained Sarah with an air of annoyance to her voice. Just once, she'd appreciate it if Damon stuck to the rules and the plan. Just once.

"What's wrong with Bonnie, then?" Stefan asked pulling his sister to a halt and forcing her to turn round and tell him.

With an exhale of breath, Sarah then told him, "If Bonnie takes on Klaus with her magic it's going to kill her."

"What?" exclaimed Stefan, a sudden rush of anger filling him.

"Me and Elena just found out," Sarah said, before Stefan was suddenly striding past her towards Damon, with her now in toe behind him.

Over by the tables, Sarah caught sight of Elena talking with Bonnie, before they broke through the crowd to find Damon dancing with two girls on either side of him, doing some kind of train dance to the music. "Hey, come here. Come here," Stefan said as he grabbed Damon, puling him away from the dancing girls to stand in a small familial huddle with his brother and sister. "Please tell me you didn't know that Bonnie was on a suicide mission."

"Oh, great," Damon groaned arrogantly. "Let me guess, Jeremy told you."

"No, I overheard you," corrected Sarah, arms folded and a none too pleased look on her face.

Overall she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about Bonnie sacrificing herself for Elena. _Did she even really care at all?_ She wondered briefly, thinking about how she felt about Bonnie. What came back wasn't all that clear. But what she was annoyed about, was Damon breaking his promise to Elena, as well as everyone else. "You promised you were going to do things Elena's way," Sarah argued with Stefan backing her up.

"Well, I changed my mind," Damon shot back smugly, before switching back to his own annoyed persona. "I mean come on. We're dealing with an Original here, one worse than Elijah or Amelia, and you want to leave all our plans in the hands of a teenager?"

"It's her choice, Damon," Stefan replied as he squared up to Damon.

"Well, it's a stupid choice," Damon growled back, returning Stefan's angry glare with his own.

"If you don't have to be involved in any of this you know," pointed out Sarah.

"Of course I have to be involved," Damon snapped, before wisely holding his tongue. In case he said something he'd regret. And Sarah knew this, because it was her pointed and knowing stare that reminded him of what his feelings towards Elena should be.

"Eh, hey," came a sheepish voice from next to Sarah, before all three Salvatores turned to face freckly teenager in a bad Sixties outfit.

"What do you want?" snapped Damon. He was probably ready to start attacking the kid for interrupting their awkward silence, until Stefan's hand fell against his chest, pushing him back a few steps.

"I was told to tell you that Klaus has, Scarlett and Jeremy in Alaric's classroom," explained the boy, during which it became clear that he was compelled.

"Thanks," Stefan said slowly, all three frowning as the boy nodded before then wondering off unknowingly into the crowd.

"Looks like Daphne and Shaggy have done it again," grumbled Damon before he began to march off through the crowd.

"Where are you going?" Sarah called after him.

"To get your stupid mutt and he chew toy back," Damon shouted back over his shoulder, leaving Sarah and Stefan to sigh.

"Why can't he ever think this stuff through," groaned Sarah, clenching her jaw.

"Come on, we'd better go after him," Stefan said with a nod, before they both began pushing their way through the crowd after Damon.

They managed to catch up to him at the edge of the crowd, before the three ran to Alaric's classroom together, coming to a stop outside. There, they gave a quick listen in, only hearing the calm breathing of several people, before they slowly opened the door. Damon went in first, seeing a group of students gathered at the back of the classroom, the desks having pushed off to the side.

To the right of the group, was Jeremy, arms held by one students each. Keeping him in place despite his struggles. Scarlett was to the left, held by one lone student. Her arms tightly held behind her back as the one holding her leaned rather closely towards her exposed neck. A neck that didn't have its usual necklace on, Sarah noted, having followed Damon into the room with Stefan behind her. What she also noted, was that all of the students not holding Scarlett and Jeremy, had vampire killing weapons in hand. Whether it be a stake, a crossbow or a modified gun.

"Don't you just love compulsion?"

At the voice, the three Salvatores sharply swung around, noticing for the first time that there was someone sat at Alaric's desk. Instantly Sarah pegged her as the girl who'd sat in front of her during history class that day. The blonde hair, the freckles, those blue eyes…it was definitely her. Now sat back, reclined in Alaric's seat with her feet propped up on his desk, a folded poncho beneath them. Dressed in a simple black t-shirt and jeans with hippy smily faces, love hearts and flowers all over the denim material.

"I think it's the best part about being a vampire to be honest," said the short blonde with a smug grin as she eyed the three Salvatores. Specifically the sister more so than the brothers. "Making people do whatever you want. That rush of power. And it's not just controlling them, it's getting inside their heads. Playing with their thoughts, their feelings…their memories."

She paused for a second, the corn of her lips turning up in a knowing manner. "Still, it has its problems," she shrugged regretfully from her comfortable position. "Like when you remove someone's memories. Only the vampire that removes them can bring them back."

"What the hell are you talking about?" snapped Damon suddenly, face screwing up at the entitled girl who looked no more than sixteen.

The girl glared at him for a split second, before screwing her own face up to hide it, as she shrugged. "It's not important," she said dismissively, glancing down at her phone before looking back up with a smile once more. "What is important, is that I've got Cutie and her ex-boyfriend there, as hostages," she said with a clear amount of glee.

"Cutie?" scoffed Sarah with a frown.

"Easy, Hot Stuff," the girl quickly said with a smirk to Sarah. "I haven't forgotten about you." It was the same remark she'd used to describe Sarah before during class. _What is with this girl?_ Sarah thought to herself, still frowning along with her brothers, as the blonde continued on.

"Now, just so you don't think of trying anything. I know about Ex-boyfriend's ring, that's why they'll be killing him," the girl said, pointing a finger to the group of students at the back, all looking hungry for a kill. She'd obviously done a real number on them, Sarah thought, as she looked back to the freckled face with the blue eyes. "Also, that one holding Cuite. He's a vampire, made himself. Now normally as we all know, Cuite could kill him with just one bite. But as long as I have this," the girl said, holding up Scarlett's necklace with a smug smile. "I don't think that's going to be a problem.

"So what, you just turned a random kid into a vampire and now he does whatever you tell him?" Stefan asked skeptically.

"Like I said, compulsion, gotta love it."

"But vampire's can't…" Stefan began, before it stuck him, as well as Sarah and Damon.

"You're an Original," Sarah said slowly.

"One of the better ones too. Call me, Leiah," she said pointedly to Sarah, with a familiar flame in her blue eyes. A look Sarah vividly managed to connect to Katherine. "Oh, and by the way… Duck." Leiah then snapped her fingers and Sarah knew what was coming next.

She did as Leiah advised and ducked, right as a shot stake zipped by over head and continued on towards Leiah. Who caught it without even flinching. "Come on, you idiots," Leiah called out over the growing commotion. "Hit them not me," she ordered as she discarded the stake to watch the show.

The majority of the students ran towards the Salvatore like a mad tidal wave descending onto a beach. Weapons poised in the air, ready to attack, as several fired off wooden bullets at them. The three siblings dove off in different directions before reappearing in front of the students. Stefan yanked a rifle away from one, butted him on the head with it, then used it to deflect two boys wielding stakes, knocking them out. Sarah meanwhile knocked aside one stake before kicking its wielder's legs out from under him. A second came at her and she side stepped while simultaneously kicking the downed one in the head, sending him into unconsciousness. A third near the back, fired a stake heading right for her, but she ducked and caught it before it could go through the second's head.

Damon however, had just grabbed himself a girl, and was about ready to snap her head until Stefan and Sarah shouted at him. "Don't kill any of them, their compelled remember!" Stefan shouted before knocking out one as Sarah sent her his way. Damon made something similar to a growl, before throwing the girl back at the crowd and then lunging into it himself. Through a series of fast punches and kicks, in between dodging flying stakes and rather pathetic stabs, the Salvatores soon had most of the kids taken care off, until the last five where at the back with Scarlett and Jeremy.

"You realise this is most likely a diversion," sighed Damon as they stared down the last of the compelled kids.

"Yeah," acknowledged Stefan with a sigh of his.

"Go find Elena and Bonnie, I can finish up here," Sarah said, to which her two brothers nodded before leaving the room at vamp speed.

The two students still holding weapons charged at Sarah screaming, one with a stake and the other with a crossbow. It went the same as the other. A quick jab to the one with the stake had him on the floor clutching his now bleed nose. And after catching the wooden crossbow bolt, Sarah dashed forward and slammed the other's head off the back wall.

Then, using her foot, she flicked the empty crossbow on the floor, up into her hand, were she then threw it precisely at one of the boy's holding Jeremy. It knocked him clean out as he dropped to the floor, giving Jeremy a chance to swing his fist at the other one. Getting into a momentary tussle until he won out and got himself free.

Sarah then turned to the newbie vampire Leiah had created, who was still holding Scarlett. He hissed at her, exposing his fangs – as if that would be enough to scare her – and Sarah frowned in response. Before he could then blink, Sarah had thrown the stake in her hand like a knife, which hit the vampire square in the head before he dropped down from behind Scarlett.

"Thanks," Scarlett said, rubbing at her neck as she stepped away from the vampire, allowing Sarah to finish him off with a stake to the heart. They didn't have time to take newbie vampire under their wing, not with Klaus around. This was best for the kid and everyone else. Even if it sucked for a little while.

"No problem, although clearly we need to go over how to protect your necklace," Sarah said as she stood back up with a critical look to her ward. Ever since the full moon when she'd been forced to change because she didn't have it, Sarah had made it a point to teach Scarlett how to defend her necklace from being snatched. For one, Scarlett had made it pretty clear she never wanted to change like that again. Secondly, because it was the source of her power outside a full moon, that made it a target for her opponents during a fight. Obviously the lessons hadn't completely sunk in yet.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised," huffed Leiah, still sat at Alaric's desk as Sarah and Scarlett swung around to face her. Honestly, Sarah had thought she'd have gone after Damon and Stefan – to slow them down before they got to Elena and give Klaus more time. "They were hardly viking warriors after all," Leiah continued, mostly to herself before smiling across at the three still standing up ahead. "Still. It means I now get some hands on time with you myself."

"Do you ever stop with innuendos," groaned Scarlett.

"Not really, Cutie. It's kinda my thing," Leiah said with a feisty grin before Sarah charged at her. Then all of a suddenly Leiah sprung into action. Her feet left the desk and with a powerful kick, sent the thing skidding across the floor towards Sarah. She managed to vault it and continue on but as she went to punch Leiah, the girl grabbed her first – with a surprising amount of strength and threw her towards the blackboard.

But Sarah was back up fast, jabbing away with her fist but never actually connecting. That was until her hand went below Leiah's arm, as the Original grabbed her throat, forcing her back against the wall. "Come on, Honey. I'm an Original," Leiah declared, tightening her grip around Sarah's throat and making her squirm. "What did you really think you were going to do against me?"

"Not much," admitted Sarah through a hoarse and tight voice. "But then again, I wasn't really trying to hit you." It clicked for Leiah as soon as Sarah pointed it out. And when she looked back, she saw Scarlett had her necklace back on – Sarah having thrown it to her when Leiah grabbed her. Now the werewolf's eyes were glowing, and her canines were growing, as an animal like growl came from deep within her chest.

But rather than the fear they'd all be expecting, Leiah's smile only grew. "Oh, I'm so glad your here," Leiah said as her feisty blue eyes locked with Scarlett's. Only to then swing back to Sarah, the same look in her eye. "Both of you."

But then suddenly she then turned back around, hand reaching out and catching a crossbow bolt fired by Jeremy. "You not so much," scowled Leiah as Jeremy threw the weapon aside and reached for another. "How about you wait outside," Leiah suggested not so kindly, as she threw Sarah back against the wall and darted towards Jeremy, only to have Scarlett tackle her before she could get close enough.

They rolled around on the floor for a moment, ultimately ending up with Leiah on top and Scarlett's arms pinned down next to her head. Snapping her canines, Scarlett tried to reach up to bite Leiah's neck. But the Original pulled back, looming over the werewolf as her golden blonde hair cascaded down one side of her head. "Not exactly what I thought we'd be doing the first time we got into this position, but you know, I can work with this," giggled Leiah, to which Scarlett snapped her canines again, trying to put the Original off her teasing, but only making her laugh instead.

Then suddenly her face was gone, covered by the worn poncho she'd originally been wearing. Sarah had grabbed it, and now wrapped it around Leiah's head, pulling her back and giving Scarlett enough room to get her feet under before kicking her off. Then with the moment of Scarlett's kick, Sarah pulled and let the poncho fly with Leiah, sending her into the corner.

"Jeremy!" Sarah shouted, and he threw her the one shot rifle he'd grabbed. Taking aim, Sarah then fired right at Leiah's stomach, only to have her move at the last second. Running around the room, Sarah's eyes followed Leiah all the way around, trying to work out her next move before suddenly she was behind Jeremy. Scarlett cried out, and Sarah ran forward but it was too late, as Leiah sank her fangs into Jeremy neck, ripping his throat wide open before throwing him to the floor.

Sarah then tried to stop her momentum, but Leiah was ready and grabbed a hold before using Sarah's momentum against her as she threw her into the wall. Then she was on Scarlett, lifting her up onto Alaric's desk – now in the middle of the room, and slamming her down onto it with enough force to make the wood crack and Scarlett cough up a little blood.

Momentarily stunned, Scarlett tried to catch her breath, before she felt Leiah's finger running over her lips. She frowned, looking over to the Original, as she stuck the bloodied finger in her mouth and hummed in delight. "Tasty and Cute," Leiah said cheerfully as she smiled. "You'd make a great date," she added, before abruptly swing her elbow back and catching Sarah who'd been about to pounce from behind. "Excuse me one moment," Leiah said casually to Scarlett, before slamming her back against the desk once more, making sure she'd stay downed for a few more seconds.

Leiah then turned her attention towards Sarah, who was on her hands and knees about to get up, before Leiah did the job for her. However, she then followed the helpful gesture up, by ramming a stake through Sarah's chest, allowing her to drop back down to her knees as she groaned in searing pain.

"You know, this isn't how I wanted this to go," Leiah said calmly, as she sauntered across the room to collect her discarded poncho from the floor, all while Sarah followed her with suspicious eyes.

Pulling on the old poncho, Leiah gave it a loving dust before then walking back over to stand in front of Sarah. "I actually came by to see you earlier," Leiah pointed out.

"Scarlett, told me," heaved Sarah as she tried to remove the stake, only to have Leiah bend down and hold it in place. Giving it a twist when Sarah refused to give up. "Who are you?" Sarah asked as her hands lost the strength to hold the stake.

"I told you. I'm Leiah, the Original vampire," declared the freckled face girl with a perky smile.

Sarah closed her eyes, deciding it best to do so rather than roll them. "Who are you, _to me_? How do you know _me_?"

Leiah gave a sympathetic look. A genuine one. Which only confused Sarah all the more. Especially when she suddenly ran an affectionate hand down her cheek. "I'm sorry to say, you won't remember," Leiah said, before patting the spot on Sarah's cheek she'd just rubbed. Sarah could only stare back in complete bewilderment, until Leiah's ringtone broke the silence.

"Oh, that'll be me," she said, standing up and pulling out her phone. She smiled at the text she'd received, before yanking out the piece of wood form inside Sarah, the movement of which caused her to fall face down on the floor, cringing as she hit the ground with her exposed wound. "Looks like that's all we've got time for today," Leiah announced as she looked between Sarah and Scarlett, both groaning from their downed positions. "But we should definitely do this again," she said eagerly, before screwing her face up as she pointed towards the dead Jeremy. "Just don't bring him next time." And with that, she vanished from the room in a blur of blackness.

Still recovering from the pain, Sarah tried to get up to follow, but only succeeded in collapsing back onto her knees. It was another few minutes before Scarlett recovered herself and was at Sarah's side helping her up. A few sort seconds passed, then Jeremy was back too, which was fortunate because Scarlett had already said she wasn't leaving Jeremy, and Sarah wasn't ready to move on her own.

So, with Jeremy now taking Sarah's other arm, the three made their way out, using Scarlett's nose to follow Leiah's scent all the way to the cafeteria. Only it seemed they were too late. Whatever had happened had happened. Klaus – if he'd ever been there – was gone, and so was Leiah. Leaving a dead Bonnie on the floor, a hysteric Elena by her side and Stefan with a stoic expression on his face.

By this point, Sarah was now able to stand on her own. Stepping forward to stand alongside Damon, while Scarlett and Jeremy shared shocked and saddened looks with each other. None of them had seen this coming.

"What happened?" Sarah asked Damon quietly, while Stefan tried to calm Elena down as she begged him to do something for the already dead witch.

"Klaus took over Ric's body somehow," Damon began, Sarah turning to him sharply with widely shocked eyes. "He knew the whole time what we were planning. And who to hit in order to stop us," Damon explained grimly, eyes solely on Bonnie.

There was a moment of silence between them, before Sarah then said, "Scarlett's got Leiah's scent. She probably got Klaus – Alaric out of here, since he wouldn't exactly be fast on his own."

Damon nodded at this, before replying, "Take her and see if you can find where they went." Sarah was about to get going, when Damon's hand grabbed her arm. "Try not to get caught," he cautioned, and she silently promised him she wouldn't.

She then nodded for Scarlett to follow and they continued on through the cafeteria and out the door. It was only then Sarah realised that Jeremy was following them. She didn't stop him however. She had a feeling Klaus and Leiah had anticipated this move too, and sure enough they had. The scent ended abruptly two blocks over from the school. They'd been ready all right, and had used the same spell as before to mask their scents. Just like the had with Katherine.

Sarah and the others had lost this one. All they could do was go home now, and mourn the loss of Bonnie, as well as their only chance at saving Elena.

 _Just another happy decade dance._ Sarah thought bitterly to herself, as they made their way back towards the school.

* * *

After it was all over, Scarlett found herself sat on one of the couches in the living room of the Salvatore house. Opposite her sat Elena, trembling from head to toe. Tears continued to streamline down her face, and harsh broken breaths parted through lips that would not close. She was in shock, had been ever since Stefan and Sarah had managed to strong arm her into his car. When they got home however, she was too lost to move, so Stefan guided her from the car and sat her down in the living room.

While Sarah then went to get her some tea, Stefan held Elena's hand tightly, and Jeremy sat on her other side, deciding he couldn't leave his sister like this. No matter what his feelings were towards the girl sitting opposite him.

Scarlett didn't say much. In fact, she didn't think she'd said a word since they got back to the school. She figured her words of sympathy would only make things worse, at least were Jeremy was concerned. She wouldn't have been entirely surprised if she said sorry to Elena and he bit her head off for it – and she didn't want a fight starting, not when Elena needed the support of those closest to her, including her brother. So Scarlett opted to sit silently along with everyone else, until Sarah returned with a couple of tea in hand.

"Here, drink this," she said, bending down and holding the cup out to Elena.

Despite her tremble, it was clear she'd shook her head. "I can't," she said through a choked up voice, trying desperately to hold herself together. And if this was her holding it together, Scarlett didn't think she'd be able to stand seeing her when she fell apart.

"Yeah. Yeah, you can," Stefan said softly, as he took the cup from Sarah, now holding it for her so she could sit down next to Scarlett. "Please, drink it. It'll help," he said feebly, knowing it wouldn't be true. Nothing was going to help with this, least of all a hot drink. Bonnie was gone, and Elena was doing what many people like her had done before, including Scarlett. She was blaming herself.

Although she did take the drink from Stefan eventually. But when she held it to her lips, she almost broke as she started crying. Unable to even take a sip from the cup. "This was my fault," she said through uncontrollable breaths, as her hold around the cup tightened as she began to cry harder, the tears coming faster now.

"No, no, no, no," Stefan quickly said in a hushed tone, trying to sooth her as his grip on her hand tightened. "This was Klaus. Listen to me. Klaus did this."

"He's right, Elena," agreed Jeremy softly from her side. "Klaus was the one who forced her to use her magic, not you."

"But she wouldn't have done it…" Elena couldn't finish her sentence, breaking apart as she almost dropped the cup of tea until Stefan skilfully caught it and sat it down on the coffee table. Elena then turned into him, clinging on tightly as he wrapped his arms around her, whisper softly to her.

Scarlett could only watch on awkwardly, looking to Sarah who had the same apologetic look on her face. Almost guilty over not being more broken up over Bonnie's death. It was sad to think they would never see her again, that she was just…gone. But then Scarlett hadn't been all that close with Bonnie. They'd helped each other out but they'd never been more than that, had they? It was only then she realised that she'd never know. What ever their friendship had been, it was over now. And that was when Scarlett finally felt a slither of what Elena was feeling. Probably the same as what Sarah was feeling, judging by their similar expressions.

Then the whole room turned, as the door opened and closed, and they saw Damon entering the house. A duffle bag in hand.

Elena was the first up, the sadness in her eyes suddenly turning to fire – a fire of blame which was aimed solely at Damon. "What did you do with her?" Elena demanded, tears still flying as everyone else followed her and stood up,. But only she was striding forward to meet Damon as he walked into the room.

"Will you please calm her down?" Damon said casually to Stefan.

"Don't talk like I'm not standing right in front of you," said Elena, her anger only masked by her grief struck tremble, and tear consumed face.

"Please, calm down," Damon said, looking directly at Elena now stood in front of him, giving her what she wanted.

"You knew!" she then snapped accusingly, as everyone else grimaced uncomfortably, knowing what was about to follow. "Didn't you? You knew that if she harnessed all that power, that she would die, didn't you?"

"Yes," Damon said bluntly, right before Elena slapped him. Hard.

He turned back like it was nothing. Stoney expression still in place despite the wide eyed stares he was getting from Scarlett and Jeremy. Stefan and Sarah meanwhile were sighing silently at their inconsiderate brother, while Elena was still glaring very clear daggers at him.

"Great, now that that's over with–" Damon said coldly, turning to Scarlett before Elena, in pure outrage, went to slap him again. Only this time Damon didn't let her, catching her wrist and holding it when she tried to pull it back. "Calm down," he repeated, putting emphasis on his words before he finally let her go.

Still glaring at him, Elena stepped back towards Stefan and her brother, taking shelter in her boyfriend's embrace as Damon turned back towards Scarlett. "Scrappy, you're going to need this," he declared, through the apparently empty bag to Scarlett who caught it with a frown.

"Why?" she asked.

"'Cause I've got a job for you and him," Damon answered back, nodding to Jeremy before two very uncomfortable sets of eyes looked to one another.

"Damon, I don't know–" Sarah began to object, before her brother cut her off.

"You're right, you don't know, so how about you let me explain," Damon said cooly, before looking back to Elena and stepping towards her. "Bonnie had to die," he said bluntly again.

"How dare you–!" Elena snapped only for Damon to cut her off too before she could slap him again.

"Listen to me!" Damon said, voice rising to overpower hers before it settled down back to its cool calm tone. "Bonnie had to die. Klaus using Alaric's body was a total surprise. And the fact that he had another Original with him, was also a shock to all of us. Bonnie wasn't prepared for Klaus, and we weren't prepared to take on another Original. And in case it wasn't abundantly obvious to you, Elena, Klaus wasn't going to stop until Bonnie was dead. That was why he was there tonight, not for you, for Bonnie. We weren't going to beat him or Leiah. So we had to give them what they wanted. They had to _believe_ Bonnie was dead." And it was only then they all heard the meaning of his words, their expressions all sliding to awe as Damon stared right into Elena's eyes.

"She cast a spell," he then said at last, after what felt like the longest pause. "Bonnie's okay."

Then with an abrupt whistle, Damon turned away and said, "Scooby, Shaggy, follow me." Knowing who he was talking to, Scarlett and Jeremy followed Damon as he lead them out of the living room and through into the kitchen. By the time they'd caught up to him and his purposeful strides, he was already in the kitchen with the cupboards open. "Start packing some of this, your going to be needing it," he ordered, placing several cans of food down on the table before going back for more.

"Why?" asked Scarlett again, still not understanding what he had planned for her.

"'Cause as of right now, you are Bonnie's new guard dog," Damon explained, setting down another load of canned food, before taking the bag from Scarlett and beginning to pack. Seeing as how she was still frozen to the spot trying to process everything Damon was dropping on her.

"Which means," Damon then continued as he packed. "That you and your ex-boyfriend there, are going to be staying with her until this is all over."

"And where is she?" Scarlett asked.

"A house haunted by witches," Damon answered casually. Only looking up to add, "Don't worry, Jeremy can show you where it is. But since a group of dead witches don't have much need for food, you're going to need some supplies." He then finished packing the canned food, before heading to the fridge and pulling out some bottles of water, throwing them in the bag too.

So apparently while Scarlett had been lying around moping, getting assaulted by Leiah and outsmarted by Katherine, Jeremy had been off helping Damon and Bonnie with their witchy business. Well, it certainly explained a few things, though Scarlett still had several more follow up questions. But the one at the forefront of her mind she didn't feel she could ask just yet.

"Jeremy, there's some lanterns and matches downstairs. Go and grab them for me," Damon ordered, to which Jeremy nodded contently before heading out and towards the basement staircase. "You, go and pack some cloths," Damon said, holding out the now partially full duffle bag for Scarlett. "When you're done take Jeremy and swing by his place so he can grab some supplies too. Then head straight to the house and wait there with Bonnie. You are _not_ to leave the house unless I tell you so, got it. Now get up stairs and get packs."

He was then about to leave Scarlett, duffle bag held in both hands, when she turned to follow him and said after him, "Why are you making Jeremy come with me?"

He stopped in the doorway, seemed to consider her question for a moment. Then his shoulders slouched and he turned back around with an exhausted face and for once, Scarlett thought she might have seen his actual age in his tired blue eyes. "I have my reasons."

"Which are?" Scarlett asked quickly before he could get away.

Another sigh from the blue eyed vampire. "Look…maybe, possibly, though in a very unlikely way, this is m way of trying to help. With you and him." He might have struggled to get it out, even looked disgusted while he said it, but there was no denying he had in fact said it, as Scarlett stared back with wide eyes at the man who claimed to care about nothing other than himself half the time. "Maybe, I figured if you and he were stuck in a haunted house together for a few days you'd talk and maybe…work something out."

"But…Bonnie's going to be there too," Scarlett pointed out, before she then saw the, 'Damon,' part of his good deed, as he began to grin.

"I know," he said cockily, imagining just how awkward this was going to be for all three of them.

However, in spite of his attempts to hide it, this was coming from a place of love. He wasn't doing it to make her life, or Bonnie's life or even Jeremy's life harder. He really was trying to help in his own, very strange, way. And again Scarlett found herself softly smiling at his thoughtfulness, as he uncomfortably frowned back at her.

"Do you really think it'll work?" asked Scarlett skeptically, thinking of just how badly this plan of Damon's could go.

He shrugged in response. "Call me crazy," he said, a sweet smile growing on his lips. And before he could hide it away or cover it up with an insult, Scarlett quickly stepped forward and gently pecked him on the cheek.

"I prefer, Twilight," she said with a grin, before stepping past him and heading for her room.

"I hope you end up killing each other!" Damon called spitefully after her, but it was too late, the damage to his rep had been done. He cared, no matter how much he tried to hide it. And as she walked up the stairs, Scarlett knew that when he'd called her a Salvatore at the dinner party, he'd really meant it. He now saw her as part of his family. Despite the fact she was a werewolf.

 _Who would have seen that coming?_

After five minutes of randomly throwing cloths into the duffle, Scarlett was ready to go. Then, with a degree of awkwardness, she got in the car with Jeremy, as he drove them back to his. The ride was silent, and very uncomfortable, but at least they weren't arguing and he wasn't glaring at her. In fact, he seemed pretty determined with their task, which Scarlett viewed as better than him hating her.

When they reached Jeremy's he went in and was back in the car with her after fifteen minutes, his own bag packed. Another twenty minute drive and a walk through the suddenly creepy woods later, and they were at the aforementioned haunted house. He lead her in without a word, torch in hand, and Scarlett suddenly wished they were on better terms, just so she could hold his hand.

He let her get away with sticking right behind him though, as they then entered the spook basement to find Bonnie sitting alone in the dark. The whites of her eyes the only thing visible, as if she were a sulking cat. "You guys took long enough."

"Sorry," Jeremy said sheepishly, shining the torch on her before he and Scarlett dropped their duffles.

"Hungry?" Scarlett offered, and at Bonnie's desperate nod, Scarlett handed her an opened can of beans which the witch quickly began to devour faster than even Scarlett would. Obviously using all that magic against Klaus – even if it wasn't the full blast, had taken a lot out of her. Combined that with the whole fake death thing, and Scarlett guessed she'd be pretty hungry too.

While Bonnie then ate, Scarlett and Jeremy set to work unpacking and trying to make the dusty old basement as liveable as possible. They threw down their sleeping bags and Scarlett set up all the lanterns, while Jeremy turned on his portable WiFi. He then sat himself down next to Bonnie, his legs crossed and his laptop resting between his level knees.

"You sure it's safe here?" Jeremy asked uneasily as he looked around the dimly lit room – Scarlett was still lighting the lanterns.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Bonnie said confidently, apparently feeling more comfortable than either Jeremy or Scarlett. "There's no chance of Klaus finding us here, the witches won't allow him to." She then paused, seeing Jeremy playing with something before he put it down – his portable WiFi. "What's that?" she asked.

"It's MiFi," Jeremy answered with a grin as he set down the box and started to type on his laptop. "I figured if we're going to be stuck down here, then we might as well have internet.

"Oh, and by the way… Someone would like to say, 'Hi,'" Jeremy said, pausing before turning the laptop around to reveal Elena in a Skype call window.

"Bonnie!" Elena gasped for joy, seeing her friend through the screen.

"Elena? Elena, I'm so sorry," Bonnie cried, before they both descended into tears for one another, but ultimately both happy the other wasn't mad and that they were both alive for now.

And while the two talked, Jeremy got up after handing Bonnie the laptop and moved over to help Scarlett unpack the last of their supplies. "That was really sweet. What you did for Bonnie and your sister," Scarlett said quietly as they worked, deliberately not looking him in the eye as she spoke.

"Well, I love her. I wanted to make sure she could see Bonnie with her own eyes and know she's okay," Jeremy explained, also not looking Scarlett in the eye as they worked. But that only last a few more seconds, before all the food was unpacked and neatly pilled on a box next to their sleeping bags. After that, they both had no choice but to look at each other. Jeremy crouched with bent knees and Scarlett knelt across from him. Both looking away nervously the second their eyes connected, as Scarlett brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You…You did good in that fight against Leiah," Scarlett said, trying to spark up a conversation, but Jeremy only snorted.

"No I didn't," he sighed, deliberately falling on his backside. "I had no idea what I was doing. I was useless in there with you and Sarah. I only ended up getting myself killed." Scarlett resisted the urge to say she'd told him so, since at last they were speaking again without full on fighting.

And then, a thought occurred to her. "You know. Since we're going to be stuck down here with Bonnie for a while… Maybe I could teach you how to defend yourself a little better," Scarlett offered, nervously looking down to play with her hands as Jeremy's gaze fell upon her.

"Seriously?" Jeremy's asked, a little amazed.

"It would just be some basics," she said quickly, not wanting to get his hopes up. "Just so you'd at least know something. And I could give you some tips on how to handle vampires. Some stuff Sarah taught me during my training with her."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'd appreciate at that," Jeremy said in the most upbeat voice he'd used since their break-up.

Then their eyes met, and Scarlett began to think, maybe Damon's plan might just work out after all.

* * *

Discarding her bloody cloths into a pile by her bathroom door, Sarah decided she'd deal with them in the morning. It had been a long night after all, and a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for some – Elena in particular. Thankfully, she was up stairs with Stefan and already asleep, after she and Damon apologised to one another. In fact, Sarah was pretty sure she was the only one still up, having called Scarlett after Elena to make sure she was doing okay with Jeremy. Although to her surprise things seemed to have improved and she and Jeremy were even talking again. However, Sarah couldn't help but worry over the hopeful tone in Scarlett's voice as she talked. She just hoped the girl wouldn't get hurt too badly in the end.

Alas, it was a probably for another day, so after she was satisfied that Scarlett and the others were safe and semi-cosy, she signed off. She'd then tossed her cloths and gone into the bathroom to clean herself before bed. But as she stood before the mirror, which ran the length of her wall, she found her eyes going to the spot where Leiah had stabbed her. There had been something about that Original, something different to Amelia and Elijah…something she just couldn't grasp…

Footsteps from outside her room suddenly caught her attention, her head turning towards her open bathroom door. She looked through to her closed bedroom door, and waited for the person on the other side. Silence. Then the recession of footsteps, whoever it was changing their mind, as they made their way down the stairs.

With a frown, Sarah quickly grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it on over her naked self, before stepping out into the hallway. She could still hear the footsteps, making their way down into the basement. She followed them down without making a sound, moving as fast as she could in order to catch up, before she caught the culprit at the cellar door. It was Elena.

She'd just opened the door and had stepped into the cellar. Sarah silently sped to the door, staying behind the wall for cover. She then peered in to see Elena bent over the two daggered Originals, eyeing them with intense thought.

When Elena suddenly look backed, Sarah vanished behind cover before she could be seen, thinking it better to keep the element of surprise. _But why was she keeping it? This was Elena. Surely she could just ask her what she was doing down here. After all, there could only be so many reasons…_

Sarah's eyes widened, as she suddenly realised what Elena was doing downstairs in the dead of night with the two Originals. She turned back in towards the room, about ready to call to Elena, before she saw the brunette pull the dagger from Amelia's chest.

Sarah could only stare, as she then watched Elena do the same with Elijah. Holding both daggers firmly as she sat down against the wall, and waited. Completely unaware that Sarah had just seen her, and was on the other side of the wall cringing to herself.

She only had two options now. Confront Elena and find out what she was playing at before re-daggering the Originals. Or let her play it out and keep an eye on her from a distance. And perhaps against her better judgement, she chose the latter.


	38. Earn Back our Trust

_Review responses:_

Guest: _I'll continue to touch upon it, but the full details won't be revealed until the next story. Sorry for being so cruel!_

 _Keep an eye on my maths in this one. That's all I'm going to say for now. ;)_

 _Also, I hope you are all doing well and keeping safe during these troubled time. Hopefully I can provide you with a little entertainment and distraction from it all, even if it's just for an hour or so. And hopefully this will all be behind us before I finish this story. Remember, think happy thoughts, and look after yourselves!_

 _Lots of love to you all!_

* * *

 **Chapter 38: Earn Back our Trust**

* * *

She'd been sitting in an immense darkness. Almost as if in a pit. At the very bottom. Where even the brightest of lights from above couldn't reach her. She'd been in this place before. She knew it well. From times long ago. There was never a pleasant memory attached to when she entered this realm. It varied when she came out, like she was about to. She could feel it. The rumbling in the darkness before the pit lit up and her eyes opened to find herself in stone bricked room on a hard dirt floor.

Gasping for air that would not enter her lungs, Amelia shot up into an upright position. Still she tried to inhale, but nothing would come in. From next to her, her brother, Elijah, was acting in much the same way.

"Katerina!" she heard in the distance, only to then realise it had been her brother's voice, near gone as he tried to speak.

At the mention of that name, Amelia became that bit more alert, searching until she saw that face. That face that had caused her brothers so much trouble. The face she wanted to rip off with her bare hands. Only when she tried to move she found herself skidding back across the floor and into the wall.

Every part of her body was tingling unnaturally, a blaze with some foreign force that made her want to go in every direction – preferably which every would get her out the fastest.

"It's me, it's Elena," said the girl with Katerina's face. And that was when it came back to Amelia. The doppelgänger. Elena. The final piece in the trap she and her brother needed to get at him. To get at Klaus. How they'd played out everything perfectly, only to be stabbed in the back by those immature fools.

"What…have you…done!" Amelia shouted, but it came out as nothing but a whisper, before she found herself rolling across the floor and into the open door. It wasn't of her choosing. It was the strange force, pushing on her from every angle, trying to push her out, as if she were in a place she didn't belong.

"We've cannot be in this house," declared Elijah, seconds before he ran into the wall with a burst of vampire speed.

He'd gotten it a second before Amelia had. They'd been moved into a house were they hadn't been invited, and because of that the supernatural forces which prevented them from entering were trying to force them out. Only said force couldn't pick a direction and was just forcing them in every direction at once, causing their bodies to feel more compressed by the second before resulting in an unintentional movement. Such as Amelia when she suddenly found herself thrown beyond the door and into the hallway wall. A second later, and Elijah came crashing into her.

"We have to get out of here!" hissed Amelia. Elena was running towards them to assist, but then the forces conversed again and Amelia found herself running, trying her best to flow and guide the forces expelling her from the house at the same time. On her way up the stairs she tripped, only to then continue with her limbs banging of each step until she was thrown into the wall. With a grunt she got back up and charged on, hitting the wall at the top of the stairs.

Somehow Elijah had gotten ahead of her – most likely while her face had been getting bashed off the stone steps to the basement. He vanished around the corner and Amelia managed to follow him. He got the front door of the Salvatore house and opened it to the outside, only to then have Amelia charge into him from behind as they both toppled out and onto the stone porch.

At last, Amelia could breath again. She didn't even mind the pressure her brother was exerting on her chest. Thankfully though, he got up before the relief of breathing wore off, helping her up as she went to dust of her coat. Only to then see it was covered in a thick layer of ash and soot, much like the rest of her ensemble.

 _So, they'd tried to burn us to ash._ Thought Amelia tiredly, giving a brush of her destroyed raincoat regardless. It was hardly the first time she'd been burnt alive. At least this time she'd been unconscious while it had been happen. Doing so while awake was not the most pleasant of experiences.

At the sound of running footsteps from whence they'd come, Amelia looked back into the Salvatore house to see Elena running into the hallway. Stopping when she saw both Originals stood outside.

There was a pause. Each party studying the other. Elena taking in the irritated and unpleased looks upon Elijah and Amelia, while they took in her cautious glance. And the daggers in her hand – the ones they'd used on them both.

Without warning Elijah shot forward, but it was futile as he slammed himself against the invisible wall between himself and Elena. After a brief moment of realisation, Elijah, still pressed against the divide, asked, "What happened?" Only to then be met with Elena's shush and a finger to her lips.

To clarify, she then mimed to above them and then to her ear. The obvious implication being that the Salvatores could listen in on them. Which meant they didn't know the they'd been awakened or that Elena was talking to them. _Interesting._

Resting her hand on her brother's shoulder, Amelia pulled him back from the entrance to the house, so that she might better see Elena and viscera. "I'll tell you. Not here. Can I trust you?" Elena then mouthed to them both, as she switched between their contrasting eyes.

"Can we trust you?" Elijah hissed silently back. The rage clear in his expression, while Amelia was at least able to repress her own down below the surface level. But then, all her rage vanished into shock, as Elena held out both daggers beyond the threshold. She motioned for the two Originals to take them.

Amelia and Elijah looked to one another in clear confusion. There was nothing else in the world that could stop them like those daggers. It was the only effective weapon against them, and Elena was handing them both over. Not one, but both. It was her gesture of good will, trying to earn their trust by leaving herself with nothing but the hope of their mercy.

It was bold, and Amelia had to admire it, even just a little, as she and her brother each took a dagger from Elena. Only to then swiftly hide them with in their jackets.

There was then a moments hesitation, before Elena looked them both squarely in the eye, and stepped outside.

"My car," she then mouthed, pointing towards the nearby vehicle. Elijah gestured for her to lead the way. She passed them by without a word or a glance, striding straight for her car. Whatever was happening she'd clearly come to accept that she'd made her decision, but for Amelia and Elijah, they were still very skeptical about this whole predicament.

That said they weren't about to let Elena out of their sight again. So they followed her to her car, Amelia getting in the passenger side while Elijah got into the back behind Elena who sat in the drivers seat. She then put the car into drive, and as quietly as she could, rolled away.

* * *

From the side of the garage, Sarah silently watched Elena's interactions with the Originals from across the driveway. She'd accurately predicted that they'd end up coming out this way when they'd awoken, since they hadn't been invited in by Elena.

She briefly thought if the only reason they'd survived such an experience, was because they were Originals, and that if such a thing had happened to a normal vampire, then he or she would be torn apart. However, she quickly shoved the irrelevant point aside, as she focused on what Elena and the Originals were doing.

She could see their lips moving, but wasn't able to pick up any sounds. Then, after a few seconds, Elena then handed over the daggers and Sarah wanted to slap her forehead. Even if it had been just one they would have had something, but with both daggers now back in the Originals' hands they were defenceless. Although, it seemed to make Elena feel safe enough to step outside, and then lead the Originals to her car.

There was only one reason Sarah could think of for Elena sneaking off with them both. She wanted to make another deal.

Briefly Sarah considered going and getting brothers, but then she realised how quickly that would blow up in all of their faces. And it was too late for her to stop Elena either, or else make another scene. Plus if she stayed and tried to explain to her brothers, they'd both lose it, again. Which really only left her with one choice.

So, she pulled on her helmet, flicked up the kick stand of her bike, and followed Elena from a distance as they drove into Mystic Falls.

* * *

"Now, remember, Katerina. You are to obey Niklaus and his every command while I'm gone," explained Leiah, as she finished the compulsion. With the brainwashing now complete, Leiah released her hold on the vampire's chin and let the scowling woman go to pour Klaus his morning coffee.

Still smiling, Leiah turned from the kitchen and shot brother's host body a grin. "You're welcome," she said smugly.

"I'm grateful as always, sister," said Klaus in the teacher's voice, as Leiah sauntered up to him.

"You know, I'd just gotten used to seeing you like this," Leiah said as she flicked the teacher's nose, giggling as Klaus rubbed it poutingly. "I'm almost going to miss it."

"Well, personally I can't wait to get out of this body," replied Klaus, a hint of anxiousness to his voice. Although, he always got that way when gone from his own body for too long.

"Don't worry, brother," Leiah said confidently, as she patted his foreign cheek. "Maddox and I will have your body back to you by tonight… Tomorrow morning at the least." After all, there was only so long she could sit in a car with Maddox before something had to happen.

However, all thoughts of what she'd do to the witch during their pitstops vanished swiftly when Klaus snatched a hold of her wrist. His glaring eyes looking down into her suddenly alert blue. "No. Delays. Leiah," he warned coldly, before Leiah snatched her wrist back with a pout.

"For God sake, Klaus. I'm only playing around," she snapped, rubbing at her wrist.

"Well I'm in no bloody mood for your stupid little games, sister. Now, it's time you were going," declared Klaus, as he took Leiah's arm and lead her towards the door.

"You never let me have any fun," grumbled Leiah as Klaus opened the door. He then gave her a shove out, only to have her swing back around before he could close the door. "Actually, before I go," she then added in a more gleeful tone. "Could we take a selfie. Of you in this body."

"Don't waste my time," grumbled Klaus going to shut the door before Leiah forced it back open with her superior strength. _It must suck to be human._ She said silently to herself, in case saying it out loud landed her in any more trouble.

"Please, Nic," his younger sister pleaded with her big blue eyes. "It would mean a lot."

"Take it when you get back," he snapped in response, trying and failing to shut the door again.

"Come on, it'll take two seconds." And seeing that he wasn't going to get her to leave until she got her way, he conceded on this one issue.

"Fine," sighed Klaus, before plastering on a smile like he knew his sister would want.

Beaming, Leiah bounced back into the apartment as she pulled out her phone. She then grabbed Klaus with her arm around his neck and pulled his borrowed face up against hers as they both smiled for the camera. A few taps of her phone screen later, and she had all she wanted. A few dozen photos of herself and the teacher smiling. Only now she wished she'd taken more before their time was over.

"Hey, Katerina," Leiah called into the apartment as she stepped out, looking over the photos she'd just taken. "Could you take some more photos of Nic while I'm gone."

"No, she can't," Klaus said curtly, before slamming the door in his sister's face.

"Rude," Leiah muttered to herself. Scowling until she saw the smiling faces of herself and the teacher on her phone. _Oh well, they'd always have the memories._ Thought Leiah as she made her way down the stairs, joining Maddox in his car out front.

"You ready?" he asked, looking across to her from the driver's seat.

"Not quite," Leiah purred in mischievous thought. "Head two blocks over, then stop."

Maddox did as told before pulling over. "Okay, what are we–" his sentence was cut off by Leiah's lips as they slammed against his. With in a second she'd mounted him and reclined his seat as far back as it would go, giving her all the space she needed to work in.

"Just something to hold me over until we get back," Leiah whispered into Maddox's ear through a shaky breath, before their lips reconnected and she reached down to unzip him.

 _What Niklaus didn't know, wouldn't hurt him._ She reminded herself, as she felt Maddox reach down to unzip her in turn.

* * *

"Please pull over," instructed Amelia, her eyes flicking back to the road ahead. It was a housing street with plenty of other cars parked on either side, which would allow them to blend in for a moment while she thought.

"Is everything all right?" asked Elena, looking to the blonde Original in the passenger seat next to her. "Are you thirsty, do you need blood?"

"No, Elena, I'm–"

"Please," Elena said, already rolling up her sleeve. "If you need some I don't mind. I've been letting Stefan feed off me for over a month now."

Amelia looked from the veins on Elena's wrist, to her open brown eyes. She really was trying her hardest to mend this bridge her friends had burnt for her.

"Aren't you on vervain?" asked Elijah from the back seat.

"No. I've only got my necklace."

"Which I so easily removed last time," pointed out Elijah in an almost threat. Amelia watched as Elena swallowed uneasily.

"I trust you not to remove it," she said as confidently as she could.

Still watching her carefully, Amelia took Elena's wrist in her hand. Studying her and her slight increase in heart beat. "Just a little," Amelia promised, before the monster within took over.

Her fangs dug into Elena's flesh, and her calm blue eyes were overcome with a storm of swirling blood. After a sip she pulled away, fighting the urge that still persisted even after all those years. It was enough though, enough to rejuvenate her strength and relax her.

Elijah followed suite, taking just a drop before Amelia got a chance to see the damage she'd done to Elena's wrist. To her surprise however, it was rather reminiscent of two plain puncture wounds. The blood making it look worse than it actually was. "Could you pass me a bandage from the glovebox?" asked Elena. Amelia obliged, even making sure to clean the wound before wrapping it.

"Thank you for that, Elena. It was most generous," said Amelia once the whole affair was over.

"Although, considering what you and your friends did to us, it's the least you could do," Elijah said from the back seat as he wiped his lips of the blood.

"Elijah," scorned Amelia in a level tone, looking to him through Elena's review mirror. What he was saying might well be true, but it wasn't the sort of thing people like them should say out loud. It was rude.

"No, he's right," Elena spoke up in his defence. "And I still need to apologise to you both for what happened. I had no idea they were planning something like that, but that doesn't excuse it and I am sorry. Sorry that they broke our deal which you both upheld even when I couldn't."

It was touching, and in truth Amelia always did appreciate a sincere apology – which Elena had just provided them with – but it would take more than that to mend the trust that had been broken. Especially when she and her brother had been daggered just like _he_ used to do to them. Leaving them powerless and in the darkness, all alone. It was one of the few things that could shake Amelia, that experience. And even if she still had the dagger in her possession, it didn't make her feel completely safe from its terrifying effects.

As if mirroring her thoughts, Elijah then asked, "Where did you get the daggers?"

Elena looked back to him. Then to Amelia so she didn't have to crane her neck. "I'll tell you both everything. But we have to work together, the three of us. I need both your words," Elena explained, which was hardly all that surprising. It was obvious the only reason they'd been freed was so Elena could make another deal with them.

"I'm sorry, Elena, but after everything that's transpired, I for one will not be handing out my word so easily." There was some genuine sympathy to Amelia's voice, but the simple fact was that she'd been stabbed in the back, literally, and that made Elena's word meaningless to her. So why would she give her word to someone she knew couldn't keep their own?

"Nor I," added Elijah.

"I understand," Elena said. "But I still want to help you both. And in return, I would like you to help me."

"And why should we even consider your proposal?" asked Elijah, as Elena craned her neck once more to look back.

"For the same reason that neither of you have killed me," Elena said, looking to Amelia, "You need my help to kill Klaus. And I need you both."

Amelia thought this over for the briefest of moment, before she took Elena's necklace in her hand. She ripped it away and threw it onto the dashboard, before grabbing Elena's throat and forcing her back against the chair, making sure she had no chance of reaching her vervain. Although she only seemed to realise what was happening after the sizzling of Amelia's skin ceased. Even then though, she didn't panic, remaining still as Amelia wasn't even choking her – merely holding her in place as her blue eyes attempted to bore into her mind.

"You're quite right, Elena. We do need you. And now we have you," pointed out Amelia while Elijah remained in silence. "And while you are offering to cooperate with us freely, as you can see, we can make you by force. So why burden ourselves with your needs and wants when we now have everything we need to achieve our own?"

"Because I know you both," Elena answered as firmly as she could.

"You know nothing of us," Elijah hissed in her ear as he leaned forward.

"I know you're both honourable. And that despite my friends betrayal, me removing those daggers still means something to you both," Elena said, voice raised to keep them quiet rather than out of fear for herself, as a ferocity moved its way into her words. "If I'd wanted to try and blackmail you, I'd have let one of you go and held the other over you. But not only did I let you _both_ go, I gave you the only two weapons we had against you both. I've thrown myself at your mercy because I _know_ you won't force me to do anything against my will. I'm not going to strike a deal, and if you don't want to give me your word then I understand. But I am offering my help, and I would appreciate it if you helped me too, though I'd understand if you don't. But I give you _my_ word, that I will help you to kill Klaus."

Her voice then grew quieter as she then said, "My friends are all willing to die to protect me. But I don't want that. I'd rather die than see any of them do the same for me. And I understand their reasoning, because if it was them I'd want to try and save them too. But that's why I need you. Because your the only ones who I can trust not to put my survival first. The ones who will help me to defeat Klaus, even if it means sacrificing me. And that's the only way I can protect everyone I care about from him."

It was only when she finished, Elena realised that at some point during her speech, Amelia had released her. The harshness in her blue eyes now gone and replaced with something almost vulnerable. As if Elena had just reminded her of who she was.

"You're very passionate, Elena," Elijah said softly from the behind. "You speak from the heart. But pretty words won't be enough to win back our trust. How do we know you or your friends won't just break our agreement again when an opportunity presents itself?" If she'd had a response for Elijah, she didn't say it. Distracted by the buzzing of her phone as she pulled it from her pocket.

She glanced a the screen telling her who it was. Thought about it for a moment before then answering, eyes going to Amelia to see how much she'd object. Amelia merely watched and listened, which seemed to be what Elena had been hoping for.

"Where are you? Are you okay?" came Stefan's concerned voice, confirming that he at the very least had known nothing about Elena's plans as of late.

"Yes, I'm fine," Elena replied calmly.

"Where's Elijah and Amelia?"

"They're right here with me." Another glance to Amelia, before she went back to looking out the windscreen. Unable to hold the Original's blue eyes while talking to her boyfriend.

"Where? I'm on my way."

Amelia then watched as Elena responded, without any prompting from her or her brother. "No, Stefan. I need some time alone with them." She was really trying her hardest to win them back over, and doing a far better job than any grovelling vampire minion had over the years.

With the vampires, they did it out of fear for what the Originals could do to them. Elena – as Elijah had pointed out – was acting from her heart. Her intentions were for that of her loved ones, but what she was really trying to prove to the Originals in the car with her, was that she could be trusted once more. However, she wasn't the only one who needed to earn back the Originals trust if they were going to strike an alliance.

"Listen to me. They can't be trusted, they'll use to you to get to Klaus," presided Stefan from down the phone. Him being another of the ones in need of proving himself to the Originals once more. He'd been part of the problem last time, and from the sound of it there was no reason for him not to be a problem again.

"They both live by a code of honour, Stefan. I know I can trust them. If I were to try and betray them again they'd still end up getting what they want. But I want them to trust me the way I trust them. Me removing the daggers is part of building up that trust again. Just like I'm doing now by not telling you where we are."

"You can't do this alone," insisted Stefan uneasily.

"She won't have to," Amelia spoke up, capturing Elena's confused attention. However, she elaborated no further, forcing Elena to return to her call with Stefan and conclude it as she'd originally intended.

"It's my decision, Stefan. Please respect it like you promised you would. And make sure that Damon keeps to that promise too. I'll be in touch." And with that she hung up, before Amelia extended her hand for the phone – a further sign of the the trust Elena was trying to earn back. Part of her had probably seen it coming, as she resigned her phone over, placing it carefully into Amelia's hand, before letting go.

"Before we move on, there's some other things I should probably fill you in on," Elena said sheepishly.

"Oh, that can wait a moment," said Amelia as she looked straight ahead at the parked car in front. "At least until Sarah gets in the car."

"Sarah?!" Elena exclaimed, only to then look back sharply as the passenger side back door opened and Sarah climbed in next to Elijah. Then, without being asked, she pulled out her own phone and handed it over to Elijah who gracefully took it from her.

"I haven't called anyone to tell them where we are," Sarah declared, having been listening in obviously.

"We know," Elijah said, pocketing the phone.

"Sarah, what are you doing here?" asked Elena, eyes wide and panicked as if her presence might ruin all the progress she'd made so far.

"You can relax, Elena," Amelia informed her, having turned to look at her once more. "Of all your friends, Sarah seems to be the only one who respects your opinions enough not to interfere even if she might disagree with them. We are happy to have her join us if you want."

At that reminder, Elena found herself smiling at Sarah over her shoulder. In a way it was almost fitting that she was here with her, as she tried to negotiate with the Originals again. She'd been there every other time, always at her back and listening to what _she_ wanted. When she'd wanted to sacrifice herself for those she loved, Sarah had tried her best to help her even if she didn't wholly agree with it. And when her own views came up, she explained them to Elena rather than snap and shout at her or force her to do things another way. With Sarah, it had always been _her_ choice, and Elena would never be able to thank her enough for that.

"Thank you," Elena said to the Originals. Feeling a little more at ease now that the sides were matched, numbers wise that is. And she could trust Sarah just as Amelia had pointed out. She was here to support, not force her view and opinions on the situation.

"And for the record, I would like to apologise for my brothers' actions too," Sarah said after she broke off eye contact with Elena, leaning around to look at Amelia in the seat in front.

"They deceived her along with me," Elena explained. "Going as far as to lock her up just to keep her out of the way."

"Hmm, wonder how that feels?" Elijah said dryly.

Amelia aloud herself a tiny smirk at her brother's words, before it vanished from her face as quickly as it had formed. "That's enough apologising," advised Amelia. Partly because she was reaching a point where another apology would serve more harm than good to the girls' cause. "Now, what have me and my brother missed that's important?"

Elena pursed her lips, before then coming out and saying, "He's here."

"Klaus is here?" both Amelia and Elijah gasped, as if suddenly realising they'd not just been out for a few minutes like last time – or even over night. Most certainly a few days at least had passed by since they'd been daggered. And with Klaus in town, their trust for Elena suddenly jerked up a few notches. Quite simply because it might well become a necessity soon.

Elena nodded, the worry radiating throughout the car. Elena even going as far as to lower her voice as she spoke. "He's taken over Alaric's body."

"Not only that, but he's got another Original with him," added Sarah.

"Who?" Elijah snapped, gaze shooting towards Sarah who met it, a bit taken aback by his demanding and urgent tone.

"Someone named Leiah," she answered, watching the Original's face as he took in this news. At first he was just shocked – as shocked as he had been when Sarah first mentioned there was another Original. But then he frowned, lines of concern appearing along his forehead, his eyes suggesting things had perhaps become just that little bit more complex now. Which was true for him and Amelia at least.

"Leiah," Amelia whispered, as Sarah and Elena's gaze swung to her. She didn't say anything more though, staring straight to Elijah with the most unnoticeable of smiles on her face. Unnoticeable because of her parted lips and surprised – yet subtly joyful – eyes.

"Yes," added Elijah in a murmur, as if having only part of a conversation with his sister.

"Elena, if you'd be kind enough to take us to the Lockwood's?" Elijah then abruptly asked, to which Elena nodded before starting up the car once more. The ride there was silent, with Elena and Sarah sharing bewildered looks through the mirror, while the two Originals sat silent in thoughts. The worrying aura growing from them with each passing second, until they finally arrived and all exited the tension full car. On the way out, Elena grabbed her necklace, putting it back on as they approached the Lockwood mansion.

* * *

Sarah was stood at the back along with Elena, both unsure as to why the Originals had brought them here to the Lockwood's home. Both remained quiet however, as Elijah rang the doorbell with Amelia at his side. The door then opened to present one Carol Lockwood – dressed as if she were about to leave.

"Elijah, Amelia, girls?" said Carol Lockwood in surprise, peering around to see all four of them with a very confused look on her face. One that was getting worse by the second as she then saw the burnt and blackened remains of both Amelia and Elijah's outfits. "What are you doing here? What happened?!"

"We've had a bit of an incident, Carol," Elijah explained smoothy, as if singed cloths were a problem everyone faced from time to time.

"We were hoping you could perhaps help us," added Amelia as she brushed back a lose strand of her blonde hair, having escaped it's once secure place in the bun at the back of her head.

"Well, I'm on my way to a meeting, so I–" Carol began to apologise, only for Elijah to step towards her. His eyes capturing hers as she began the compulsion.

"It won't take but a minute of your time," he assured her, almost as if he wasn't even compelling her, but rather charming her.

To further add to that idea, Carol Lockwood then broke out into an obliging smile. "Of course. Anything you need," she said as she stepped aside, gesturing them all in. One by one they stepped in, Sarah and Elena once again sharing unsure looks, confused as to how Elijah had been able to compel someone like Carol Lockwood, who really should be on vervain.

"Carol, would it at all be possible for me to borrow something off of you? As you can see, me and my brother are in dire need of some fresh clothing," explained Amelia once they were all inside.

"Well, your a bit taller than me," pointed out Carol Lockwood in serious thought, before she then brightened up. "But I'm sure I've got something you can squeeze into for the time being, and some of my coats should be big enough for you too. Just take your pick." Amelia thanked her with a smile and a nod. "And as for Elijah, he can try on my husband's suits. I haven't boxed any of them up yet."

"That'll do nicely, thank you Carol," Elijah replied, before watching as Carol made her way up stairs.

"How did you know she's not on vervain?" Elena asked quietly as Carol vanished beyond the landing above them.

"'Cause we're the ones who got her off it," answered Elijah as he and his sister looked to Elena and Sarah.

"It was before your friends killed us," pointed out Amelia casually, no hint of bitterness to her voice.

"Twice," Elijah then added, bitterness – even if only a half measure – still clear in his voice.

"Now if you'll excuse us–" Amelia said, herself and her brother moving to follow Carol Lockwood before a buzzing emitted from Elijah. As he ascended the first few steps he pulled out Sarah's phone, glancing over it before turning back around to address his companions from his elevated level.

"It would appear Jenna is trying to call you."

At her name both Sarah and Elena perked up, the pair sharing a look before Sarah stepped forward to plea. "Could I answer it please. Last time I talked to her things didn't end all that well, and if she's calling me I can only imagine it's for something important."

"Something else we missed while lying in your basement," Elijah said curtly, though held out the phone all the same. But as Sarah took it, he added, "We'll of course be listening in, just to be certain." Sarah nodded, accepting this without argument as she answered the phone.

"Jenna?" Sarah said nervously into the phone, unsure of what she was about to get into with her friend – if they even still were friends.

"Hey," Jenna replied, voice even more bitter than Elijah's. In fact, Jenna's tone actually revealed to Sarah how tame Elijah's bitterness had been. "I'm looking for Elena and Jeremy," she continued, getting straight to the point. "I've tried calling them both but neither are answering their phones."

Out of the corner of her eye, Sarah caught Amelia taking out Elena's phone and turning it on to confirm this. She must have had at least one missed call from Jenna, because without a word of intervention, Amelia slid the phone back into her pocket.

"Sorry, I don't know where either of them are," apologised Sarah as she looked to Elena who nodded in agreement with what she was saying. If it wasn't life threatening, then it could wait until they'd won back the Original's trust.

"You sure you're not lying to me again," Jenna bit back, making Sarah wince.

"Jenna–" Sarah tried to apologise, only for her friend to cut her off.

"Save it. I was only calling in case you knew where they were. Or in case you could decipher the weird messages they've been leaving."

Sarah looked to Elena and frowned, although it did little more than confuse Elena herself since she couldn't hear Jenna's half of the conversation. "What messages?"

"Some nonsense about staying away from Ric and that he's dangerous. Any idea what she's talking about?" came the voice of a clearly suspicious woman. One who frankly had every right to be suspicious.

"It's kinda hard for me to explain over the phone, Jenna," Sarah said sheepishly, wincing even more now under the press of her friend's voice. She could only imagine what her gaze would be doing to her right now. It probably would have been enough to break her down and have her telling Jenna everything.

"Well, I'm home so if you have to tell me in person, you can."

At this Sarah shifted gears entirely. "You're home?!" Sarah exclaimed with wide eyes as she looked to Elena once more, the brunette mirroring her alarmed expression.

"Yeah. I came back so I could get to the bottom of all this. Although, as I'm saying this, I realise it might all have been a clever ruse by you all to get me back," Jenna muttered spitefully down the line. "Anyway, I'll be going out soon to meet Ric for lunch, so if you want to talk–"

"Jenna, listen to me," Sarah said over her, cutting her off with the seriousness of her voice. "Don't leave the house, don't go and meet Ric, and if he shows up don't let him in. Understand me, _do not_ let him in!" stressed Sarah into the phone.

"All right, what is going on?" demanded Jenna just as firmly back down the phone.

Back to wincing, Sarah replied, "I told you, I can't exactly explain that over the phone."

"Well, either you come here and explain it, or I go and meet Ric and have him explain it to me instead."

Sarah turned around to face the Originals, a pleading look on her face as she covered the speaker of the phone with her hand. "Please, I have to go and talk to her. She's in danger and she still has no idea what's going on," Sarah begged, her eyes switching between the Originals as she waited for them to respond. Elijah's face was stern, not looking as if he was about to yield, and Amelia's was impossible to read.

"I'll stay with you, but let Sarah go and help Jenna, please. She's my family," Elena added, stepping up to Sarah's side with the same pleading look in her eye.

Seeing Amelia waver for a split second, Sarah focused on her as she spoke once more. "I know you don't completely trust us and again, I'm sorry for what happened to you. But Jenna's in this situation because of me. Because I was a bad friend to her. I need to protect her and make that right. I'll do whatever you want. I'll stay away until you say, I'll come straight back with her if that's what you want, whatever. But I need to talk to her right now. You heard her, if I don't she's going to go and meet Klaus and that's not good for any–"

"You may go," Amelia said suddenly, her slick voice slicing Sarah's voice off and leaving an astonished and thankful look upon her face.

"Thank you," Sarah said as she began to run for the door, lifting the phone back up. "Jenna, I'm coming over right now to explain everything to you. The whole truth and anything else you want to know. Just don't let Alaric in until I get there." She hung up before Jenna could reply, as she pulled open the front door.

"Sarah," Elijah called down to her, giving her pause as she looked back at his steel like gaze. "Tell anyone of where we are and you and Elena will lose the little trust you've both earn back so far."

"I understand. I'll stay way unless you call me," she added, raising her phone and nodding towards Amelia, who had Elena's phone with her number in it. Acknowledging, the two Original nodded back, before Sarah looked to Elena. "I won't let anything happen to her, I promise."

"I know," Elena said, full of belief as she nodded for Sarah to leave, before the vampire sped out the door in a blur.

Once she was a fair distance away from the Lockwood's, she then called Stefan, telling him about Jenna and to meet her there with Damon. However, apparently Damon wasn't in much of a helping mood, so when Sarah arrived it was only Stefan who met her as he climbed out of his car. "What's Damon's problem this time?" Sarah asked as they made their way up onto the Gilbert porch.

"Same as always," grumbled Stefan as he knocked on the door. "He's annoyed he's not getting his way."

The front door then opened, and Sarah would have thrown her arms around Jenna, had it not been for the displeased scowl on her face. She probably should have been expecting that, and even while it hurt to see such an angry look aimed at her, Sarah was still glad Jenna was back and safe for now. "Hi, Jenna," Sarah said awkwardly.

"Hey," Jenna replied tightly, folding her arms as she stared back at the liar.

"Can we come in and talk?" Stefan asked in a more diplomatic manner. Jenna considered this for a moment, eyeing Sarah spitefully the whole time, before then opening the door the rest of the way and stepping back. "Thank you," Stefan said as he and Sarah stepped in, following Jenna as she lead them down the hallway and into towards the kitchen.

"Jenna, I know I've already said this, but I really am sorry for everything. And I'll answer any question you have but first I have to tell you–" Sarah stopped as she and Stefan entered the kitchen. Her eyes widening as she saw Alaric – Klaus, chopping carrots at the kitchen island with a knife. And never in Sarah's time as a vampire had she been more scared of an ordinary kitchen knife.

"Hey, Stefan, Sarah," Klaus greeted with a thin and knowing smile. But before anything more could be said, Sarah had grabbed a hold of Jenna and had pulled her behind her. Her eyes scanning the room for Leiah in case she'd come too.

"Sarah, what the hell?!" Jenna snapped from behind, but Sarah's eyes were back on Klaus.

"Yes, is everything all right, Sarah?" asked Klaus, lifting the chopping knife as he made his way partially around the island.

"Don't come near us," snarled Sarah. She didn't care how powerful he was, while in Alaric's body, he was human. But if he had Leiah with him, then they'd be in for a fight Sarah wasn't sure they could win. At least not her and Stefan on their own.

From behind, she felt Jenna try to get around her. She quickly pushed her back, inching towards the hallway as she did, so that Jenna couldn't get around her as easily again. She'd made a promise to Elena to protect her aunt, but more than that, Sarah was going to protect her friend. After everything she'd put her through she wasn't going to let her die while she still hated her guts. She still had to tell Jenna everything, and then let her decide how much their friendship meant to her. If Sarah being a vampire was enough to ruin it forever. And the thought made Sarah's stomach turn more than she thought. She didn't want to loose Jenna. Not like Ronnie had lost her, or like she'd lost Lexi. But one problem at a time, and right now, the problem in front of her was a big one.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!"

* * *

After finding suitable clothing, Elijah had dismissed Carol Lockwood and he and Amelia joined Elena in one of the sitting rooms for tea. The two of them occupied one couch while Elena sat opposite in one of the lone armchairs. She wasn't in the mood for tea apparently, having taken only a sip, but Amelia had gone through half her cup already. Taking in the delectable warm substance with delight. A good drink or meal was always the best thing to calm her down after being killed at the hands of the dagger – that was after she'd had some blood, an unfortunate itch that if left unscratched would lead to a very sour Original. No matter how good the tea was.

Letting out a soothing breath, Amelia rested the remainder of her tea down on the provided saucer, deciding it best they get back to business. Elena was looking rather on edge after all, although Amelia presumed that was because of Klaus going after her aunt, rather than the fact she was now, once again, alone with the two Originals. Resuming the conversation would probably do her some good, give her mind something else to focus on, rather than the thing that was out of her control.

"May I ask, Elena," Amelia began, apparently snapping Elena out of whatever she'd been thinking about. "What has become of the Martin witches?"

The grimace across Elena's face gave it away before she said anything. "I'm sorry. After what happened with the two of you…"

"They retaliated," Elijah finished for her, to which Elena nodded. "I'm not surprised. Jonas was desperate after all," Elijah thought aloud, before taking another sip of his tea.

Amelia hadn't thought of Jonas as that unhinged, but she knew he'd thought they were his best and only chance of getting his daughter back. And past experience was enough to tell Amelia that when it came to family, people could very easily become unhinged. Herself included.

"We didn't want to kill them," Elena said quietly.

"But they left you no choice, we completely understand," Elijah said dryly, earning himself a sideways glare from his sister. Although she said nothing before looking back to the ashamed Elena.

"I'm sorry," Elena said again.

"At least you're being honest," Amelia simply replied, before picking up her own tea for another sip. She was going to need some more soon if this kept up. It was rather good she had to admit.

"And what of Katerina?" Elijah then asked, almost prompting Amelia to spit at the name. She'd forgotten about that wretched woman, rather happily. He was right to ask though, for when she was daggered the first time, her compulsion would have been broken. Meaning that particular doppelgänger was back out in the wind, however much it irritated her.

"Klaus took her. We think that she may be dead," Elena answered with almost a hint of sorrow.

"I wouldn't worry about that," Amelia said, smile on her lips as she set her tea back down. Her sullen mood gone with the new news. "You can rest assure that Katerina will be suffering at Klaus' hands. He won't kill her, not yet anyway."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Elena.

"Because we know him better than anyone," Elijah assured her.

"How so?"

"Because he's our brother," answered Amelia, watching with a touch of satisfaction as Elena's jaw dropped.

"Yes, Klaus is our brother and Leiah is also our sister," added Elijah with a thin grin of his own.

"I heard that… I'm just…I'm still processing," said Elena, brow and jaw moving up and down in minor ways as the gears in her head rotated around. Trying to piece it all together, only to then see that it did in a way make sense.

"Yes, me and my sister are a little behind on the times. But I believe the term you're searching for is, 'O.M.G,'" Elijah then said, before hiding his smirk behind another sip of tea.

"So…" Elena began after a moment, thinking over her words before she said them out loud. "There's a whole family of Originals?"

"Our father was a wealthy land owner in a village in Eastern Europe. Our mother bore a total of ten children," Elijah said, giving the doppelgänger a glimpse into their past – something very few knew a lot about.

"Ten?" Elena exclaimed in shock. The idea of ten Original vampires running around might have been a scary though, but to think that they were all born from the same mother was rather insane. Then again, she had no reason not to believe it either, knowing that in the past, and even in some countries today, parents could have up to as many as ten children – even if the risk increased with each birth.

"Our mother was a very special woman," Amelia continued, as if picking up on Elena's thoughts and concerns.

"Was she a vampire?" Elena asked slowly, wondering if that was how the woman had been able to endure all that pain.

"No. None of us were at first," admitted Amelia, looking of into what could only be described as the distant past. Many, many lifetimes ago. "We were born human." Something like longing briefly passing through those old blue eyes before Elijah then spoke up again.

"Our origin as vampires is a very long story, Elena. Just know, we are the oldest vampires in the world. We are the Original family, and from us all vampires were created."

"But…if Klaus is your brother, why do you want him dead? And what about Leiah, and your other siblings?" asked Elena slowly. To which both Originals abruptly rose.

"I could use some air. I still feel a tad…dead," said Elijah as he fastened his jacket. "What of you, Amelia?"

"Some air sounds good," she agreed, as they began to walk. "Coming, Elena?" she asked over her shoulder, though they all knew it wasn't really a question.

Quickly grabbing her own jacket and pulling it on, Elena followed as they made their way outside and began their casual walk around the Lockwood's rather massive back garden. "As you've seen," Elijah lectured as they walked across the lawn. "Nothing can kill an Original. Not Sun, not fire, not even a werewolf bite. Only the wood from one tree. A tree our family made sure burned."

"That's where the white ash for the dagger comes from," said Elena. Amelia nodded at her, impressed with how quickly she'd pieced those two particular pieces together.

"Correct, Elena. You see, nature won't allow anything to be truly immortal. There must be a balance, and every creature needs a weakness in order to maintain that balance," Amelia explained.

"But if the sun can't kill an Original, then why is Klaus so obsessed with breaking the Sun and Moon curse?"

"Ah, the curse of the Sun and the Moon," Elijah sighed with a knowing grin as he looked back to Elena, coming to a stop along with his sister. "It's all so…biblical sounding, don't you think?" Elena frowned, looking back between the two knowing Originals, with equally knowing grins.

"What's so funny?" she asked, not getting the hint Elijah had laid out for her.

The two Originals shared a look before turning back to Elena. "Let me ask you something, Elena. How long did you have to look before finding out about the Sun and the Moon curse?" Amelia asked, leading her much as Elijah had.

Elena thought about for a second. "Not very long actually. Alaric found it after one trip to Duke."

"Rather convenient, don't you think?" Amelia continued with her grin still in place. "How if you look just beneath the surface you'll find it. One might even say that if any supernatural went looking for it they'd stumble across it sooner or later."

"I don't understand."

Another look between the two Original siblings before Elijah took over. "How about a little brotherly insight into Klaus then, perhaps that might help to clear things up." Elena's frown deepened, clearly having no idea what was happening. "For instance, it might interest you to know, that Klaus is quite the artist.

"And for someone of our age, there comes a point, in between the centuries, when you look for a way to pass the time. For Klaus, it was his art. He's dipped his brush – as it were – into many styles and cultures throughout the ages. He did a few Roman parchments, a couple of African carvings, and even a few Aztec drawings…" And as he trailed off, it finally clicked for Elena.

"So, you're saying…that Klaus drew the Aztec sketches about the curse?"

"Quite so," answered Elijah.

"And not just the Aztecs. We planted the legend of the curse into many other cultures from all around the world," added Amelia.

"But why?"

Elijah shrugged as if it were obvious. "Easiest way to discover the existence of a doppelgänger or to get your hands on some long, lost moonstone is to have every single member of two warring species on the lookout."

"So it's not Aztec at all?" Elena asked, only just feeling like she was keeping up.

"It's not from any culture," answered Elijah.

Thankfully for Elena, Amelia took it from there and elaborated. "The curse of the Sun and the Moon…is fake, Elena." And for the second time they watched Elena's jaw drop in disbelief. "It doesn't exist," she added to ram the point home, before she and Elijah turned to continue walking.

From behind, Elena stood still for a moment. The gap between them growing as she simple stood and took in the fact that this curse she'd heard so much about, and that so many people had died over…was a lie.


	39. Truth and Trust

_Review responses:_

 _Bornkiller9: Welcome aboard! So glad to hear that your enjoying the story and everything that comes with it! And yes, it is Sarena. ;) And I would love to get all the way to the end of the show, we'll just have to wait and see._

 _Getting into the good stuff now! I think from this point on, there's something in every chapter that I've been dying to write since I started this season! In this one it's mostly the emotional bits, which you'll soon see. Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 39: Truth and Trust**

* * *

Sarah watched as Klaus slowly twirled the thick kitchen knife around in his hand. A menacing grin on his lips as he took another precarious step towards her, Jenna and Stefan. And like last time, she nudged back an inch, pushing Jenna with her while Stefan now took up a position between his sister and Klaus.

"All this tension," Klaus chuckled suddenly as he took a lazy swing with the knife, as if trying to be playful. "You could cut it with a knife." He chuckled again at his own joke.

"Jenna, get outside, now. I'll be right behind you," Sarah said, eyes still on Klaus as she tried to go back another step only to bump into the suddenly firm Jenna.

"No, I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what this is all about," declared Jenna as Sarah looked back with pleading eyes, begging her to just listen and trust her. Her demeanour didn't change, as the amber blonde stared back defiantly. Maybe if she just told her everything she'd believe her and run, Sarah thought. But if she revealed it all now, then Klaus could twist her words and confuse Jenna even more. And without proof Jenna wouldn't be moving at all, but Sarah didn't really feel like scaring one of her closest friends with her vampiric features.

"Yes, Sarah," said Klaus cooly as he took another step, one away from striking distance. "Why not stay, sit down, having something to eat while we talk it over. Lay it all out on the table for Jenna."

Done playing his games, Sarah turned and grabbed Jenna's arm before forcing her to move into the hallway with a little added vampire strength. "We're leaving, now," Sarah declared, only for Klaus to take that last step to be within striking range.

"You're not going anywhere," he hissed, ready to swing the knife before Stefan shot forward and shoved him against the kitchen island. And having taken the blade from him, he now held the tip against his throat, digging in just enough to release a warning trickle of blood.

"Stefan!" Jenna shouted in shock, once again planting her feet firm as she stared with wide eyes back into the kitchen. Sarah had stopped pushing her too, now looking back to see if Stefan was in need of her help. But it seemed all their assumptions about Klaus being human while in Alaric's body were right. He had no vampire powers now, just Alaric's ordinary body which would be no match for a vampire on its own.

"Sarah, get Jenna out of here!" Stefan shouted without taking his eyes off Klaus.

"You won't kill me, Stefan," chuckled Klaus as if he'd already won. "And even if you do, I'll just take another body, maybe Jenna's." He shut up though, when Stefan pressed the knife that little bit more against his throat.

"What is he talking about?" exclaimed Jenna, looking to Sarah who was turning back and forth.

"Sarah, go! Now!" Stefan shouted again, snapping Sarah from her stunned state as she once again grabbed Jenna by the arm.

"You need to trust me, Jenna," Sarah pleaded with her, looking into those flaming green eyes.

"We can't just leave when Stefan's–" whatever she'd bee saying never got finished, as Sarah whisked them both out of the house at vampire speed. In a blur of black, Sarah had Jenna through the hallway, out the door, down the street and then out into the woods before finally stopping as Jenna shoved herself away from Sarah.

Glancing back, Sarah saw they were a decent enough distance from the houses that no one would hear them shouting. Because she was very much certain there was about to be some shouting, as she cautiously turned back to face Jenna and her shocked eyes. Her jaw open as she stared at Sarah with questions racing through her mind.

"What…What just happened – What did you just do?!" exclaimed Jenna.

Taking a breath, Sarah saw no other way than to just come clean about it all. "Jenna…I'm a vampire."

She let that sink in, watching the emotions swirling around at light speed through Jenna's green eyes. Eyes which quickly became horrified as they processed this singular fact. So, Sarah had to power on through, before Jenna lost it, and explain as much as she could in order to make Jenna understand – and above all, not fear her.

"So are my brothers. And there's so much more I've got to tell you, but for now you just need to know that you're safe and–" Jenna turned to run. She made it about five meters before Sarah then ran around to cut her off, making the terrified woman jump back and almost fall before Sarah reached out and caught her. Steading her until Jenna pushed her off and stepped backwards.

"Jenna, please. For your own protection you have to come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere with you, you–you monster!" Jenna shrieked, turning to run the other way only to find Sarah in front of her once again.

"I promise you can trust me, Jenna. I'm not going to harm you but Klaus – I mean Alaric will, and I need to take you to my house for your own safety," Sarah explained, stepping forward and grabbing Jenna's arm, ready to run them away again when Jenna started hitting her with rabid fists.

"Let go of me! Let go! Let go!" Jenna shouted as she fought. Tears flying from both sides as Sarah grabbed Jenna's other arm and forced her back against a tree.

She hadn't wanted to do this. She wanted to sit down and explain it all to her and let her react as she willed to the news. But things had changed now and Sarah needed to protect her. Unfortunately with Jenna in this state, that wasn't going to be easy. Which left Sarah with a difficult decision. One she hadn't wanted to do, but now seemed she had to.

"I'm sorry, Jenna. I didn't want to have to do this to you again," Sarah said, as her tearful eyes caught Jenna's. Her madly shaking head coming to a jerking stop as she stared into Sarah's compelling eyes. "You will calm down. You will come with me to my home and remain there until it is safe to leave."

With the compulsion complete, the fight left Jenna as she blinked it all away. But then a frown of shock and confusion took over, as fear slipped into her eyes. Sarah felt horrid for what she'd done. Memories of Katherine flashing through her mind briefly until she forced them back down.

She wasn't as bad as her. She did what she did to help protect Jenna. If she'd been like Katherine, she would have compelled Jenna to remain her friend. But she wanted that friendship to be real, like it had been, and never forced. Like Katherine had done with her.

"I hope you'll forgive me when this is over," Sarah whispered as she wiped away the tears from her eyes and started to walk towards home. As she did, Jenna quickly began to follow, asking frightful questions now that she was calm enough, but Sarah no longer had the heart to answer most of them. Simply saying they'd deal with it all once they got to the house, and after she'd phoned Elena.

It had been a while since she hated herself this badly.

* * *

"Klaus and the two of us faked the sun and moon curse dating back over a thousand years," explained Elijah as he gestured to Amelia at his side. The pair of them slightly ahead of Elena as they continued with their walk around the Lockwood grounds.

"But if there's no curse–" Elena began to ask before Elijah answered anyway.

"There's a curse. Just not that one."

"The real one's much worse," added Amelia, doing well to keep any thoughts or feelings from her face. "It's a curse placed on Klaus." Just then, for the umpteenth time, Amelia's pocket began to vibrate. They came to a stop by a pond, Amelia taking out the phone while Elijah and Elena continued with the conversation.

"What are you talking about?" Elena asked, while subtly glancing at her phone in Amelia's hands. Though both Originals caught her doing so.

"Klaus has been trying to break it for the last thousand years, and you are his only hope," Elijah explained over the continual vibrations of Elena's phone. Amelia having now checked to see who the caller was.

"What is this curse?" Elena asked, obviously trying to keep to her mission of regaining the Originals' trust. Rather than beg for her phone, like some teenagers would at this time.

"Elena, I think you might want to answer this," Amelia cut in, holding out the phone. With a frown, Elena looked over, surprised she was being allowed her phone privileges back, until she saw who was calling. It was Sarah.

Gratefully, she took the phone and quickly answered. "Sarah, is everything all right? How's Jenna, is she safe?"

"Yeah, I've got her back at our house now," Sarah answered with a sigh.

"That's good," Elena replied with a sigh of relief.

"Not exactly," Sarah then said with a tenseness to her voice. "When we got to yours, Klaus was already there. I got Jenna out but now she knows about me, Stefan and Damon…and she's not exactly taking it well."

Picking up on Sarah's sadness, Elena grimaced, knowing that Jenna's friendship meant a lot to Sarah. She was probably even more worried than Elena was right now, thinking about how this could ruin that friendship forever, now that Jenna knew what she really was.

"Oh, no."

"I had to compel her just to calm down and come with me," Sarah said, the shame breaking down her voice to a shake. "I'm sorry, Elena, I didn't have a choice."

"No, Sarah. I–I understand."

"I've given her some vervain tea now though, just to be safe. And I'm not worried about her running off. I compelled her to stay until we say it's safe for her to leave."

"Okay."

"But, Elena, I really think you need to come here and talk to her. She won't look me in the eye, never mind speak to me… She's terrified." Elena however, also heard the unsaid words that followed Sarah's last remark. _She's terrified of me._ And with those unsaid words in mind, it made everything else Sarah said sound that much more painful. It was clear she needed Elena as much as Jenna did right now, as someone to bridge the chasm that had just opened up between them.

"All right. I'll talk to Amelia and Elijah and let you know."

"Thanks. Be careful," Sarah added in goodbye, before they both hung up and Elena turned back to the Originals who'd been watching and listening throughout.

"Klaus went after Jenna and now she know everything. Please, I have to go and explain this all to her, make sure she's safe," Elena quickly began to plea.

"It sounds like she's safe to me," Elijah said, quoting Sarah's words back at Elena. "Shaken up yes, but nothing that can't wait."

"Please, Elijah. They need me."

"You may go," Amelia cut in before Elijah could say anything more to the contrary. Both turned to face her, equally surprised by her sudden declaration. "Go and tend to your family," Amelia said, a sideways glance to Elijah, as if her point had been made with that sentence alone.

"Thank you," Elena said, turning to run.

"Elena," Amelia then called after her. "Consider this a test of our trust in you. If you do not wish to lose everything you've gained so far today, you will return to us soon," she cautioned.

Elena nodded back in understanding. "I give you my word," she promised.

"That means nothing until you live up to it," Elijah reminded her curtly, before nodding as if to dismiss her. They then watched as she ran back across the lawn towards the Lockwood house, towards her car and then on towards the Salvatore house. And while she attended to her aunt, the two Originals would wait for her return. It was only then, once Elena was out of sight and Amelia turned back to her brother. That she noticed him staring off into the distance.

There was no need for her to enter his mind. She knew what he was thinking about. The past. The towards the end of the fifteenth century. When they'd first come across the doppelgänger know as Katerina. The doppelgänger which Elijah had fallen in love with, and brought all manner of trouble upon their family.

Even now, after all this time, she still wasn't sure whether he regretted it, or longed for it.

* * *

Opposite her, Jenna was sat on the couch in the study, and while she hadn't been freaking out like she had back in the woods, she had been crying the whole time. Sarah had wanted to comfort her, but with Jenna flinching every time she moved, she didn't think the woman would appreciate her comforting embrace. Even if Sarah needed it too. So, she sat on the foot rest opposite her, hunched over with her hands gripping her knees. Trying to seem less intimidating than she probably looked through Jenna's shaken eyes.

They'd both been sat like that for a while. Awkwardly avoiding each others gazes and quickly looking away when one checked to see if the other was looking. At times Sarah thought it better to leave Jenna alone, but whenever she did she couldn't bring herself to get up and leave. She just couldn't leave he friend alone and scared – even when it was her she was scared off.

Finally, Elena arrived, quickly striding across the floor and towards her aunt. "Oh, Jenna, thank God," Elena said in relief, only to then stop when she reached for Jenna and her aunt pulled away.

"No," Jenna breathed, fresh tears forming in her reddened eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Elena apologised, before looking to Sarah who looked back up at her. And in that look Elena saw Sarah hadn't been having the best of times either. She'd already heard it in her voice when she called, but in her eyes, those hurt green eyes… In a way, she was just as scared as Jenna. "We never meant for any of this to happen," she said, turning back to Jenna.

"When I was little, your mom used to tell me bedtime stories." Jenna paused, cautiously looking towards Sarah who met her eye. And for the longest time since she'd found out, they held each other's gaze. Just long enough for Jenna to say, "Stories about vampires…and monsters," and then she turned away. Tears breaking free as Sarah felt her own lips quiver. "I never thought that what she said could be true," breathed Jenna, trying to keep herself from full blown hysteria.

With anther look to Sarah, Elena said to her aunt, "Some of it is," admitted Elena, only to then hastily add, "But not all of it.

"Yes, some vampires are dangerous." At this Jenna looked to Sarah, the obvious question running through her mind. "Sarah's not one of them," Elena insisted. "And neither are Stefan or Damon. They're good people and I trust them. You have nothing to fear from them."

"How can you be so sure?" Jenna asked shakily.

"Because they've saved my life multiple times," Elena assured her.

"How long have you known about them?" Jenna then asked, catching Elena off guard a little.

She swallowed, "A few months now."

"And you never told me?" whispered Jenna, as if saying it too loudly might unleash Sarah's hidden wrath behind her saddened face.

"We…I, thought that if you didn't know, you'd be safe. But then it–it blew up in my face, and could have gotten you seriously hurt tonight."

"Because of Alaric?" Jenna asked, alarm in her voice as Elena nodded her head. Slowly, Jenna then dared another look at Sarah, who's gaze was lowered once more. "And you saved me?" she asked shakily, somehow managing to hold onto Sarah's startled gaze until she answered.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Sarah swallowed, sitting up a little. "Because you're my friend," Sarah insisted in as light a tone as she could. But Jenna only responded by shaking her head. Her lips tightly pressing against one another as more tears flowed out.

"No."

"Jenna, it's true," Elena said when Sarah did not – too busy trying to keep herself together. "You know it is." Again Elena reached to comfort her but Jenna flinched away, so she backed up to be with Sarah. "She's still the same person. There's nothing different about her."

"She's a vampire!" Jenna suddenly shrieked, only to throw herself back against the couch as fearful eyes turned on Sarah, thinking she was about to be punished. But instead Sarah only stared back at Jenna with a matching set of tearful green eyes. So hurt by the statement that she could only cry in silence as her eyes filled up with tears. At that moment she wanted to run out. To find Stefan or Damon or Lexi and just hold on until everything fixed itself. She wanted a friend, but it was becoming increasingly more clear that Jenna no longer saw her as that, but as a monster from bedtime stories long ago.

"Jenna," Elena said evenly, her aunt's gaze moving back onto her. Seeing a sudden seriousness in her niece's eyes which she'd never seen before. "Sarah's not a monster. She's not evil. And she's not going to hurt you. What she is, is my friend. One of my best friends. And yours too."

The seriousness then morphed into the kindness. A kindness Jenna recognised from ever since her niece was five and she came running up to meet her when she came to visit. "I know how you feel. You're scared and confused, just like I was when I first found out about all this. But I need you to know that Sarah is one of the people I trust most in this world. And I know you're only now seeing this side of her but it's just the other half of the girl you once told me was your friend. So, please, just give her a chance to show you that she's not the monster you think she is, and that she's still that same friend you remember." Elena was knelt down now, having come before Jenna and taken her hands. As they both looked over to Sarah, and Jenna finally saw beyond the monster, beyond the imagine she'd built up in her head. And she saw her friend, crying just as she was.

But even then she could still see the monster, even if it was now looming behind Sarah. Like a dark aura that had infected her. And possibly to her shame, Jenna looked away again, not knowing that every time she did she hurt Sarah just that little bit more, as the vampire tightly squeezed her eyes in a futile attempt to stop the tears.

"Does Jeremy know about all this?" Jenna suddenly asked Elena.

"Yeah," Elena whispered. "He found out not long after me… When he learnt about Scarlett."

"Scarlett's a vampire too!"

"No, no, no. She's not–" Elena quickly reassured the hysterical Jenna, only to then start scolding herself. She shouldn't have brought up Scarlett, not yet away. She was still digesting Sarah being a vampire and the existence of a vampires, and now she'd thrown Scarlett into the mix who wasn't even a vampire and only opened up more mad and frantic questions for Jenna to ask.

"What is she then?! A witch? A ghost? A dragon?!" cried out Jenna frantically, as Elena wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace, gently beginning to rock her back and forth.

"It doesn't matter, I can explain it all later. All you need to know is that your safe here and that we won't let anything hurt you."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jenna asked in between the tears and whimpers.

"I was trying to protect you."

"Protect me?" gasped Jenna, squirming out of Elena's hold and turning to face her with fresh tear stains along her reddened and sore cheeks.

"I'm sorry for lying to you this whole time, I really am, and I will tell you everything now–"

"No, Elena," Jenna cut in so she could explain herself, even if it was in a trembling voice. "I'm the one who's supposed to be protecting you and Jeremy. I'm responsible for you both. Not Sarah, not Scarlett, not Stefan, _me_. And I…I barely even know what's going on." And again she descended back into tears, as Elena once again pulled her into a hug.

For a further half an hour, Elena held Jenna as she blubbered and cried until she just simply couldn't do it any longer. Then they sat for another ten minutes in silence, the aunt and niece simply holding each other and comforting one another while Sarah watched from the foot rest. Wishing she had someone to hold her right now.

Then Elena began to move and Jenna looked up uneasily. "I'm going to have to go now, Jenna," Elena said, answering the unasked question with regret in her voice. "There's something I have to finish. But I promise, once I'm done I'll come straight back and I'll tell you everything."

"Where are you going?" Jenna asked, looking up at the niece that now stood over her.

"I'll explain it to you when I get back," Elena promised before looking over to Sarah. "Will you be okay if I leave you here with Sarah?"

There was a long silence as Jenna looked over to the vampire, once again seeing Sarah's exposed and hurt soul. Then slowly, she nodded to her niece. "Okay," Elena said gratefully, kissing her aunt on the forehead and giving her one last hug. "I'll be back soon. Just try and get some rest." Elena then said bye to Sarah and made her way out, leaving the two uneasy friends alone once more.

"Would you like anything more to drink?" Sarah asked after a moment, voice shaking ever so slightly.

Jenna shook her head.

"Anything to eat?"

Again she shook her head.

"Okay," Sarah said sadly, head once again lowering as she ran her hands through rave hair, parting it behind her ears as she did. This was not turning out to be the best day, and with the raised voices coming from the hallway it wasn't liable to get any better.

At first it had just been Stefan and Elena arguing about her going back to Amelia and Elijah. As expected she managed to persuade him after a moment. But then Damon blocked her off and the arguing voices got louder.

"Is everything all right out there?" Jenna asked as glanced back towards the door. The voices now so loud that they could hear exactly what was being said.

"I'll be right back," Sarah said calmly as she slowly got up and made her way out of the study. And the second she was across the room's threshold, her entire demeanour changed. She was no longer the timid girl afraid of loosing her friend, but a furious woman who _needed_ peace and quite to get through this difficult time. And not so surprisingly, this was among many other inconvenient points in time when her brothers decided to start fighting, as siblings often did. Unfortunately for them, they had Sarah as a sister.

All at once Sarah took in the situation. Elena, trying to leave. Damon, with his hand on Elena's, preventing her from leaving. Stefan, his hand on Damon's other arm, warning him to stand aside. The two brothers glaring of against one another, while Elena stood still between them, with Andie a few steps behind Damon.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Sarah shouted, sending all the tension in the hallway flying out the window as everyone turned towards her with varying degrees of shock. "For God sake, I can hear you from the other side of the house, without vampire hearing! Now, I've got Jenna in there trying to process everything that's just been dropped on her, and you two think nows a good time to have your little grudge match, because your upset over not being consulted in the plan. Maybe if you stopped and thought about it for five minutes, you'd both realise _this is wh_ y Elena and I didn't tell you about the plan, or involve you in it in anyway. Now both of you, let go of each other, let Elena do what she has to, and for once in your lives, be quiet!"

By the time Sarah finished, she was breathing heavily. Having to once again brush her hair back as it had fallen out of place during her rant. But to her credit, everyone had let go of each other and taken a step back. Although while Elena and Stefan both had their heads lowered in sorrow, Damon was glowering at his sister. "Look who suddenly got all high and might," he grumbled bitterly, but even without vampire hearing, Sarah heard it easily, as she clamped down on her jaw. A moment of preparation before opening it up to shout once more.

"Damon, don't push me!" Sarah warned, the look on her face making it very clear she was restraining herself but that that wouldn't last much longer if Damon continued. "I am trying not to freak Jenna out anymore than she already is, but if you insist on acting like a child then I will treat you like a child and throw your ass in the basement until I see fit to let you out! Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, mom," Damon mumbled back in a mocking impression of a child, and Sarah had to fight the urge to grab the nearest object and hurl it at him.

Thankfully though, it seemed getting the last word in was enough for him. When nothing more was said he turned on his heels and strode back down the hallway, taking Andie as he went. Once they vanished into the living room, the tension in the hallway all but vanished, as Elena looked back to silently thank Sarah. "Just go, before he changes his mind," Sarah said, and Elena quickly made her way out the door before Damon did just that.

Once they heard the car engine, Sarah and Stefan shared a final look, before they parted for the time being. He made his way up to his room for some peace and quiet – as well as for a place to cool off – while Sarah returned to the study to make sure the rowing hadn't upset Jenna worse than she'd already been. But to her pleasant surprise, when she walked back in, she found Jenna with a mild gasp and something like admiration in her eye for a brief moment.

"Sorry about that," Sarah apologised, once again taking on the role of timid little girl. "Are you sure there's nothing I can get you?" she asked as she sat down on the foot rest once more, just wanting to help Jenna in anyway possible. Anything that would keep her busy and possibly help with their friendship.

"No. No, I'm good thanks," Jenna said, her own timid look returning as they both slid back into the familiar discomfort. It felt so unnatural for them both to be like this, almost to the point of silly. Especially when they'd been able to talk to each other so easily before. And when that thought occurred to Jenna, she looked back to Sarah, finally seeing her and only her. No monster looming in front or behind. That was the girl who'd been her friend.

* * *

As she felt her back press against the wall, Leiah managed to grin for a brief second before Greta captured her lips in a heated kiss. Another second and she'd pulled back, muttering a silent spell through moving lips. Next thing Leiah knew, there was a flower blossoming from in between her breasts – where the stem vanished into her crop top. Her favourite flower in fact. A yellow rose with fierce orange tinted edges to the petals.

Plucking the flower from her bosom, Leiah gave it a delicate sniff, before a feisty grin slid its way onto her lips, as she looked back up to Greta's warm brown eyes. "You know me so well," Leiah giggled, before grabbing Greta by her jacket and pulling her into another kiss. Her back once again pressing against the wall.

"Don't mind me," Maddox mumbled as he walked by them and into the apartment building. The same one Leiah and Greta were making out against. "I'll just carry this all up myself," he said, gesturing back to the two compelled men Leiah had picked up to help with all of Klaus' stuff.

"Awe, is someone upset because he's being left out?" Leiah teased, reaching over to scratch at Maddox's chin. He pulled back, working hard to maintain his neutral expression while Leiah and Greta giggled at him. In all honest he wasn't the type to get jealous. Plus he knew the occasional fling with Leiah was nothing to obsess over. It was just her way of blowing off steam or having a bit of fun. Although he would prefer it if he didn't have to see her making out with other people right in front of him. That was unless he was invited to join in.

Sadly, that had not been the case here, or back where they'd been to collect Klaus' things. Upon arrival, while Maddox and the compelled help had been moving everything into the van, Leiah had been inside having yet another, 'quick,' session with Greta. To hold her over during the ride back to Mystic Falls. And the whole way back Greta had teased him about not being involved while Leiah just soaked up the drama with a joyful smile. Now they were out the car and she was trying to prolong the fun that little bit more by making out with Greta before entering the building where Klaus' host body resided.

"Don't worry, Maddox. I'll make it up to you. Promise," Leiah whispered seductively. Though it lost a little of its charm for Maddox, as while she was saying it and looking at him, Greta had been planting kisses along the Original's neck. Rolling his eyes, he made his way inside, Leiah and Greta's laughter on his back as the compelled men followed him with Klaus' bags.

"We should probably go with him," Greta pointed out in between kisses.

"But all the fun's down here," protested Leiah with another sly grin, as her hands moved around Greta's waist and down behind her back. Giving a squeeze when she found her desired target.

"And Klaus is up there, waiting," Greta argued a bit more firm. Taking a hold of Leiah's hands as the playfulness left her, and removing them from her rear. She could be a fun one, that was when Klaus wasn't in need of her skills or abilities. For when he called on her, Greta came running like the good little soldier she was. It was a quality she and Maddox shared that Leiah found to be annoying at times. It would be so much better if they were loyal to her over Niklaus.

"All right, fine," sighed Leiah in annoyance, brushing back her blonde hair before she then had an idea. "Before that though, hold this," she said, holding out the flower Greta had created. Taking it, Greta held it before her as Leiah brought out her phone to snap a quick picture. With the flower taking up the centre of the screen and the smiling Greta acting as the backdrop, Leiah took the photo before smiling at her phone screen. How she loved the modern phone. What could be better than an instantaneous camera that was built into a phone that fit in your pocket? Answer; nothing, in Leiah's opinion.

"Okay, now we can go up," Leiah said, grabbing one last kiss from Greta as she took back her flower. Then hand in hand, the pair made their way up the stairs and into the teacher's apartment, where Klaus and Katerina were waiting for them.

At the sight of his sister and another of his powerful and loyal witches, Klaus broke out into a smile – using the teacher's face of course. "Greta. Finally," Klaus greeted warmly, as the two compelled men walked back outside. Once they passed, Greta pulled her hand from Leiah's and made her way before Klaus.

"Hello, Klaus," Greta replied, giving his new body a look over as she grinned. "Nice body. You ready to get out of it?" If Klaus' smile was anything to go on, he most definitely was.

"What? No love for your favourite, sister?" Leiah asked indignantly as she gestured to herself.

"Well, what with your little stop with Maddox before you left – and of course your inevitable delay with Greta when you arrived – I would have thought you'd have no need of my love, dear sister," teased Klaus with a very, 'Klaus,' grin – despite his foreign body.

"Fine," pouted Leiah as she marched forward, taking Greta's hand forcefully. "Since your not going to appreciate me, I'll be borrowing your witch until tomorrow morning. Good luck getting back in your body while I'm blowing her brains out." She tried to march off with Greta then, but Klaus quickly grabbed hold of Greta and yanked her back to his side.

"I think not, sister," he said smugly. "You've had your fun with her, now let me have a turn before you have another go." He then glanced over to the open door, his grin broadening as the two compelled men rolled in a trunk big enough to hold a fully grown man. Or one ancient Original vampire.

Still grinning he turned back to find his sister instead pouting at him. "Don't worry sister. While I'm using Maddox and Greta, I've got another toy for you to play with." He then gestured across to the couch, where a suddenly wide eyed Katerina was sat, and at the sight of her Leiah perked up.

"Thank you, Niklaus."

"My pleasure," he replied, as he watched the short, and yet somehow still threatening Original, advance on Katerina.

"Now then, let's resume our little photoshoot," Leiah declared, somehow managing to capture both a menacing and playful tone at the same time. Enough to make Katherine shiver all over as Leiah grabbed her chin and began to compel her.

* * *

While awaiting for Elena's return, Amelia had expected a great many things to go wrong. She'd expected news from Elena of her not being able to return, of her friends coming to try and subdue them once more, of Klaus and Leiah coming to pay them a visit for old times sake. Thankful, the time in which Elena was away was quiet and peaceful. When the night drew in she and Elijah returned to the Lockwood mansion where Carol was more than happy to share a drink with them while they waited. But with a busy day tomorrow, she didn't stay up late, and retired leaving Elijah stood by the lit fire and Amelia in an armchair. In her hands she held a glass of wine, nursing it until she and her brother heard the front door open and close. And then in walked Elena.

She strode into the room, a woman on a mission. Removing her jacket and laying it down on the coffee table as Amelia said, "Welcome back." Her getting however, was not reciprocated as Elena folded her arms, gaze switching between the two Originals but never once losing any of its purpose.

"Tell me. What is Klaus' curse?" asked Elena plainly, as if she'd never left.

Amelia shared a look with Elijah, shrugging as she lifted her glass of wine for a sip. She had to admit, she was growing more fond of this doppelgänger. "Please," Elijah said, gestured to the couch opposite him and Amelia. Elena obliged as Elijah sat down his glass of wine, doing the same with his sister's when she handed it to him.

Then, picking up the story where they'd left off, Elijah said, "Our family was quite close when we were human. But even then, Klaus and our father did not get on too well. When we became vampires, we discovered the truth. Klaus was not our father's son.

"Our mother had been unfaithful many years before. This was her darker secret."

"As you might imagine, relations between our father and Klaus did not improve with this knowledge," Amelia picked up. "Their relationship grew even more…violent. And it didn't stop there. This revelation had our father hunt down and slaughter not only Klaus' true father, but his entire extended family as well. Of course, it wouldn't be until many centuries later that we'd all come to realise that in this act, our father ignited a war between the species."

"A war between the species?" asked Elena, not following.

"The vampires…" Amelia said before a pause.

And after, Elijah continued with, "…And the werewolves."

The frown that had already been consuming Elena's face intensified as she thought this over, closing her eyes as if to visualise it before opening them back up. "So…Klaus' real father was from a werewolf bloodline? What does that make Klaus? A werewolf, or a vampire?" Elena asked, on the edge of her set as she stared back at the emotionless masks the Originals had suddenly donned. They looked towards each other, silently deciding whether to tell her before both looked back to the curious brunette before them.

"He's both," Amelia answered with a thin and most certainly terrifying smile. Watching as Elena gasped widely in response.

"But… But what does that mean?" the doppelgänger struggled to get out.

"A hybrid would be deadlier than any werewolf or vampire. Nature would not stand for such an imbalance of power. Therefore the witches, the servants of nature, saw to it that our brother's werewolf side would become dormant," Elijah explained as it clicked for Elena.

"That's the curse that Klaus wants to break?" she declared, still leaning forward on the edge of her seat, wrapped up in the conversation.

"Yes," answered Amelia. "And in breaking the cures he would become a true hybrid, half vampire, half werewolf. This would then allow him to sire his own bloodline – create his own species, just like him. One that would be deadly to everyone and everything."

"But you both helped him? Why?" asked Elena, now on her feet.

"We helped him because we loved him," answered Amelia with a sad look in her eye, a memory flashing before her eyes from a time long ago.

"That's changed," Elijah cut in.

"And now he must die," Amelia concluded just as plainly once more. The sadness wiped from her eyes and replaced with an unwavering determination.

"But you have the daggers now," pointed out Elena eagerly. "You can use them to stop him."

"The daggers were forged to deal with us, the Original vampires. The witches that created them had no idea of Klaus' true heritage," explained Elijah.

"And even while the werewolf part of him remains dormant, it seems its presence in his blood is enough to prevent the dagger from working on him. They were made to be used against vampires, not werewolves. Ergo, for someone who is half vampire and half werewolf, the daggers are useless against them," concluded Amelia, subtle brushing her coat and making sure that the dagger Elena had given her earlier was still there. It was, to her relief.

"So, there's nothing that can kill Klaus?" Elena asked nervously as she folded her arms.

"There's one way to kill any supernatural species…at the hands of the servants of nature themselves," responded Elijah.

"A witch," Elena nodded. "If they can channel that much power. But it would kill them," she said sighing as she let her head fall back.

"Not quite," countered Amelia, as Elena's eyes snapped towards her. "You see, the curse must be broken during the full moon. And once the curse is broken, Klaus will immediately go into transition – from man to wolf."

"That's when he'll be at his most vulnerable," interjected Elijah pointedly. "A witch with enough power _can_ kill Klaus in that moment and live." And with that Amelia saw relief and hope fill Elena's eyes as she took in a slow breath.

"What if I told you both, that I knew a witch that could channel that much power?"

"Then we would tell you there's one more thing that you should know," Elijah replied.

From there Amelia took over, her gaze lowered from Elena's and her brother's while she spoke. "Over five hundred years ago, when we first met Katerina, my brother discovered through a coven of witches, a means in which to preserve the life of the doppelgänger, while still using her in the sacrifice."

"You found a way to save the life of the doppelgänger?" Elena whispered slowly, as if saying it any louder might shatter this glimmer of hope before her.

"Yes, Elena. I did," admitted Elijah as he picked up Elena's jacket for her. "But unfortunately, Katerina took matters into her own hands first. I believe you already know how that played out." He held Elena's jacket out for her, and she took it without ever looking away from his stern brown eyes.

"You cared about her, didn't you?"

"It's a common mistake, I'm told," Elijah mumbled quietly before heading for the front door, momentarily leaving Amelia and Elena in the sitting room.

"I think it's time we notified your friends of our alliance now, don't you?" Amelia spoke up, turning to Elena who suddenly had uneasy look on her face. Then slowly she nodded, pulling on her jacket as Amelia rose. Both following Elijah out to Elena's car so that she might drive them back to where this day all began, at the Salvatore house.

* * *

Once Jenna became more at peace with the fact that she would be staying in the Salvatore house, Sarah showed her to one of the guest rooms. All of them were kept in fine condition, thanks to the compelled maids that Damon had clean the house once a week. They usually came when everyone else was out and did a good job at coming and going without being noticed. The only room they didn't clean was Stefan's since he apparently preferred to do that himself.

Opening the door to the room nearest the stairs, Sarah led Jenna into what would class as a standard three or four star hotel room. It wasn't as lushes or as big as the rooms Sarah and Damon had, but then, they'd had their rooms modified for them – absorbing other rooms in the process, such as when Sarah expended her walk in wardrobe. Despite the size difference though, it was more or less the same room in layout. Same wooden carvings on the walls, a few pretty pictures, dresser, stool, bed and a bathroom. Something that nobody would object to spending a night in, unless they knew about the vampires living a few doors down.

"Will this be okay?" Sarah asked softly as Jenna walked into the room, giving it a curious look around. "It's closer to the stairs, I figured that would make you feel a bit safer. And you've got a window–" She cut herself off before she could point out the possibility of it being an escape route. For one thing Jenna was still compelled to stay until she was told it was safe for her to leave. But she also didn't want her feeling like a prisoner in the house either, especially when she was still fearful of her and her brothers.

"–And a bathroom there," Sarah had quickly added gesturing to the closed door across from the bed as she tried to cover her slip up. Jenna simply nodded, still not meeting Sarah's eyes as she sat herself down on the bed. Hands resting in nervous fists on her lap.

"I'll talk with the others about getting some of your cloths tomorrow." Jenna only had what she was wearing after all. "But if that's not possible your welcome to dig through my wardrobe for anything," Sarah offered, only to be met with the same silence, and that far off haunted look Jenna had been mastering for the last hour or so.

Sensing that she still wasn't ready to talk to her, Sarah backed up a few steps as she said, "If you need anything just shout, I'll hear." She turned regretfully, wishing like she had been for the past few hours that things could be better, or that it could go back to the way they'd been before. "When Elena gets back I'll send her up." She was at the door now, stepping out and about to close it behind her.

"I'm sorry," came the quiet shameful whisper, as Sarah quickly turned back around to look through the door she'd begun to close. She was frozen in the action, her hand still on the knob and only her left foot still in the room, while her head was now craned to look back at Jenna. The amber blonde's tearful green eyes finally looking back into Sarah's with a sizeable decrease in her terror. She was still frightened, still coming to grips with this new world she'd found herself in without any say. But Sarah could tell she was looking at her like she was a person, not just a monstrous vampire. And the thankfulness in her eyes must have been overwhelming, because then Jenna started to cry again, shameful tears falling from those dull emerald eyes of hers.

"I–I don't…I don't want to be scared of you. I know you're-you're…"

Sarah nodded, showing she didn't need her to say anything more. "I understand," Sarah said with a timid smile, tears of her own forming and making her smile look so innocent. "It takes time, to take it all in. It took Elena a few days to get used to it. It took me…longer." While Sarah was ready to pour out her heart and tell Jenna everything about her past, she knew an emotional overload wasn't going to do the woman any good. Let her process the surface of her world, before she dragged her down into the shadowy depths of it.

"And for the record. You're handling all this brilliantly," Sarah laughed, wiping her tears away as she tried to sound supportive. Jenna let out a nervous laugh to, and for the first time in what felt like forever, the two were smiling at one another again.

"Do you… Do you mind if I ask, how old are you?" Jenna put forward, leaning from her place on the bed.

"I think that's something we'll leave until later," Sarah said softly, worried the answer might scare Jenna back into her timid state. But upon seeing the disappointment in her lowered gaze, Sarah decided to give her a hint at the answer. "But…let's just say I'm _more_ than old enough to be your grandmother."

"So, that would mean your old enough to drink," pointed out Jenna, now nervously fiddling with her hands before suddenly looking back up to Sarah's eyes from her hunched position. "Kinda makes me a bit of a bitch for cutting you off at the Grill." Sarah hadn't be sure if laughing was the correct response, but when she saw Jenna smile again she knew she'd been right.

"Yeah, yeah it kinda does I guess," said Sarah as she brushed back her dark raven hair so her smile could be seen more clearly.

"I'll probably have to make that up to you at some point." She was trying, and Sarah could see that and it warmed her heart. She'd been terrified of this phase going on for weeks, and yet already Jenna was approaching the bridge back to Sarah and their friendship. She wasn't all the way there by any means, and it would take time, but it was enough to put Sarah's doubts and fears at bay for now. Something which she was truly grateful for.

"I'll settle for you letting me share a drink with you when your ready," Sarah countered.

"Not the bloody kinda…right?" Jenna asked, fears getting the better of her again as she swiftly looked away.

"No. I'd much rather share a shot or a beer if you like?"

Jenna looked back up, the casualness in Sarah's voice making it sound much more…normal. And in that moment she'd needed just that. A normal invite from a friend to go out and just talk some time. "Yeah. I'd prefer that too," agreed Jenna with another soft, timid, smile.

Feeling like there was nothing more to be said, Sarah nodded back to her firmed, before slipping out of the room and closing the door. Once out of sight, she allowed herself a bigger smile, so glad that she was finally making progress with Jenna again. It was true their friendship would never be the same now, but she knew she didn't want to lose Jenna from her life. She just wasn't ready to go through that kinda of lose again. It hand't even been a year since Lexi…

The smile on Sarah changed then. Going from big and hopeful, to small and sadly reminiscent.

But then a bang from down stairs, only just caught by her vampire hearing had her snapping from her thoughts as she raced down to the study in a blur. There, she found her two brothers, arms locked around one another as they snarled angrily at each other. It wasn't hard to tell they were in the middle of a fight. Probably the continuation of the one they'd almost had earlier, when Elena was leaving to rejoin the Originals. Only this time they had come to blows.

Sarah could see that one of the bookcases had been broken. A couple of its shelves still clung from the inside holding up a few fallen books, but otherwise the area around it was covered in splintered wood and damaged books form whoever had crashed into it.

Without a moment to lose before they damaged anything further – or worse, got Jenna worked up again – Sarah leapt over the banister between her and her brothers, and dashed over towards them. Once close enough, she grabbed each by the chest and pushed them back away from one another. But despite her intervention, their eyes were still locked. A mad fire in both the green and blue sets of eyes, one that would not be so easily extinguished.

"Stop it!" Sarah shouted but if they'd noticed her they showed no sigh, as they charged back at each other with Sarah caught in the middle. She might not be entirely sure what was going on between her brothers – though she had a few ideas – but she knew she couldn't let this nonsense continue. So she stood her ground, arms out stretched and ready to prevent the two from being able to strike one another.

Initially it worked, as she managed to keep them both at arms length. But then together they threw her aside into the couch and swung for each other, the pair shouting and snapping like lunatics as they briefly came to blows, before locking each other in a hold once more.

Again Sarah forced them apart and said in unison with another voice, "Stop!"

Her brothers froze. Their blue and green eyes clashing as that fire dimmed enough to be controlled. Looking between them, Sarah searched for any sigh of one of them being about to move, but they remained still as they glared. Then, thankfully, they took a step back, and all three turned towards the doorway to see Elena who'd shouted along with Sarah. Only she wasn't alone. Stood along side her was Elijah and Amelia, now inside the Salvatore home. But at that moment, their eyes seemed glazed over, as they started at the three siblings that had been fighting not a moment ago. As if both remembering a similar moment from their own history.

* * *

Amelia was making her way along smooth stone corridors when she heard the commotion from up ahead. With sudden haste, she picked up the front of her long dress and ran the rest of the way. The castles walls, tapestries and candle light, flew by before she appeared in the stone archway that lead into the chamber. Once there, she gasped in horror, seeing Elijah against the fireplace with Klaus holding him there. His vampiric features emerging as he leaned in towards his brother.

"Niklaus!" shouted Amelia abruptly, blue eyes wide with shock as both her brothers turned towards her. Though neither moved from the position they were in.

"What in the name of sanity is going on in here?" demanded Amelia as she marched into the room. The front of her blue dress still held up as to not hazard her purposeful stride.

"Katerina has fled the castle!" snapped Klaus angrily, before once again throwing Elijah against the fireplace's mantel with enough strength to have the stone work crack. "And it's his fault! All because of his affections for the girl."

"Niklaus, I can't believe that to be true," declared Amelia boldly, instantly regretting it once her brother's gaze found her. All his anger towards Elijah now briefly taking aim at her. And in that moment, she was quite sure this whole experience would end in either herself or Elijah being daggered. That was unless they could retrieve the doppelgänger.

"I don't bloody care if you believe it or not!" Klaus snapped, before being thrown back across the room and into the wall. He was back up on his feet in the blink of an eye though. His hateful gaze once again on Elijah, whose firm figure stepped forward.

"That's enough, Niklaus. If you must direct your anger at someone then direct at me, not Amelia or any of our other sisters," Elijah informed him calmly, while looking more than ready for a fight. He was right to, as without warning Klaus charged at him, but Elijah stood his ground only skidding back ever so slightly as the two locked their arms around one another while trying to push the other back.

"Brothers, stop this madness!" cried out Amelia as she stepped towards them, only to receive both of their fiery glares.

"Get out, Amelia!" roared Klaus as the blood filled his eyes along with the familiar black veins beneath. His voice, loud enough to make the castle's stone walls tremble, told Amelia just how angry her brother was in that moment. And yet somehow Elijah was still able to hold him at bay, at least for the moment. But she knew Klaus would overpower him in a moment or two, it was only a matter of time. It was well known Klaus was the strongest of all the Originals and Elijah would need her to help contain him.

Instead however, Elijah said to her, "Go, Amelia. Wake our sisters and summon the guards. We will join you shortly."

She wanted to stay. To help him deal with Klaus like they always did. But something in his eyes told her that he thought himself guilty of what Klaus was accusing him off. That he had cared enough for the doppelgänger to let this happen and that somehow because of his feelings this whole event was his fault. And he wanted to be punished for it. So he would stand alone against Klaus, and take his punishment. The honourable Elijah. And his supposedly honourable sister, Amelia, who turned and left her brothers to their dispute.

As told, she went and woke her sisters and the guards, summoning everyone to the courtyard. Once there they waited until Klaus emerged from the steps above, flanked by an already healed Elijah. Walking side by side as if nothing had ever happened. But it had happened, and Amelia, the ever knowing sister, knew it had. And as she watched them descend the steps towards her, she felt so ashamed for not having stepping in – to resolve their conflict in a civilised manner.

Their family then mounted up, riding out into the forest with the castle guards, as the hunt for the doppelgänger begun once again.

* * *

"So now you've invited them in?" snapped Damon as he angrily gestured to the two Originals at Elena's side, snapping whatever daydream they'd both been having.

"We've renewed the terms of our deal," Elena said calmly, looking specifically at Damon. Stefan was still a little on edge by the Originals presence inside the house, but he'd yet to make a move or say anything. All he'd done so far was stare curiously at the two, with Sarah still in between her brothers just waiting for something to go wrong, like it normal would.

"Really?" scoffed Damon.

"The two of you will come to no harm at our hands," explained Elijah nodding to each of the Salvatore brothers.

"What about Sarah?" asked Stefan, a frown line appearing.

Although it just as quickly vanished when Amelia said, "She wasn't among those who conspired to kill me and my brother." At her curt words Stefan bowed his head in understanding. Regret passing through his lowered eyes before he looked back up.

"We only ask for one thing in return," continued Elijah.

"What?" spat Damon.

"An apology," answered Amelia with a touch of smugness to a very thin grin.

Damon scowled back at her but said nothing as he looked to his siblings. Sarah merely shrugged, not seeing it as all that bad – but then again, she wasn't the one being forced into grovelling. Stefan however, took it better with a deep breath, before he stepped up towards the banister around the study's separated floors. "I'm sorry for the part I played in betraying you both," he said loud enough for everyone to hear while looking up at the two Originals. "I was protecting Elena." His gaze then switched to her as he smiled and she smiled back. "I will always protect Elena."

"We understand, Stefan," replied Amelia humbly, bowing her head in return before his gaze swiftly moved to Damon. Eyes narrowing at the far harder challenge ahead of her and her brother. And while the blue eyed vampire shook his head angrily in disagreement at his brother, every other eyes had come to land upon him alone.

"The sacrifice is going to happen, Damon. Bonnie will be able to kill Klaus without hurting herself and Elijah knows how to save my life. I told you I'd find another way. And I did," explained Elena.

"Is that true?" Damon quickly asked the Original, eyes focused like a laser on him. Watching for any sign of deceit. In truth, Sarah was doing the same. Just because the Originals had agreed to help Elena, didn't necessarily mean they wouldn't double cross her out of revenge. They might both be noble, as proven by their actions previously, but as the old saying goes, 'An eye for an eye.'

However, without hesitation or any sign of lying, Elijah answered, "It is."

"And you're trusting them?" Damon shot out, eyes back on Elena.

"I am," answered Elena firmly.

"Then you're an idiot," Damon declared bluntly, before his blue eyes turned on his brother and sister. "You all are," he bit out, before storming out of the room and towards the stairs.

"I'm sorry," Sarah apologised to the Originals on her brother's behalf. They both nodded, as if understanding, or perhaps anticipating this response, before Sarah jogged from the room and after Damon.

She had to talk to him. Find out what was going on inside his head and try to make him see sense for Elena's sake. But Sarah also knew her brother and his stubborn pig headedness, and knew it wasn't going to be easy getting through to him. Especially when he was still working through his feelings for Elena, feelings Sarah could tell he still hadn't figured out – even if she had given him the answer already.

Making her way up the stairs, Sarah continued on towards Damon's room until she heard her brother's voice from up ahead. "I thought I told you to leave." He was angry still, but Sarah hadn't recalled him telling her to leave. She came to a stop, frowning at his door which was still several meters ahead of her. The door open just enough for her to hear through without having to rely on her vampire hearing.

"You didn't compel me," sang out Andie uncertainly from his bedroom. Upon which, Sarah realised that her brother wasn't even aware of her yet. She continued on silently towards his door, stopping outside as their conversation continued.

"I want to be here," instead Andie as she stepped towards Damon. "Just let me be here," she pleaded.

Then suddenly through the gap in the door Sarah saw that Damon had grabbed Andie by the head. Holding her directly in front of him as he glared such intense anger into her eyes that Sarah thought for sure Andie would scream unless he compelled her otherwise.

"I'm upset," Damon snarled, and Sarah could feel the internal conflict within him in that moment. "And you know what happens when I'm upset. You have to leave," he pleaded in return. Almost begging as his angry glare turned to a sad pleading look that consumed his face, as if it'd just been splashed with water.

"No," Andie replied firmly, taking his suddenly delicate face in gentled hands. "You need to know that somebody cares about you. That I care about you, Damon."

Sarah gasped, already anticipating Andie's next words. She'd just thought she was his play thing, that everything between them was because of the compulsion, but now she could see it. See it through Andie's eyes. "Damon I lo–" Grabbing her jaw and squeezing, Damon cut her off as his contorted face switched back to anger.

"Don't say that," he begged, squeezing more tightly so Andie had no chance to say anything as she began to struggle in his grasp. "Please, don't. I can't hear that. I don't want to hear that. The last time…" He bit down on his lip, fighting back tears that had suddenly began to fall down his cheeks.

 _Rose…_ Sarah thought sadly as she watched her brother's very own tragedy play out before her.

"Only two things happen to the woman I love," Damon heaved out through laboured breaths, as the tears continued. "They betray me… Or they die!" he shouted, suddenly jerking Andie around in his hands. "And I can't have her die!" Damon groaned, repressing a scream as his emotions consumed him suddenly and he reached forward with his fangs and bit into Andie's neck.

She screamed, and Sarah automatically burst into the room, at which point Damon shoved Andie away. "Damon, what are you–!"

"No!" Andie shouted from the floor, already pushing herself up with one hand clutched around her bloodied neck. Both Damon and Sarah's shocked gazes shot to her, as she fought her way back up to her knees and looked up to Damon through her own sorry eyes. "It's okay."

Damon started shaking his head, falling to his knees in front of her. "No. No, it's not okay, Andie. I can't go through that again. I can't have you turn out like–" he cut himself off with a heavy breath, before once more taking Andie's face in his hands, turning her eyes towards his.

"Andie, you don't lo-"

Before he could finish Sarah shoved him aside, breaking his mental hold on Andie as Sarah took over. Forcing Andie's gaze to meet hers, she quickly compelled her and said, "Go home, Andie, and get some rest." Though there was obvious reluctance in her eyes, she obeyed Sarah's order and rose to leave, collecting her cloths from Damon's bed as she did. However, when she reached the door, she stopped to look back at Damon, who was still hunched over on the floor breathing heavily.

"It's okay," Sarah said with a reassuring smile to the woman. "I'll look after him. Just go home and get some rest," she urged, letting the compulsion do the rest as Andie left the room.

With her gone, Sarah turned back to find Damon crawling towards the fireplace, using it to then help himself climb back up. "Why do you keep pushing everyone away, Damon?" Sarah asked with a sorry look to her brother's back, as he refused to turn around, still leaning against the fireplace. "Andie loves you, it's obvious. And I don't believe you compelled her to." She then paused, watching him closely as she then said, "And I think you probably love her too, in some way."

At her words Damon tensed, his grip on the mantel tightening as he took in a trembling breath of anger.

"She would be good for you you know–"

"Well, who asked you!" snapped Damon as he swung around, his mood back to anger as tears flew from his scornful blue eyes. "It has nothing to do with you. Why can't you go and stick your nose somewhere else for once, you nosy little brat! When are you going to realise that just because your my sister doesn't give you the right to meddle with my life!" roared Damon angrily as he advanced towards Sarah, towering over her with his furious and trembling blue eyes. The tears still coming.

"I'm just trying to help–"

"I don't want your God damn help, Sarah!" cried out Damon, limbs flying as Sarah grimaced – half expecting one to hit her. "You were bad enough with Rose and looked at what happened to her! I don't know if you've noticed a pattern yet, but every time you get your nose stuck into my business people die!" It wasn't true and he knew. Yes people died a lot around them, but he was reaching with that one.

The simple truth was he was just angry and in his burst of rage his other bottled up emotions were starting to come out. His love for Rose, the woman who'd died just as he was realising his feelings. And then there was of course, the Elena issue, in which his feelings for her had now gotten tangled up with Andie. That was why he was trying to send her away, believing it was him and that everyone he loved was going to die because of what _was_ happening with Elena and what _had_ happened with Rose. He just didn't understand his own feelings.

"Damon, I get that your worried about Elena. I'm worried about her too, but we have a plan to save her now and one that everyone else is onboard with."

"And I told you that your all idiots for thinking it's going to work," bit back Damon as he swiftly turned and stormed off towards the fireplace once more. No longer wanting to look at his sister.

"Damon, please," pleaded Sarah as she followed her brother across the room. "You have to realise that you don't love Elena in the same way that Stefan does. You only think that you do because of what she represents to you."

"Shut up," Damon growled without looking back.

"You have to move on from these feelings before they destroy our family. Elena's your friend, but nothing more than that. Obviously you still care about what happens to her but you don't have to love her to–"

"SHUT UP!" roared Damon as he swung around, grabbing Sarah by the shoulders and forcing her back – her heart leaping into her throat at her brothers sudden outburst. "Stop telling me how I feel! Stop telling me what my feelings mean! Just stop! For once in your God damn life, Sarah, Stop!" Damon yelled as he shoved her out of his room and slammed the door in her face.

But even with the door closed, Sarah could still hear her brother as he lashed out from within his room. Unable or unwilling to understand his feelings and what they meant. For nearly twenty minutes Sarah stood on the other side of his door, listening sadly as he thrashed around his bedroom, until he finally tired himself out, and collapsed face first onto his bed.

She stared at his door for another five minutes after that. Sadly watching his door until he finally fell asleep. Then she pulled herself away, turning to find Jenna's head pocking out her room.

"Need someone to talk to?" she asked softly. To which, Sarah couldn't stop herself from nodding.

* * *

Bent down, Leia snapped another photo with her phone, before standing up and smiling at the result. "What do you think?" Leiah asked Katerina, showing her the phone screen as the doppelgänger leaned over to look.

"It's a little satanic," she mumbled in response.

"Oh, good idea," Leiah agreed as she swiped at phone screen until the photo was covered in a red tinted filter. It made the scene before her and Katerina even more creepy.

The human sized trunk which carried her brother's body was now stood up right, in the centre of a circle of wax candles, all with flickering flames. Knelt before the trunk, was Maddox and Greta, who were both in the process of preforming the spell necessary for Klaus to return to his own body. And next to the trunk stood the teacher, who Klaus was still inside. His head bowed and eyes closed as the witches did their spell.

"Definitely saving that," Leiah said gleeful, as she saved the flittered imagine too, before putting away her phone to watch the spell's conclusion.

As the two witches' incantation died down, the flames on all the candles suddenly rose sharply. Leiah grinned when she felt Katerina jump from next to her. Then there was a silence, as the two witches looked up from their knelt position, the spell complete.

The teacher's body was still. Then suddenly it gasped for air, head tilting back as if awakened. Once he'd caught his breath he looked back down, confused at everything around him until he looked to Katerina with a questioning look. "Elena?" he gasped before his legs gave way and he collapsed inside the circle of wax candles.

"Well, I'd say that's a pretty good sign that it worked," Leiah said aloud as she stepped over the candles and made her way towards the trunk. Grabbing hold of the lid with one hand, she pushed it opened with ease. Smiling with a sudden rush of eagerness, as Klaus, in his true form, stepped out.

He looked around the room with his true eyes. Taking in everything he'd already seen through the teacher's. Then with his lips turning up in a charming, yet dark grin, he looked to his little sister. "What? No hug for your favourite brother?" taunted Klaus before Leiah threw her arms around _his_ chest.

"Oh, it's so good to have you back in your own body," cooed Leiah as she pulled back enough to look up at a grinning Klaus.

"The feeling is mutual, love," said Klaus before looking over to Katerina and smiling along with his sister, still wrapped in his arms.

"Best get your camera ready, Leiah. I've got a feeling that tomorrow night's going to be a once in a life time opportunity."


	40. Stake Through the Heart

_Review responses:_

Bornkiller9: _Thanks for the support! Hopefully this chapter will be even better, and it follows on from some of the things you enjoyed in the last chapter._

 _Thereas5155: I wished they'd saved her too! But you'll just have to wait and see what happens. Sorry!_

 _The final three episodes! This is so unreal suddenly. But it's so cool to have gotten this far and still be going, thank you all! So many moments in this chapter which I hope you enjoy, and it's only going to get better...or worse, depending on how you want to look at things. Although worse probably sounds about right from the characters position... Yeah, it's not looking to good for them. Yikes!_

* * *

 **Chapter 40: Stake Through the Heart**

* * *

It was the day of the full moon, and on that morning Sarah found herself sat in the study with Stefan and Elena, as Elijah and Amelia went over everything with them. For tonight, Klaus would break the curse placed upon himself, sacrifice Elena, and preform the ritual he'd been waiting centuries for. This would in turn, allow him to become something even worse than an Original vampire. He'd become the Original Hybrid.

Damon wasn't present with them for this however. He was still up in his room, and hadn't even come down for breakfast. He'd been hold up ever since what happened with Andie, when he'd also locked his sister out of his room. Jenna was another absentee. Figuring she'd need her rest, Elena and Sarah had agreed it best to leave her when they went to check on her and found her still asleep. Elena did bring her up something to eat, leaving it on a tray by her bedside. As far as Sarah could tell, her friend still hadn't awoken.

They'd had a good chat last night, though it had turned more into a lesson for Jenna on the supernatural. But it had been an effective and grateful distraction from everything else going on that night.

Shortly after breakfast, the two Originals returned to the house. The pair dressed in a familiar suit and raincoat, after having spent the night in their own dwelling – despite the offer to stay at the Salvatore house. Though those that made the offer could hardly blame the Originals for their refusal, especially since those that lived in the house had been primarily responsible for daggering them both.

"Tonight is the full moon," announced Elijah, stood before the fire place in the study while his sister sat in a nearby armchair. Her legs folded at the knee, and hands resting elegantly on her lap. Across from the two of them, Sarah sat in the other armchair while Elena and Stefan took the couch. "We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse."

"Elena told us that the Sun and the Moon curse is fake. That it's actually just a curse placed on Klaus?" Stefan asked, leaning ever so slightly forward with his fingers interlocked.

"Klaus is a vampire born of a werewolf bloodline. The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting. But if he breaks it…he'll be a true hybrid," Elijah explained warningly.

"Then why are we letting him break the curse?" objected Damon, making his way into the room from behind Stefan and Elena. With an irritated gaze that swept over everyone in the room, Damon made his way towards the fireplace, joining Elijah in standing before the assembled group. "We can kill him today. With Bonnie," he said pointedly to Elena, though it was Amelia who replied promptly.

"Yes. But in so doing, would cause the witch to die from the amount of power necessary to kill Klaus outside of his transition phase," Amelia put out naturally as Damon's narrowed gaze swung over to her. Still talking, Amelia kept up her emotionless mask as she proceeded, "Now, if that is the plan you wish to use then I personally have no objects. But as I understand it, that's not what Elena wants." She then turned on cue to the doppelgänger, as did Damon.

"I'm not letting Bonnie die when we can avoid it," Elena stated firmly.

"I'll write her a great eulogy," protested Damon as if that would be enough to sway Elena's stance.

"It's not an option, Damon."

Before the argument could go any further, Stefan quickly stepped in and asked the two Originals, "How do we break this curse?"

With a quick look between those he and his sister had decided to alley themselves with, Elijah then said, "Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward. The ingredients, so to speak, you already know."

"The moonstone," chipped in Stefan.

"A witch is then needed to channel the power of the full moon. Using this power, said witch would then be able to release the spell that's bound within the stone," explained Elijah before Amelia took over.

"After that, Klaus, being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each. After that, you come into play, Elena," she said with a pointed look to the doppelgänger. Elijah, meanwhile, made his way over to one of the bookcases and brought out the wooden box he'd brought with him.

Placing it on a table and opening, he said while doing, "Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelgänger…to the point of your death."

Sarah rolled her lips inward. She'd known it wasn't exactly going to be a drop of blood. The word sacrifice didn't imply anything that low key. But just hearing it made the whole thing that much more real. Before, the sacrifice and the ritual had been just words used to describe an event that might have never come to pass. But it was happening now, and now that those events were being explained to them, what they would involve and what would happen as a result of them… It made it all real and very scary.

From next to her, Stefan ran a desperate and worried hand over this face, taking Elena's hand as she gave him a comforting squeeze. It was safe to say she was taking this all in a bit better than he was. But then, she wouldn't be the one left feeling broken if this all failed. She'd just be dead. A fact which was easy enough to remember with Damon's critical glare on Elena, again trying to will her to his way of thinking. Though Elena was ignoring him, more interested in what Elijah was taking out of his wooden box.

"This is an elixir that I acquired some five hundred years ago for Katerina. It possesses mystical properties of resuscitation," he quickly said, trying to stop his mind from drifting back to all those centuries ago. He looked up from the bottle he'd taken out with something more friendly in his eyes. Almost hopeful. Or maybe reminiscent, judging by what he said next. "Believe me, this took some effort to obtain." He said it as if to validate the legitimacy of what he was holding, since something with this kind of power should be rare and verging on impossible to make.

"So I'll be dead?" Elena said slowly, eyeing the fancy shaped glass bottle in Elijah's hand.

"And then you won't," Elijah said as if it were that simple.

"That's your plan?" scoffed Damon.

"Damon…" Sarah warned, but her voice went unheard by her brother as he powered on.

"A magic witch potion with no expiration date?" He turned to Elena, trying to barter with her. "You want to come back to life, what about John's ring?"

"Damon, that ring only works for humans," Sarah pointed out, already tired of the brick wall that was her brother's stubborn nature.

"She is human!"

"No, she's a doppelgänger," Sarah corrected with a pointed look, and from Damon's reluctantly lowered gaze, she knew she'd made her point. The ring was just too risky to try when the evidence suggested it wouldn't work in their favour. The elixir provided by Elijah, while uncertain, at least had a more likely chance of success than that of the Gilbert ring.

"Perhaps an explanation of the elixir's process will put your mind at ease, Damon," offered Amelia, continuing on in spite of the glare from Damon. "Think of it like vampire blood. When a human drinks it, they die and come back as a vampire. This elixir works along those same lines. After Elena drinks, if she dies with it still in her system, then she'll come back to life – only not as a vampire, but as she was."

"And you just happen to have this all magical cure to everything in your back pocket this whole time," accused Damon.

"The elixir was designed for the purposes of the ritual. For it to be used in another way would leave it useless. So say Elena throws herself in front of a bus after consuming this, it would do her no good. This will only work, if drank before she is used in the ritual," explained Elijah carefully.

"So why hold onto it after Katherine?" asked Damon, searching for some hole he could exploit in his desperate attempts to change Elena's mind.

"Bitter sweet memories perhaps," Elijah offered up, face remaining perfectly still in the face of Damon's scowl.

"You can't seriously be okay with this," Damon said, suddenly turning back to Elena as Sarah and Stefan sighed. "What if this doesn't work?"

"Then I guess I'll just be dead," Elena said plainly as she met Damon's gaze. His jaw dropped, outrage and protest flying through his blue eyes as he looked to his siblings for back up. But Sarah and Stefan merely shrugged. This was what Elena wanted after all, and while it most certainly wasn't ideal or necessarily welcomed, it was what they would be doing because it was what she wanted. She was happy to put her own life at risk, but not anyone else's. And this was something, that for personal reasons, Damon just couldn't seem to grasp.

With one last scowl sent to those around the room, Damon once again stormed out of the study, apparently deciding now was a good time for him to get some breakfast. Once he was out of the room and those remaining had a chance to sigh, Elena asked, "Do we know if Klaus has everything he needs to do this? Does he have a werewolf?"

At that question Sarah's mind went to Scarlett, the only werewolf in Mystic Falls. Luckily though she was well hidden with Bonnie and Jeremy, safely out of Klaus' reach…or so she hoped. After this she'd give her a call and make sure she was okay.

"Klaus has been waiting to break this curse for over a thousand years. If he doesn't already have a werewolf, my guess is by tonight, he will," Elijah assured them all.

* * *

"Tyler, honey. It's your mother," said Carol Lockwood into the phone as she climbed up the stairs of her house. "I don't know where you are but I need you. I've had an accident and I'm in the hospital." At the top of the stairs she came to a stop, turning to face a smiling Leia and grinning Maddox. "Please, Tyler, come home," Carol Lockwood said, with Leiah and Maddox mouthing words along with her. After all, it was what Leiah had compelled Carol to say.

She then hung up the phone, nervously looking to the Original and her witch, knowing very well that she was being compelled. "That was excellent, Carol," Leiah congratulated her as she pulled out her own phone. "Now, I just need you to do one more thing for me."

"Yes?" asked an obedient and fearful Carol Lockwood.

"Smile," Leiah ordered, to which Carol did, all trace of her fear briefly vanishing as she posed for the photo at the top of the stairs.

Taking the photo, Leiah admired it for a second before going to take another. "We'll call that the before one," Leiah said, before Maddox lifted his hand and flicked his wrist. Suddenly Carol flipped through the air, flying over the banister of the stairs, and crashed down on the hard tiled floor below.

During the whole thing, Leiah had managed to take several quick shots of Carol's descent in mid fight. She was grinning at the results as she and Maddox approached the railing.

"And now, the after one," Leiah said, leaning over as she snapped one last picture, of Carol Lockwood face down on the floor after her nasty accident. The concussion from the fall would be enough to erase her memory of Leiah and Maddox, but the photo would be a nice reminder to Leiah personally.

"You do know how to show a girl a good time, Maddox," Leiah said, smiling a flirty smile to the witch as he grinned back. However, rather than proceed to kiss him, she instead called her brother as previously instructed. "Nik, I've got you your werewolf on an express delivery for Mystic Falls."

"You know, we could bypass all this bother if you'd just bring me that little crush of yours," pointed out Klaus in his usual cruel and teasing manner.

Leiah made a screwed up face at the air in front of her, imagining it was her brother instead. "I asked you to leave her alone unless absolutely necessary. You don't see me playing with your toys," she protested.

"Your so selfish, little sister," chuckled Klaus from down the line while Leiah continued to glare at the air ahead. Not realising Klaus' jab a hit closer to a nerve than she thought.

"Yeah, I am," agreed Leiah spiteful, as a smile formed. "Now excuse me while I go and bang your witch in every bedroom in this house before returning him to you." She hung up before he could get his reply in.

"Every bedroom?" asked Maddox with a raised brow.

Leiah thought it over for a moment. "Did you already call the ambulance?"

"Yeah," Maddox nodded.

"Maybe just the one then," Leiah said disappointedly. "I doubt Nik would appreciate me delaying his precious plans by having the paramedics join in with us." She glanced over the banister once more, taking another look at the unconscious Carol Lockwood. "You think it'd be too far if we chose her bedroom?"

"Possibly," answered Maddox, watching as Leiah smiled happily.

"Good," she said before grabbing him by the shirt and vamp speeding them into the master bedroom.

* * *

Stefan had gone outside to talk to Damon, who was current having a breakfast consisting of bourbon, and more bourbon. But considering the day and very long night that would be ahead of them, Sarah couldn't completely blame him. So while Stefan was trying to calm their brother down, Sarah remained behind in the study with Elena and the two Originals.

"I'm sorry about, Damon…again," Sarah said as she got out of the armchair.

"It's quite all right," reassured Amelia, remaining in her own seat. "Just so long as he doesn't do anything to ruin our joint plans, we shan't have a problem with him or his attitude. To be honest I can relate to your position." She glanced towards Elijah who was storing the elixir in the wooden box once more.

"You'd think he'd understand why I'm willing to do this," grumbled Elena from the couch, her arms folded.

"He does know why you're doing it," answered Sarah as she came in front of Elena with a sympathetic smile. "And he probably can understand it too. He's just not willing to accept it." She had been about to say more on the matter, keying Elena in on how Damon really saw her, but Elijah spoke up with his own question for Elena.

"Why are you so eager to do it? Sacrifice yourself in place of your friend?" It came out more curious than confused. Like he could understand the answer but not quite how Elena had gotten to it.

Looking down as if ashamed of it, Elena said, "I'm the key to breaking the curse." She then looked up at all those staring back at her from various spots around the room. "Klaus is only here because of me. If I don't give him what he wants, then he's going to hurt people, people I care about. That's it," she said shrugging so casually at the crappy hand she'd been dealt. "My choice. Easiest I've ever made," she added with a sigh, looking down at her hands as they nervously played with one another.

"I feel it only right to warn you, Elena, there is a chance this elixir might not work," Amelia cautioned.

"We wouldn't want you going through with this without knowing all the facts," added Elijah.

"I know the chance I'm taking," Elena replied, looking up once more, before a bang from the front door caught everyone's attention. At first Sarah had presumed it was just Damon coming inside after Stefan's talk with him, the bang explained by the simple fact that he was still pissed off. But they heard Jenna shouting.

"Get out!"

"Jenna, Jenna!" came the voice of Alaric, and Sarah was into the hallway like a shot. She came to a stop next to Jenna, mildly surprised by the crossbow in her hands before she followed its aim to Alaric, both his hands up. Shortly the others began filing in from either end of the hallway. Elena coming in behind Sarah and Jenna while Stefan and Damon were on the other side.

"Jenna, put the crossbow down, okay, it's me," said Alaric.

"Stay away from me," Jenna snapped, tightening her hold on the crossbow.

"Easy, Jenna," Sarah said as she placed her hand on top of the crossbow. She didn't lower it but was ready in case Jenna fired off an accidental shot. From the way he was acting it seemed like Alaric. But then again, she'd thought the same during the whole day of the Sixties decade dance, and that had been Klaus posing as him.

"What's going on?" Elena asked, stepping closer to Sarah and Jenna.

"It's me, Elena, I swear, okay? He let me go. Klaus let me go," he insisted.

"Prove it," Damon said quickly. He looked more relaxed than everyone else, but was still eyeing his friend with an awful lot of suspicion.

"Okay, uh…" Alaric said as he thought, looking around as everyone watched him. "First night you and I spent together," Alaric then settled on as he looked to Jenna. "Jeremy walked in right when I was about to…"

"Okay!" Jenna cut him off, dropping the crossbow. "It's him," she said, cheeks reddening.

"I think we should hear the rest of that story, just to be sure," Sarah offered, before Jenna punched her in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Oh, you're vampire for crying out loud. You can take it," scoffed Jenna unsympathetically.

Stilling rubbing her arm, Sarah looked to the others as she said, "Maybe telling Jenna wasn't such a good idea after all." However, Sarah's act broke the second she looked back to Jenna, breaking into a smile as her amber blonde friend smiled back. It was almost like Jenna had always known Sarah was a vampire. At least for those few seconds before they got back to business.

"Why did he let you go?" Stefan asked, still not entirely convinced. After all, he could have been compelled.

"He wanted me to deliver a message," Alaric replied before his gaze moved specifically to Elena. The one the message was for. "The sacrifice happens tonight." And as everyone turned to look at her, for the first time since agreeing to go through with the sacrifice, Sarah saw genuine fear in Elena's eyes. She might be brave, but even the bravest of people got scared before they took a leap.

"Why don't we go through," Stefan suggested, trying give Elena some space so she could gather herself.

Nodding in agreement, Sarah lead everyone through into the living room, motioning for people to sit wherever. She herself took the couch on the right of the fireplace, smiling softly when Jenna sat down next to her. Alaric took the couch opposite, siting alone as the two Originals filed in with Elena and Stefan. They remained by Elena when she sat in an armchair by the fire – her impromptu bodyguards while Stefan proceeded to ask Alaric questions.

"So, do you remember anything that happened?"

"No," Alaric shook his head, still looking rather dazed. "It's like I blacked out and woke up three days later." There was a pause as his eyes met Jenna's. Sarah looked to her friend but could tell she was now having trouble distinguishing Alaric from Klaus, who'd threatened her in her own home yesterday. It was all part of the learning curve, though Sarah couldn't help but feel bad for the couple as Jenna stared at Alaric uneasily.

"Katherine was there," Alaric then said breaking his gaze from Jenna to look at Stefan. If this had been the first they were hearing of this, then Sarah would have been clenching up. But Damon had filled them in yesterday, that while Sarah and Stefan had been saving Jenna, he'd been snooping around Alaric's and fond Katherine trapped inside, by means of compulsion.

"She's been compelled by Leiah," Stefan explained, glancing over to the Originals who tensed at the mention of their sister. But other than the rising of their shoulders, their expressions remained as steel like as ever. "Damon snuck her some vervain when he found her yesterday, but she can't leave until Klaus or Leiah tell her she can."

"Where is Damon?" Elena then asked. Suddenly noticing his absence, Sarah looked around to find her other brother missing once more.

"I saw him go upstairs," Jenna answered, to which Sarah sighed. She really didn't like were all this was going. She'd hoped Stefan might be able to calm him down but the odds for that had never been great. Which meant now she was going to have to give it a crack, and if that didn't work then she'd be sticking by his side for the rest of the day, making sure he didn't ruin everything for Elena.

"I'll go and talk to him," Sarah said with a look to Stefan. Standing up before she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning to find Elena also on her feet.

"Let me give it a try," she offered with an optimistic, if small, smile. "It's me has the problem with after all."

Sarah thought about it for a moment, lips rolling inward before she finally settled on an answer. "All right. Just be careful not to push him too hard." Elena nodded then made her way past Sarah and towards the staircase as Sarah sat back down next to Jenna.

"Can I ask something?" Jenna then said lifting a nervous hand into the air.

"Of course, Jenna. What is it?" Stefan asked.

"Why would Katherine be drinking vervain? I thought that was poisonous to you guys?"

"It is," Sarah said, smiling as she nodded to Jenna. "But you remember the part about it preventing compulsion?"

"Yeah, while it's inside me or I'm wearing it I can't be compelled."

"Well, that works for us vampires too," explained Stefan. "So even though it's irritating, if we take just a little, it's enough to prevent an Original vampires from compelling us."

"Original vampires like…" Jenna trialed off, as she looked over to the two Originals who smiled back at her. The ones she'd thought were just a couple of authors doing research who were in fact over hundreds of years old. "Okay…" Jenna said as she turned away, letting out a shaky breath and shudder.

"It's okay, Jenna. You're safe here," Sarah said reassuringly as she rubbed Jenna's shoulder comfortingly.

"Yeah…I know… It's just–just a lot to take in is all," Jenna said in between a few deep breaths as she tried to calm herself.

"Well, you're doing very well," Stefan said with a supportive grin. "And don't worry about it for now, you'll get the hang of it all soon enough."

"Eh, not to interrupt," Alaric spoke up sheepishly. "But could you guys perhaps tell me what else Klaus did when he was…me?"

"Well, you came into my home and threatened to takeover my body – I mean Klaus did," Jenna answered first.

"You tried to kill Bonnie at the Sixties decade dance," added Stefan.

"And you allowed Klaus to learn almost everything about us that he wouldn't have already known," concluded Sarah.

As his head dropped forward in shame, Alaric sighed out, "Great."

The three opposite gave varying looks of sympathy, before a door slamming from upstairs caught their attention. They all waited for something else to follow, but then nothing did. Jenna asked what it was, but Sarah and Stefan were already listening in with their heightened hearing. But by then, all they could hear was someone mumbling, and it wasn't until a few seconds later that they realised what was going on.

"Oh, dear," Amelia sighed regrettably, catching on half a second before Sarah and Stefan did.

"No!" Stefan gasped, before racing from the room at vamp speed with Sarah right behind them. He got to Damon's room first, kicking open the door to find Damon with his wrist pressed to Elena's mouth. Her big brown eyes wide with terror and tears as he forced his blood down her throat, sealing her fate.

Before Sarah could get in, Stefan was on Damon, shoving him away from Elena and taking up a stance between them, as Sarah rushed in to catch the collapsing Elena in her arms. Carefully lowering her down, she took Elena's chin and turned her head for a better look, but those teary eyes were enough to tell her it was too late. The blood smeared all over her mouth wasn't a good sigh either, nor was the fact that she spat out so much when she coughed. If they'd gotten to her right away, as Damon had pressed his open wrist to her then maybe. But the fact was, judging by the time and the amount of blood that would have passed through his wrist, with nowhere for it to go but down Elena's throat, there was no way around it. Elena had vampire blood in her system. Enough so that when she died tonight in the sacrifice, she would return as a vampire, not a human.

"I'm sorry," Sarah whispered, the memory of her own transition flashing before her eyes. How Katherine had secretly feed her and her brothers her blood, how Stefan had then forced her and Damon to feed after they'd resided themselves to death instead. She couldn't believe Damon would do this.

As Elena clung to Sarah, still coughing from the thick, disgusting, liquid that had been forced down her throat, Stefan shouted at Damon. "What did you do?! What did you do?!"

"I saved her life," he spat back, shooting up to his feet with a burst of vampire speed. "You're so bent on dying, at least this way I know you'll come back," he said right to Elena who was in tears now.

"As a vampire! She'll come back a vampire!" shouted Stefan.

"It's better than nothing else," Damon shot back defensively.

"Damon!" snarled Sarah from Elena's side, still holding the girl as her nightmares came to life before her. It had never been said explicitly, but that had always been the obvious way out of the sacrifice, for Elena to drink vampire blood. But since she'd never asked for it, everyone had rightfully assumed Elena hadn't wanted it. And now, because of Damon, she was going to be forced into becoming a vampire, the one thing she'd never wanted for herself.

"After what happened to you and I, how could you do this to her? You know she never wanted this."

"Go ahead," said Damon flippantly to Elena. "Wish me an eternity of misery. Believe me, you'll get over it."

Elena glared daggers back at him, but only succeeded in distracting him as Stefan charged, ramming straight into Damon and sending him into the wall. In his flight, Damon knocked over a lamp and landed behind his dresser as Stefan roared angrily at him.

"Stefan!" Sarah cried out, only for Damon to come flying back over the dresser, the remains of the lamp in hand. It'd had a wooden frame, now broken at the head and bottom, which provided Damon with a long sharp piece of splintered wood for him to use as a weapon. He held out the long pole of wood, charging at Stefan and catching him. Stefan managed to get his hands on the pole, but was no match for Damon's momentum as he ran him into a wall, holding him in place thanks to the pole between them now.

"Stop it, both of you!" shouted Sarah as she stood up, feeling Elena clinging to her leg as she too cried for them to stop.

"Admit it," Damon snarled at Stefan, both too angry to listen to their sister. "You just wish you had the balls to do it yourself!"

With another roar of anger, Stefan's vampire features came out as he tapped into all of his strength and swung from the right, putting all his weight on the pole until Damon could no longer hold it. He gave way to the superior force as Stefan landed his punch. The wooden pole now discarded to the floor across the room.

Stefan then got a hold of Damon, punching and punching until Sarah pushed him back, getting between her brothers as history once again flashed before her eyes. What she'd never wanted to see happen was in fact happening right before her eyes. Her brothers fighting over that face, over who should decide her fate, who should have her. Only it wasn't Elena's fault, it all went back to Katherine, her manipulation, her darkness that had infected them all and turned them into this. This mess of a family.

"Stefan, please–" Sarah didn't get the rest out, as Stefan shoved her aside consumed by his anger as he lunged at Damon again. They locked arms, holding onto each other just as they had before, only this time Stefan landed a swift headbutt to Damon, disorientating him as he back peddled across the room.

Stefan went to follow, but Sarah grabbed him from behind, trying to hold me back. "This isn't going to–" He swung back, catching Sarah in the face and sending her to the floor before he continued on for the still recovering Damon. Elena was crying out his name now but he didn't notice, his bloodlust too high. But not for human blood, no, he wanted the blood of his brother.

He grabbed Damon by the shirt once more, pulling him into his oncoming fist. Again pummelling him with punch after punch until a final one sent him flying to the ground. Still not done, Stefan roared once more, going to slam his fist into Damon again as he tried to get back up. But he didn't see what Sarah did, the long pole like stake back in Damon's hands, rising with him. She moved, from the floor, running over and shoving Stefan aside as Damon turned to stab.

"I SAID STO–" Her voice left her. A quiet gasp following.

She felt her whole body quake, her knees buckling as she looked down. She heard Elena and Stefan scream out her name, but they were so far away all of a sudden. As she looked down, she so the long thick stake penetrating her heart.

Slowly, carefully, she lifted her head up for what might be the last time. So much more strength required than ever before as she sniffed, feeling instantaneous tears suddenly fall from her painful green eyes. She was on her knees now, Elena and Stefan rushing towards her. But the second before they got to her, she saw right into Damon's eyes. His sorry, horrified, baby blue eyes. He'd had no idea what he was doing, acting on the same protective anger as Stefan had. He hadn't even realised what he'd done to his little sister until he looked down, confirming the stake was in fact in his hands.

He let go the split second before he was shoved back by Elena. "Get away from her!" she cried out, falling to her knees beside Sarah as Stefan slid next to her on the other side, quickly inspecting the wound with his own shocked expression.

But Sarah's eyes remained on Damon, watching him tremble as he climbed back up to his feet and backed away. On the verge of tears himself for what he'd done. Shock the only thing holding them back at this point. "Sarah…" he got out in a ghostly whisper, right before Alaric and Jenna came running in.

"What the hell is going on?" Alaric got out before he and Jenna saw.

"Oh, my God," Jenna gasped, seeing the stake through Sarah's chest. During their chat last night, one thing that had been confirmed to her about the vampire myth. The stake through the heart part was real.

"Sarah, I'm…" Damon tried to get out again, in the same quite shameful voice before Elena shout over him.

"Get out of here!"

With tears falling from his eyes, Damon gave one last sorry look to Sarah. Her own eyes begging him not to run as she reached out a weak hand towards him. "Damon…" But he was already gone in a blur. Leaving her on the floor of his bedroom to die. Like a coward.

And it hurt Sarah. More than the stake as she gasped out a hollow cry, before a more audible groan of unbearable pain followed. Her hand shot to the stake inside her, teeth clenched to hold back the screams of pain. Even the slightest touch or movement sent pains unlike any other radiating through her body. She was honestly amazed she wasn't dead yet.

"Did it go through her heart! Stefan, is she going to be okay?! Stefan?!" Elena was shouting from one side, while Stefan carefully examined the impact of the stake through Sarah's chest from the other.

"I–I–I–I think so," he finally managed to say much to Sarah's surprise. "But it's touching her heart so we're going to have to remove it slowly."

"Get this thing out of me!" groaned Sarah, hunching over until Stefan forced her to sit back up.

"Sarah, listen to me, you have to stay still from now on. Even the slightest move could puncture your heart and then you'll be dead," Stefan stressed.

"How are we supposed to get this out without hurting her then?" demanded Elena frantically.

"We can't," Stefan replied with a serious look to his girlfriend. "I'm going to have to hold her steady while you pull it out."

"Stefan, I…I can't do that. If I pull to fast or–or in the wrong way I'll–"

"You won't," cut int Sarah, breathing heavily as she bit down, the tears of pain still flowing. "You won't, Elena," she promised, closing her eyes to hide the fear of death from her loved ones. "But you have to do what Stefan says."

"But–But you–" Elena said looking to Stefan.

"I'm the only on that can hold her down," Stefan said shaking his head at the unsaid question by Elena.

Still squirming frantically, Elena madly began brushing her hair back, before running her hands over her face only to be reminded of the blood still around her mouth.

Then suddenly Sarah was holding her hand, and Elena's fearful eyes found Sarah's tranquil green. "You can do this," she said in a quiet voice that was almost drowned out by the tension in the room. So slow compared to everything else that was moving so fast, as if only she and Elena could hear what she was saying while everyone else panicked. "I know you can. All you have to do…is breath…"

And when Elena did that, suddenly everything became that much clearer. She could do this, a determination surging through her. She could – would, save Sarah's life.

"Okay," Elena said to herself before speaking up for everyone to here, a new confidence and control arising from inside of her. "Jenna, I need blood bags for Sarah. They're in the basement, in a freezer. Go! Now!" Her aunt was gone by the time she looked to Alaric. "I need you behind me to help keep the weight from distracting me," she instructed as she nodded to the length of the pole that was stretched out beyond her.

Nodding Alaric took up his position behind Elena, lifting the pole as she did, with care as Sarah cried out in more pain. Stefan was behind his sister now, arms wrapped under Sarah's as to keep her from moving too much when Elena started to pull. "Ready?" asked Elena. Stefan nodded back. "All right, Sarah. Three…two…one!" She pulled, slowly and Sarah screamed out.

Forced to block out the cries of her best friend, Elena grimaced as she focused on the task at had. Edging the wooden pole out another inch as Sarah's anguishing screams hit a new high. One last soft pull and Elena felt the stake move away from the vital organ that would spell death for Sarah. With it now clear, she gave an all might tug, yanking the stake the rest of the way as Sarah let out one last scream of pain before collapsing into Elena's arms as Stefan realised her.

"It's okay!" Elena gasped in relief as she clung to Sarah, although for a different reason than she had nearly a minute ago. "It's okay, we got it out, you're alive."

"No," Sarah said, already trying to push away. Elena frowned, releasing Sarah as she saw the vampire try to get to her feet, ignoring the gaping hole in her chest surrounded by a bloody stain on her t-shirt. "I've…I've got to…" she fell back to the floor, another groan of pain as she landed on her still healing wound. Quickly Elena and Stefan helped her back up before Stefan picked her up in his arms.

He then lead them out of Damon's room, meeting Jenna in the hallway before they entered Sarah's room, laying her down on her own bed. Stefan then stepped back as Jenna came forward with the three blood bags she had cradled in her arms, offering them to Sarah.

The first Sarah snatched, gulping the whole thing down in one go before she got out a thank you to Jenna. She then took the other two and proceeded to do the same, squeezing every last drop out only to find she still hand't healed after three bags of blood. The bleeding wasn't a bad, a sign she was healing but there was still a large and uncomfortable hole inside of her. And right next to her heart too.

In spite of that thought, Sarah still tried to get up before a knife of pain shot through her chest, forcing her to fall back against the bed. Before she could make a second attempt to get up, Stefan was stood over her shaking his head. "No, no, no. Hey, no. You're not moving from this bed until your healed. You need to stay put and rest," her brother told her.

"I haven't got time for rest," groaned Sarah impatiently, trying to sit up only for a hiss of pain to follow. "I've…I've got to find Damon." She went to move but Stefan's hand against her shoulder was enough to push her back down, as she moaned in defeat. If she couldn't get up off the bed, never mind past Stefan, then there wasn't much chance of her getting to Damon. But then again, when it came to her family, Sarah could be as stubborn as her brothers.

"Why would you want to find him anyway?" Elena asked spitefully, glaring at the air since Damon himself wasn't there. "He's the one that did this to you."

It struck Sarah as odd, that Elena was more infuriated with Damon over the stabbing of his sister, rather than the fact that he'd forced vampire blood down her own throat. Still, it wasn't exactly high on the list of priorities today. What was, was the reason for Damon's behaviour and actions, which was what Sarah needed to explain to Elena right now.

"Elena," groaned Sarah, struggling to speak through the continuing waves of pain. "You…You have to know why Damon did what he did."

"There's no excuse for him almost killing you like that," snapped Elena.

"No. I'm talking about him feeding you vampire blood." The shock on Elena's face might have suggested that she'd actually forgotten about that minor detail, in amongst everything else. "Listen…he does care about you. He does love you. But not in the way he thinks.

"He loves you because of what you mean to him." At this Elena frowned, along with the others in the room. "To him, your…symbolic of when everything started to turn around for him. Of when he started caring again." Sarah grimaced for a short moment before continuing. "So to lose you means losing everything he's gained over the past few months since he came back here. He'd lose me. Stefan. Alaric and the sheriff… He thinks that if he loses you, he'll lose all his friends and family – because you came into his life when he started getting all that back," insisted Sarah before another shot of pain had her shut up.

"Well then he's an idiot," said Elena angrily, not willing to give Damon an out just because of his messed up feelings that he couldn't understand.

"Not going to argue with you on that one," agreed Sarah, once again going to sit up. "But I've got to help him realise that before he makes things worse."

"Worse than feeding her vampire blood?" asked Jenna.

"Trust me, with Damon, he can always make things worse. Especially when he's trying to make–" She fell back against the bed, frustration and agony coming out in a sharp scream as Stefan moved to hold her down. Not that it took to much of his strength.

"All right, look, regardless of Damon, you're not leaving this bed any time soon."

"But–"

"No, Sarah," Stefan cut in firmly. His inner big brother coming out. "You have to listen, and stay in that bed until you're healed, completely."

"I'll go and track Damon down," offered Alaric. "Talk to him and see if I can get him to come back here and listen to you."

"There, see. Alaric can deal with Damon while you recover." He then thought for a moment, looking back to a shivering Elena, before saying, "I'm going to take Elena somewhere for the day."

"What?" said Elena, though Stefan remained focused on his sister for the moment.

"Will you be okay?"

"Sure," grunted Sarah. "I'll get a lot further without you pushing me back into this bed." Her stubbornness wasn't showing any sigh of subsiding. He should have known that. But he didn't have time to waste baby-sitting his sister until she recovered, he had to help Elena through this day, possibly the last of her human life.

His eyes found Jenna. "Could you stay with her? Make sure she stays in bed until she's healed?"

"Sure," Jenna nodded.

"Oh, like she's going to be able to–" Sarah began to protest, getting up an inch before Jenna pushed her back down. "–Okay she can hold me," grumbled Sarah as she closed her eyes in defeat. Realising she wasn't going to be leaving any time soon.

"I'll go and grab some more blood bags before I go," Alaric offered.

"Don't bother," Sarah spoke up as she pointed. "Panel in the wall. Open it and you'll find a fridge with blood."

"You're as bad as me in college," Jenna teased lightly, making her way across to the wooden panel that blended in with the others. It took her a second to find out how to open it, but once she did, she returned to Sarah with a fresh blood bag in hand. Handing it over, Sarah began to suck at it like a hungry child.

"I've got this," Jenna said comfortable, sat on the edge of Sarah's bed. "You guys go and do what you need to do."

"Thanks," Stefan said with a soft smile to Jenna, before leaning over and kissing his sister on the forehead. "Be safe," he said, before taking Elena's hand and leading her out. Although Elena managed to linger for just a moment, as she looked back at the weak Sarah, wondering if she was right to leave with Stefan when Sarah was so ill.

She never got a chance to protest though, as Stefan whisked her away. Alaric then followed them out, leaving Jenna as she turned back towards the pale vampire, still sucking at the blood bag.

"Any chance of you letting me go?" asked Sarah hopefully, as she pulled the blood bag from her lips.

Jenna smiled at her, but shook her head in response.

* * *

He was hyperventilating. The world swaying around him.

 _What had he done…? What had he done…?_

He found himself in the Mystic Grill, collapsing agains the bar as if he'd already had one too many. He hadn't even started yet, but by the end he'd feel better. He had to. If he didn't the only other option was to flip it all off.

Waving down the bartender who gave him a skeptical look, Damon ordered his bourbon. The bartender proceeded to question him if he was okay, Damon snapped at him to get his damn order, before the guy scurried off.

Then he was alone, bracing himself against the bar. Staring down into the wood as the scene replied in his head. Stefan beating the crap out of him, knocking him all over the place for what he'd done to Elena. He'd blocked her from leaving when she'd tried. Biting his wrist and putting it to her lips. He'd held her against his wrist, forced her to drink his blood no matter the protest and horror in her eyes. She'd struggled as he knew she would, but she would be safe, alive, and everything would be okay.

Or it would have been until Damon lifted that broken lamp. Using the wooden remains to stab his sister through the heart.

His breathing quickened, panic flooding through him, as he saw his sister's shocked expression flash before him. He grabbed the sides of his head, shaking as he tried to end the flashback. It played on, her collapsing to her knees, begging for him to stay with her during her final moments before he then ran out. Abandoning her, and not for the first time.

 _He couldn't have killed her. Not Sarah. Not his sister._ He told himself, but it felt hollow. He'd see it himself. His hands on the stake he'd stabbed without a second thought.

In trying to save Elena and everything else, all Damon had succeeded in doing was burning it all down.

"Damon?" At the hand on his shoulder, he swung around, blue eyes terrified as he found Alaric who he shoved back. "Take it easy!" exclaimed the history teacher, before Damon was on him in two steps, grabbing him by his jacket and pulling him in. His wide crazy eyes enough to terrify Ric as he felt Damon's panicked breaths on his face.

"Tell me she's all right, Ric," begged Damon. "Please, please, tell me I didn't kill her."

Carefully, Alaric put his hands on Damon's shoulder, doing his best to comfort him as he said slowly, "You didn't kill her." And for the first time since seeing his sister's agonising face with the tearful green eyes, Damon's heart slowed in its beat. "You hurt her pretty badly, but she's alive."

Letting his hands go lax, and fall from Alaric, Damon turned back to the bar and collapsed onto its surface as he exhaled in relief. _She was alive._ He repeated to himself. He hadn't completely burnt everything yet. But even so, he couldn't stop himself from saying aloud, "I screwed up."

"Yeah, no kidding," agreed Alaric critically, as he joined Damon at the bar. "But she's alive, Damon. You can make it up to her."

"Yeah," Damon agreed, nodding to himself. He just hoped the same could be said for Elena.

"Trouble, gentlemen?" came a new mysterious voice from Damon's other side. Rather than look to the source however, he turned to Alaric who was staring past him with wide eyes. Damon followed them to the person now on his left side, standing at the bar with a face he did know. Leiah.

He groaned, face contorting. Today was just not his day. "Klaus, I presume."

"In the flesh," said Klaus in his smooth accent, grinning along with his younger, shorter, sister stood next to him at the bar. Looking far too cheerful and happy for Damon's liking. _Maybe he should introduced her to Caroline._ He thought bitterly, eyes flicking over to see where the barman was with his drink.

"Thanks for the loaner, mate," Klaus added cheerful towards Alaric, who plastered on a smile as Damon stood up to his full height. Scowling at the two Originals.

"What's got you so grumpy?" taunted Leiah, leaning on the bar with folded arms, as her blue eyes came alight with mischief.

"None of your damn business," snapped Damon.

"He's quite right, Leiah. Nothing for us to concern ourselves with." However, his light heartlessness took a turn, as his gazed moved from his sister and back towards Damon. "That is unless it has something to do with my doppelgänger?" he asked with a hint of warning to his tone.

At Damon's grimace, Leiah laughed. "Oh, this does not look for good for you."

"Don't worry, nothing's happened to Elena that will effect your little coming out ceremony," Damon said flippantly as he looked back to Alaric with an awkward smile. His awkwardness then continued as he frowned curiously at Klaus, before asking, "I don't suppose I could talk you into postponement, by any chance, huh?"

Klaus turned back to Leiah, the two looking at each other in amusement before turning back to Damon with grins. "You are kidding?" he asked, but when he saw Damon's eyes he looked over to Alaric for a second opinion. "He is kidding right?"

"No, not really," Alaric sighed regrettably.

"I mean, come on, what's one month in the whole grand scheme of things?" Damon continued with his pitch, adding a lazy smile.

Another laugh from Leiah. "You have no idea who you're dealing with do you."

She'd propped her head against her hand now, elbow resting on the bar as she looked to her older brother. The one now glaring not so nicely at Damon. "Let me be clear," he said in a low voice as stepped towards Damon. "I have my vampire. I have my werewolf. I have everything I need. The ritual will happen tonight."

"I really wouldn't challenge him, Damon," warned Leiah with a smirk that suggested she really didn't care if he listened to her or not. "He's offaly touchy about this curse business, and if you get in his way, you'll probably end up dead." Damon's eyes remained matched with Klaus' until he heard what Leiah said next. "And we both know how sad Sarah would be if you were to turn up dead."

His glare intensifying, Damon strode past Klaus – who glided aside with an entertained smirk – marching his way up to Leiah. He was a good size taller than her, looming over her small figure as she leaned against the bar – bearing down on her with his fiery blue eyes. But she didn't flinch at his advance, instead looking up with those amused blue eyes. Damon had had enough.

"All right, just who the hell are you?" snarled Damon.

"Is this a family thing were you all just can't remember names?" Damon's hand shot out to grab her by the throat, but Leiah was faster and grabbed the attacking hand by the wrist before forcing it down to the bar and throwing Damon off balance for a second. Holding is arm in place, her smile grew with his snarl. "Gonna have to be quicker that I'm afraid."

"What's your game with Sarah?" Damon snarled, proceeding with his questions since brute force was no longer an option. At least not without attracting sizeable attention. "You show up at our house wanting to talk to her when she has no idea who you are, and yet you keep implying you know her."

"I do know her, Damon," Leiah said, leaning in as Damon caught something protective in those passionate blue eyes. But then it was gone, replaced by something smug as she squeezed Damon's wrist hard and made him squirm, bitting back a scream. "But I'm not giving you the answer as to how I know her. It's between me and Sarah." She then released Damon's arm, stepping away from the bar to join Klaus, her perky attitude back up to max. "Tell her to give me a call when this is all over. And remind her to stay out of my brother's way. I wouldn't want her trying to be something she's not."

"That'll be all then," Klaus then said, eyebrows lifting as he smiled. "Ta ta!" he said in goodbye, before he and Leiah sauntered out of the restaurant.

"Well, that was fun," grumbled Damon, turning around to Alaric as he rubbed his bruised wrist.

"You're going to try and screw this up, aren't you?" Alaric asked, knowing Damon far too well by this point.

"You think if I took his werewolf out of the equation, Elena might…get over the fact that I tried to turn her into a vampire?" Damon asked, thinking fast as he looked to Alaric, hoping for his agreement.

"I think there's a number of problems with that plan," criticised Alaric before lifting his fingers to count. "One; you'll be dead."

"Yeah, but if I do this it buys Elena another month before the next full moon," protested Damon, still seeking agreement.

"Which brings us on to two; Sarah will hate you for dying," Alaric reminded, him to which Damon closed his eyes to silently groan.

Sarah, the sister he'd just stabbed. Alaric was right, he had to make it up to her too, but dying would only break her and her dream for their family. "And three; you can only make one of those two happy. Either you stay alive to make it up to your sister and let Elena become a vampire. Or, you kill Klaus' werewolf so Elena can have another month, but you'll die in the process and break Sarah's heart." Alaric said putting it out there simply to be heard.

Damon thought on it for a long moment before deciding, "I think I'll go with the dying option. At least I won't have to see Sarah after my death."

"So your chickening out in other words," said Alaric with a critical glare that Damon had to snarl at. He hated being wrong.

"And if you're going with that option, there's something else you should consider," added Alaric.

"Yeah, what?" snapped Damon, just about as sick as he could get of Alaric's advice at this point.

"What if when you kill Klaus' werewolf, he just grabs another."

"Like who?"

"Like Scarlett!" snapped Alaric as the obvious answer slapped Damon in the face.

He screwed up his face again in frustration. "Damn it, Scrappy."

"And before you think of keeping her out of Klaus' reach, what if she already is the werewolf he intends to sacrifice?"

"All right, I get your point, I get your point," sighed Damon as he waved him off, going silent for a moment.

"So are you going to help me or what?" Damon then asked quietly as he looked to Alaric, seeing no other way out of this mess other than playing the martyr.

Sighing reluctantly, Alaric replied, "What do you want me to do?"


	41. The Backups

_Review responses:_

 _Sarcasm15Key: As I'm sure you've guessed, that'll be a next story plot line, but I too am really looking forward to diving into her past some more. Thanks for the love!_

Bornkiller9: _Thanks! This is kinda meant to be where I deviate from cannon, at least in regards to Damon. Hopefully it's working, considering what I have planned for him in the next story. I'm also super stoked for what's to come and the next story! Appreciate the continued support!_

 _We're getting there, and the tension keeps rising. Sorry to do this again, but it'll be another few weeks before I upload the next chapter. It should come out on the 26th if all goes to plan. I've almost got this whole story finished but I don't want to rush it out and get ahead of myself. I've also started plotting out all my season 3 stuff, and just finished my rewatch to refresh my memory. Man what a great season! But Season 2 is also damn good. I'll be sad when it's over, but I'm so hyped to start the next story too!_

 _And since I forgot to in the last chapter, I'm going to give a shout to the story, '_ **Heart's Destiny** _'. I started reading it yesterday since it was May 4th, so you guessed it, it's a Star Wars story, and I just found myself really enjoying it. It's published by author, '_ **JadeSphera** _' and is a collaboration with, ' **WarmNyota_SweetAyesha** '. It's not terribly long, so if you're feeling the Star Wars spirit, then check it out!_

* * *

 **Chapter 41: The Backups**

* * *

After calling Scarlett to make sure she was still safe – and making her promise not to come out of the witchy house for anything, until they all came to get Bonnie tonight – Sarah hadn't been left with much else to do in her bed. Other than try and get out so she could find Damon that is. Visibly she'd healed, but it still hurt to move. Another hour or two and it would be like nothing had happened, but she didn't have that time to waste when it came to Damon. Too much could go wrong in just an hour.

So climbing off the bed, she kept one hand on her aching chest and got up. It was another effort pulling off her cloths, but what she had one was stained in blood and she wouldn't get away with it in public. So she painstakingly changed her bra before putting on a button up casual shirt – which was easier to get on and off than anything else – carefully pulled on her leather jacket, and was then good to go.

Until she found Jenna waiting on the other side of the door.

"Crap," groaned Sarah, conveniently giving her an out for the most recent stab of pain that hit her in the chest.

"Get back on the bed," Jenna said plainly.

"Look, Jenna, I can't just sit around here while everything's going on," Sarah began to argue, while hunched over with an arm wrapped around her stomach. Not her most threatening or convincing of stances. "Stefan's off with Elena, Scarlett and Jeremy are in hiding with Bonnie until tonight, and Damon's… Well, I don't know what Damon's doing but that's the problem – I have to find him before he does something stupid."

"How much trouble can he get into in a few hours?" asked Jenna.

Sarah cocked an eyebrow. "Before I could finish telling you, he'd have found trouble. Or he would have made it himself. It's usually the latter."

"Well, he'll have to fend for himself for once," Jenna said as she pushed Sarah back into the room, watching the vampire wince as she followed her in and closed the door behind her. "Which, to be frank, he deserves for what he did to you."

"It was an accident," hissed Sarah defensively as Jenna escorted her back over to the bed. Obviously she could have taken Jenna, even in her weakened state, but to risk fighting her would mean to risk hurting her since it would be an all or nothing kind of attack. And Sarah really didn't want to hurt Jenna, at least not so soon after she found out about everything. So she let her play the nurse and sit her down on the bed.

"Besides, if I ignored his cries for help every time he hurt me, then he'd be dead by now." Her mind flashed back to one nasty incident in particular. One when she'd been the one doing the damage to him, in spite of his pleas. "I just need to talk to him, Jenna, in person."

Folding her arms, Jenna boldly responded with, "All right, then, we'll both go and find him."

Sarah was up on her feet so fast that she then found herself hunched over from the sharp pain that turned up her insides. Taking a second to regain herself, she straighten with a raised hand in objection, while the other held her outwardly healed chest. "No. Jenna, you have to stay here for you own safety. It's too dangerous outside the house, what with Klaus and everything."

Jenna smiled sweetly and sympathetically as she tilted her head. "You can't have it both ways, Sarah. Until you're fully healed, we either both go, or both stay."

"I am fully healed." Her argument was quickly broken down though when Jenna pressed her finger to the point where Sarah'd been stabbed and she winced. The skin might look like it'd been healed, but even Jenna could tell when she pressed against it that it was too soft and that if she pressed hard enough she'd probably break the skin. There was still a lot of internal healing to be done, most likely because of the wood that had slid past her heart – effecting her healing and making it more drawn out than usual. It was really starting to annoy Sarah.

"You know," scowled Sarah. "I really don't think this whole caring mom act works for you."

"Good thing I'm not your mom then," quipped Jenna with a grin.

"Amen," muttered Sarah before spotting her phone screen lighting up from her bedside table. She'd put it there when she'd been getting changed, and grabbed it now to answer a call from Damon.

"Damon–" Sarah greeted, fully ready to lunch into a speech about not being angry with him for what he'd done to her, when he cut her off. It was stuff like that that made it hard for her to remain not mad at him for what he'd done. Okay, she was a little mad. But she'd get her own back, at some point down the road.

"–Gonna have to skip the apology, Sis, I need your help. Stefan's not answering his phone and I've got a way to delay the ritual until the next full moon."

"Damon…" Sarah repeated, though more concerned this time.

"No, no, no, it's not what you think. I'm not trying to halt the whole thing permanently, just delay it so the vampire blood can get out of Elena's system," Damon explained.

"And how are you going to do that?" asked Sarah curiously.

"I'm taking Klaus' werewolf out of the equation."

"You're going to kill his werewolf?"

"I was, but then Katherine told me it was Tyler Lockwood, and I figured everyone would be even more mad if I did that."

"Holy crap!" exclaimed Sarah with wide shocked eyes.

"What is it?" asked Jenna, missing out on the conversation as she stood in front of Sarah, waiting tensely.

"I think Damon's finally making some personal growth."

"Ha, ha," Damon replied dryly.

"So did Katherine tell you anything else that we should be taking with a grain of salt?"

"Yeah, she said the vampire Klaus is planning to use is Caroline. But don't worry, he's keeping them both in the same place so we can spring them both at the same time. Then it's just a case of keeping Lockwood and Scrappy away from Klaus until the full moon sets," Damon explained.

"Not your worse plan," Sarah admitted.

"I knew you'd like it," grin implied in his voice.

"I wouldn't go that far. I mean, what about when Tyler changes. One bite and we're dead?"

"Let's just deal with one problem at a time please," groaned Damon. "He's keeping them both at the tomb by Fell's Church. I'll meet you near there in a few."

Then as an after thought, he added, "Are you okay to help with me this. 'Cause if you're still healing or mad then I can–"

"I'll be there, Damon," Sarah promised. No malice or ill contempt in her voice. Just a genuine promise to be there for her brother. And she could only imagine how uncomfortable it was making him feel right now. But that was what one was supposed to do for one's family. "See you in a few." And with that she hung up.

She then turned to Jenna with an apologetic look. "Sorry, Jenna. I've got to go and help Damon with something – and before you say anything your staying here."

Jenna moved to the door, folding her arms in defiance. "If you're going to leave without me then you'll have to get past me."

Sarah smirked back. Even in the short time she'd been talking to Damon, she'd felt her strength and control returning. It still wasn't perfect, but it was enough to get her past Jenna. She sped over to her, stepping around her in a blur of motion, and was out the room at vampire speed before Jenna even knew what had happened.

On the wind behind her as she raced out the front door to the garage, she could faintly hear Jenna shouting out, "Oh, come on!"

* * *

Returning to the teacher's apartment, Leiah walked in to find Katerina pouring coffee into a mug. Klaus had followed her in, closing the door behind them, when both came to a stop.

"Everything okay?" asked Katerina from the kitchen island as she finished pouring.

Klaus was looking around, a near missable frown on his face, while Leiah's eyes narrowed on the troublesome vampire before them. "Katerina, stay perfectly still for me," ordered Leiah, watching as she froze. Cup of coffee in one hand and a jug in the other, her muscles twitching as she tried to remain in the position she'd been when Leiah had ordered her.

It wasn't hard to miss. When you'd been around as long as Klaus and Leiah, you noticed the subtle differences. Between a vampire who's compelled and one who's pretending. Like Katerina was right now.

Looking to her brother with raised brow, Klaus smiled back. It was mildly annoying, but they could still have their fun with her. After all, she couldn't leave until Leiah permitted it, which meant until she said those words, Katerina would have to continue to act like she was compelled. Which could be entertaining in itself. Especially if they didn't let on that they knew.

"Have you ever considered becoming a barista?" asked Leiah playfully, taking out her phone for another short photoshoot with Katerina as her model. "It would suit you." Katerina rolled her eyes, of which Leiah got a good photo of. "Smile," she then ordered, watching Katerina perk up as she took another photo.

"That's a good one," Leiah said, admiring her most recent work as she saved the two pictures. "Anything for you, Nik?"

Klaus thought for a moment, tilting his head up. "Some coffee would be nice."

"Coming right up," Katerina said as she handed over the cup she'd already poured, playing her part as barista well.

"Thank you, Katerina," Klaus said as he took the cup with a grateful smile. She then turned to walk away and pour herself another cup, only for Klaus to act as if something else had just occurred to him. "Actually, there is one more thing you could do for me." Katerina turned back around to face her Original Masters. "Could you take off your bracelet for me?"

Katerina was stunned for a moment, but soon recovered and took it off, laying it down on the kitchen island. "Now, could you walk over to that window and stand in the sunlight?" asked Klaus with a grin which his sister reciprocated.

Katerina stared back in horror. "But…I'll burn."

"Do as he says," Leiah commanded, smirking as she saw the dilemma pass over Katerina's face. Either she revealed that she was on vervain and no longer had to obey them, or she tried to continue this charade in hopes that soon she'd get her window to escape. However, since the two Originals knew this, she'd only get that chance when it benefited them. Or rather, when the benefits of her escaping outweighed the amusement gained by her continued torment.

"Remember, Katerina. I compelled you to do everything I say," Leiah reminded her. "At least until you leave here that is."

Realising it was a risk she'd have to take, Katerina turned as if against her will and stepped into the sunlight. Without her daylight bracelet to protect her, she was screaming from the second she stepped into the view of the sun. Her skin quickly blistering all over while Klaus sipped at his coffee and Leiah took a few photos of Katerina's momentary sunburn.

Patches of red were growing all over, her skin heating up so much that soon it would catch a light and she would burn. But still Leiah didn't say a word. Slowly stepping around as she took more pictures. Smirking as Katerina forced herself to remain in the light, to make it seem like she was still under their compulsion. It had to be said, she held out longer than Leiah had expected, but then again, this was Katerina Petrov. This was one determined woman who knew how to survive.

"All right, I think I have everything I want," Leiah said a she straightened, glancing down at her phone. "Nik?"

"Oh, I stopped caring ages ago," Klaus replied casually, taking the fourth sip of his coffee as smoke began to drift up from Katerina's exposed skin while she continued to scream.

"In that case…you can move into the shade." Katerina then flew by Leiah as she threw herself into the shaded corner of the room. Literally throwing herself against the wall before collapsing to the floor. Pulling her legs in when they threatened to stretch out into the sunlight. It was only once her skin was healed and she'd caught her breath, that she realised she was now trapped in this corner of the room, unable to exit without getting burnt, as a ray of sunlight blocked her path. That was, unless Klaus and Leiah returned her bracelet to her. Which they might do, after she helped them. And after that little display, there was no question of her doing what they said, just so she could keep up her own illusion of pretending to be compelled.

"Feeling better now?" asked Leiah mockingly, while Katerina glared up at her. Leiah took it as a sign that she was back to normal. "Good, cause we've got a little job for you," declared Leiah as she switched from her photos to a keypad on her phone. She then turned the phone around, holding it out to Katerina. "We're going to need you to make a little phone call for us. That is, unless you feel like being involved in Niklaus' ritual tonight."

The truth was that Katerina had been their back up vampire should things go wrong. But with her now on vervain, and the two Originals knowing that the second she was allowed to leave she'd run, she'd become more hassle than she was worth. If they took her out the apartment she'd be free from their control. Inside, she still had to play along. And why risk loosing her when they could keep her and get another vampire anyway.

Taking the phone regrettably, Katerina held her fingers above the touch screen as she asked, "Who am I calling then?"

Klaus then told her who to call.

* * *

The internal healing was more or less done now, however, there was still a slight limp to Sarah's movements as she walked through the forest. She'd hoped it would fade in the next few minutes as she spotted Damon making his way towards her. She didn't want him spotting it and feeling any more worse about himself. Because when he was hating himself that was when he could do the most stupidest and destructive actions of all.

"Hey, how you feeling?" Damon asked as he joined her at the entrance to tomb. The one they'd originally sealed Katherine in.

Sarah nodded back, "I'm fine." She then looked down the stairs that lead into the tomb. "So they're down there?"

"According to Katherine, that's where Klaus is keeping them," Damon said, looking down also.

"Kinda odd that he didn't leave–"

"A guard," finished a male voice from behind, as Sarah and Damon turned to find a handsome man making his way out from behind a tree. "Out of curiosity, which is it your here to save? The Blonde, or the wolf?"

"Both actually," Sarah answered, staring down the smug man opposite her and Damon. At a guess she assumed he was Klaus' witch. Which meant he wasn't going to be a push over. He was more than likely just as powerful as Jonas had been, which meant even for Sarah and Damon, this might not go so well.

"Well, perhaps you can exchange your brother for the blonde," offered the witch with a smirk. "But I'm afraid the werewolf stays with me."

"No exchanges, no deals. We'll just be taking what's ours," Damon replied with a forced smile before he charged.

An example of his bad decision making when he was blaming himself for something. With someone as powerful as this witch, they had to be smart and think through all their moves. But after this morning, Damon was looking to be punished, and would do stupid things like running at an all powerful witch, knowing full well how it would end.

Before he could even clear half the distance he dropped to his knees, the witch holding up his hand as he stared intently at Damon. He grunted in pain, hands going to his head as he hunched over.

And that was when Sarah fell prey to her achilles heel. Her family. When her family was threatened, or anyone she loved for that matter, much like Damon, she could throw caution to the wind and do something stupid,. Even if there was only a chance that it would work and that she would suffer. She went to flank the witch a vampire speed, but barely made it two steps before finding herself int he same position as Damon.

"Did you two really think you stood a chance against me? A witch who's loyal to Klaus? You're barely over a century old and that's nothing compared to my power. Klaus wouldn't have taken me in otherwise. Believe me, not even a vampire three times your age could–" He was cut off as a shot torn through the air.

His hold on Damon and Sarah broke and they lifted their heads as the sharp dagger like pain in their head vanished. Before them the witch had collapsed to his knees. A growing stain of blood over his left breast and more drooling from his mouth. Behind him, to Sarah's surprise, was Matt. Stood with a gun and looking down the sight.

"Matt?" breathed a confused Sarah as he lowered the scope from his eye.

Meanwhile, Damon took his chance to finish the witch off for sure. Rushing back up to his feet and grabbing hold of the witch's head, as a bone snapping crack filled the air.

With the threat eliminated, Damon let the witch's body drop to the ground, as Sarah stood up from behind him. Both now eyeing Matt as he stepped forward.

"Matt, what are you doing here?" Sarah asked.

"Where's Caroline?" demanded Matt, looking solely at Damon.

"Not a great time to start playing hero," Damon mocked, ready to turn away. Sarah was also ready to snap at him, since Matt had just saved their lives after all, but she stopped, as did her brother, when Matt cocked the rifle and took aim at Damon.

"Where is she? And what did he do to her?" Matt asked, nodding down to the dead witch.

"It's a long story, Matt," said Sarah with a sigh. Now really wasn't the best time for this. It was hard enough trying to help Jenna get to grips with everything but now they were going to have to deal with Matt too. "All you need to know is that he," she gestured to the witch, "Kidnapped her and we're here to save her."

Matt had his suspicious blue eyes on her now, though the end of his rifle was still pointing at Damon. He looked confused, though determined. Determined to save Caroline which she admired. It was just unfortunate that he'd gotten wrapped up in all this when he did. It was even more unfortunate that while he was looking at Sarah, Damon rushed him, grabbed his gun and knocked him out with butt.

"Damon!" snapped Sarah as she glared at him.

"He's not dead," Damon replied as if that was enough to defend his actions. He then began releasing the bullets from the gun, letting them drop to the ground before he discarded the weapon. Only before he walked away he bent down, picking the bullets back up.

Frowning at her brother, Sarah approached, watching as he held them up for her to see. "Wooden bullets," Damon murmured. "He knows about us."

"Well, if he hadn't, he would now," sighed Sarah as she ran a hand threw her hair. This day was certainly not getting any easier. "Look, we'll deal with him later. Right now, we need to get Caroline and Tyler. We'll grab Matt on the way back out, come on," declared Sarah as she began making her way down into the tomb. Damon following her after shoving the wooden bullets into his pocket.

The entrance to the tomb was sealed over by the large stone once more, so the two of them had to move it before they could get inside. Something which obviously didn't go amiss, as when they entered they found Caroline and Tyler already looking towards the entrance.

"Damon? Sarah, thank God," exclaimed Caroline after some initial confusion.

"Don't be too grateful, we come with bad news too," Sarah said as she knelt down beside Caroline.

"You're boyfriend's outside with a rifle loaded with wooden bullets," snipped Damon as Sarah broke the chains holding Caroline in place.

"What, Matt?" exclaimed Caroline in shock, as surprised as Sarah and Damon.

"Matt knows about you?" Tyler asked Caroline from across the tomb, chained up to his own side of the wall.

"No, I–"

"It's all right, Caroline," Sarah soothed her as she helped her up to her feet. "We'll talk to him later and sort this all out."

It was only then as she turned around, she realised that Damon was bent over in front of Tyler. The two silently glaring at each other. And it wasn't hard for Sarah to guess what was going through her brother's mind. "Damon…"

"You know, everything would be so much easier if I just killed you," snarled Damon, as Tyler stared back up at him.

"Damon, no!" shouted Caroline in a panic. Unable to run forward and stop him as Sarah held onto her arm.

"But I've already screwed up enough for one day," Damon sighed as he grabbed ahold of Tyler's chains. He didn't break them immediately however, instead staring at them before his eyes flicked back to meet Tyler's. "Don't make me regret this," he warned, before then snapping the chains.

"Is there somewhere you can hide until the morning?" Damon asked as he stood up, Tyler follow suit after rubbing at his wrists.

"My family's cellar. I can lock myself up there," suggested Tyler.

"I'll help him," Caroline offered eagerly.

"We'll help you get him there and we'll take Matt too. I think this will give you and him plenty of time to talk," Sarah said pointedly, watching as Caroline gulped. It wasn't something she'd been wanting to do, much like Scarlett when she'd been keeping her secret about Mason with Jeremy. But now that it was out in the open, Caroline had to talk to Matt about the supernatural and hopefully convince him to keep it all to himself.

Although with each passing second, Sarah kept feeling like tomorrow was going to be a whole other battle.

They made there way back up to the surface, by which time night had fallen. The moon already hanging in the sky.

"Matt!" Caroline cried out, running to her boyfriend who was groaning as he came too. She helped him sit up, leaning him against her as she checked him over. Once she had, her gaze swung over to Damon who was approaching with Sarah and Tyler from the tomb entrance. "Did you hit him?!"

"Did you already forget the part about the gun and the wooden bullets?" Damon snapped back.

"By which he means, he's sorry, Caroline," Sarah interpreted for her brother, who only snorted in turn.

Then came a groan from behind, and they turned to find Tyler hugging his stomach as he hunched over. "Tyler…?" Caroline said quietly, as the werewolf began to growl, looking up at the full moon. His teeth looking more like fangs now than they had a moment ago.

"Oh, no," Sarah said quietly as Tyler fell against one of stones, clutching at his chest as he let out heavy breaths.

"It's starting," Tyler panted, before pushing off the stone and charging on in the direction of his family cellar.

"Grab boy wonder and let's go," ordered Damon, following Tyler as Sarah helped Caroline lift Matt. Once he was on his feet, he grabbed his rifle and began to follow the group as they made their way through the woods.

"What's happening? Is he okay?" he asked, pointing ahead to Tyler as they broke into a jog.

"Not exactly," Caroline said nervously from alongside him.

"Should we be taking him to a hospital or something?"

"Matt, trust us, ignoring the pain he's going through, this could get a whole lot worse for us unless we get him to that cellar," Sarah warned over her shoulder as they passed Tyler and Damon, taking the lead at the group. Tyler was slowing now, hunching over and staggering every few steps. They were running out of time.

After a half a mile or so, Damon's phone started buzzing. He answered it, falling back behind the group while still keeping pace. "Bad time, little bro," he said into the phone, and knowing it was Stefan, Sarah began to listen in.

"What the hell are you doing?" growled Stefan anxiously from down the phone.

"Saving the day. I figured you'd understand. Just tell Elena to stay put," Damon instructed.

"She's already gone, Damon," replied Stefan as Damon came to a stop, Sarah doing the same up ahead as the rest of the group looked back at them both. "Klaus came. He took her."

Damon grimaced, fighting back the urge to scream in frustration. "I'll take care of it."

"Damon, there's more. Sarah and–"

"Sarah's with me," Damon quickly answered, now in even more of hurry after hearing that Klaus had Elena. "Don't worry, Stefan, I won't let anything happen to her or Elena. Promise." Without another word he hung up, eyes going straight to his sister. And she could see in his blue eyes, the sight of a man who didn't think he was going to make it through the night.

"Damon, what are you–?" she'd begun to ask slowly, only to be cut off by Tyler's agonising scream.

She turned along with everyone else, finding Tyler on his knees, hair beginning to sprout all over as his already canine teeth sharpened. Matt was shouting out Tyler's name in concern, but Caroline held him back from getting to close. Then Tyler reared up, hands bent back and twisting around as they started the painful reshaping into paws. His fingers crushing in on themselves – only to pop back out as if rejecting the change. His body had become a battle ground, twisting and turning and tugging and pulling as it turned from human into animal.

The same horrific transformation that had happened Scarlett so many times. Only Sarah had seen it at its worst before. Both now and back when Scarlett first turned. All those months ago in her uncles trailer. Her necklace made the change more manageable and quick, and watching Tyler now she could visibly see the torment Scarlett would have to go throw without her necklace. It made everything easier for her, not just allowing her to avoid the change on the full moon, but to avoid the pain. The word _curse_ had never been so true in her eyes.

"I don't know if I can hold it off. You have to get out of here," Tyler said in between laboured breaths, hunched down on all fours before his back arched inwards creating a more animal like shape. That was until it popped back out and it began to arch outward as Tyler screamed.

"Tyler, it'll be okay," Caroline said soothingly, stepping towards him until Sarah yanked her back.

Tyler's head flipped up once more and he shouted, "Go!" at them all.

"You've got time. We're almost there, just–" Caroline protested in as calm a voice as she could.

"It's happening faster," growled Tyler. His voice giving away away how much he was struggling to stay in control.

"Tyler, it's okay," Caroline repeated as Tyler's head dropped again. Only this time when it lifted back up his nose was more pointy, ears more sharp at the tip, and his eyes had turned bright yellow with black backgrounds.

With a roar, he lunged for his nearest target, Caroline. Sarah quickly shoved her behind her and out the way, as Tyler tackled her instead.

She fell to the ground, the animal part of Tyler now having free rein as it thrashed about on top of Sarah. The others were screaming out her name, but she was too focused on keeping Tyler out of bitting range. Pressing her hands against his chest, she pushed back with everything she had but it just wasn't enough. Her injure was holding her back, still not completely gone. And Tyler's half formed claws digging into her arms weren't helping, as his snapping fangs descended inch by inch towards her face.

Then he was gone from in front of her. Damon tackling him off and rolling off to the side as Tyler found his way on top of him now. "Damon!" Sarah cried out, watching her brother move his head from side to side as Tyler bit at the air where he'd been. He was barely able to hold Tyler back himself, his hands pressed up against Tyler's shoulders.

Pushing herself up, Sarah got ready to charge when a stabbing pain shot through her, bringing her back down to one knee. The tussle with the witch and now this wasn't helping her healing any. Her heart had been touched by wood and while it had not been a killing blow it had obviously done serious damage. Enough to maybe temporarily slow down her healing, so that even now she could feel her insides breaking up from where the stitching of tissue hadn't been complete.

Then came the dreaded sound. A sound Sarah knew only because of how often she'd done it herself. The sound of teeth breaking into flesh.

She looked up, ready to scream when she saw Tyler flying through the air, Damon having kicked him off. "Damon?" Sarah said as she watched him up jump back up.

"I'm fine," Damon said definitively as he pulled his sister up. Once he had her close to him, he look back to see Tyler was once again hunched over, as his muscles shimmered around his body, changing more and more into the wolf.

"Get out of here! I can't…hold on…" He was fighting a losing battle, and they all knew it.

"Get to the Lockwood cellar. If it held him in, it'll keep him out," Damon said to Caroline and Matt before looking to his sister, still held close with his hands on her shoulders. "You and I, we're going to run. If he follows us, I'll hold him off until you get away."

"Damon–"

"Don't argue with me!"

"But Damon, what if he gets into the cellar," protested Sarah, looking back in concern to Caroline and Matt.

Grimacing for a moment, Damon then reached into his pocket and fished out the wooden bullets he'd confiscated from Matt. "If he gets in, use these," he said as Matt took the bullets and loaded them into his rifle. "It should buy you a couple of seconds. Now go. Go!"

Looking back for one last look at Tyler, Caroline then gripped Matt's arm and ran off towards the cellar at vampire speed.

"You ready?" Damon asked, still holding Sarah as they both looked to the shifting Tyler on the forest floor.

"Yeah," Sarah nodded, holding on to her brother as they speed away as fast as they could. Her mind was racing, still recovering from the scare of Damon being bit. But it wasn't getting much of a chance to breath as they ran through the woods, constantly looking back in case a completely changed Tyler was chasing after them. There might not have been any sign of him but neither of them stopped until they reached the town again – and even then they ran for a few blocks before ducking into an alleyway to catch their breath.

"All right. That should be us safe now," Damon said in between breaths, peeking out the alley to see if there was a black wolf racing down the road after them. Thankfully, there wasn't.

"Do you… Do you think Caroline and Matt will have made it to the cellar?" asked Sarah, hunched over with her hands on her knees. She couldn't wait to be properly healed again. This slowly stitching hole next to her heart wasn't doing her any favours.

"Not my concern right now," Damon said sharply as he turned back to his sister. "Right now, I need to go and talk to Klaus."

"Are you Insane!" exclaimed Sarah, straightened up against the wall behind her.

"Now that I've freed his werewolf, he's got no reason to continue the ritual. He can let Elena go and try again next month," explained Damon.

"Yeah, and he'll figure that out on his own. So why tell him and get killed for being the messenger?" hissed Sarah, hand going to her aching chest.

Damon flinched. His lips going tight as his serious blue eyes held Sarah's heated gaze. "I have to do this Sarah. There's no time to take you home, so just…" When he didn't know what else to say he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his little sister. His lips pressed against her forehead in a short but affectionate kiss.

"Just go home, sis. Let big brother take care of this."

"Damon…?" Sarah whispered as he pulled away, but then he vanished out into the street, racing off in a blur. Unfortunately for him though, Sarah knew where he was going, where Klaus' base of operations would most likely be. So once she recovered from what was obviously a farewell speech, she raced off after her brother, determined as ever to save him from himself.

He was trying to be the hero and it didn't suit him. He wanted to punish himself for what he'd done to her and Elena. He felt he deserved it. Maybe he deserved something, but not this. Not death. That was the easy way out, and her brother had usually been one for taking that option when it arose, rather than face the consequences of his poor decision making skills. But that was why he had his brother and sister. To pull him back from these dips in sanity. Because they were always there to pull him back from the edge and save him. Just like Sarah would now.

She raced into Alaric's apartment building and up the stairs to an open door, spotting Damon already in the room. She went to follow him inside but found a frustrating force blocking her path. It was only then she realised, she hadn't yet been invited in by Alaric, and therefore couldn't follow Damon inside. He was on his own against them. Leiah leaning back against the kitchen island. And Klaus sat with his back to them all, facing a computer screen.

"You'll forgive me for not inviting you inside, Sarah," Klaus said, the grin implied in his voice. "Unfortunately it's not my place."

"Though that's probably for the best," said Leiah, appearing in front of Sarah with a playful grin. Full aware of the fact that she was still stood behind the invisible wall, protecting her from anything Sarah might do to her. Not that she could do much against an Original, but it would have been nice to know that she could have at least protected Damon from her.

"You wouldn't want to get involved in a thing like this anyway," Leiah cautioned in her own playful way. Reaching out as if to touch Sarah's cheek before her hand froze, again just behind threshold. She smiled fondly, lowering her hand as if deciding against it, before then leaning against the frame which Sarah could not cross. "You know how these rituals go. Always bloody, always messy."

"Always being postponed," added Damon to Leiah's list, his eyes on the sat down Klaus and ignoring Leiah since each had their back to the other.

"Didn't we already have this conversation?" said Klaus tiredly, still not looking around.

"Yeah, but that was before I rescued your werewolf and vampire and killed your witch," Damon shot back, as Klaus rose for his chair and finally turned.

"Excuse me?" snarled Klaus with a stern look as he advanced on Damon.

Grinning, Leiah glanced back for a moment at Damon and Klaus, before turning back to Sarah. "Your brother's not very smart is he?" On this occasion Sarah couldn't find a compelling reason to argue with her. Especially when she too was thinking the same thing about her brother.

"If you want to kill me, go for it. I don't care," Damon said as he stared down Klaus boldly.

"Damon!" Sarah hissed anxiously from outside the room, trying to get him to stop but unable to do anything other than talk.

"It was all _me_ ," he declared firmly. "No one else. Not my sister, not my brother. Just me."

Klaus considered this for a moment. A near missable smile touching his lips, before his eyes flicked over to his own sister. "Leiah," he said simply.

Apparently knowing exactly what her brother was wanting, Leiah glanced off to the side, looking at something outside of Sarah's view from the door. "Katerina, please go into the other room. And remember, no eavesdropping. It's rude." Sarah hadn't even realised the bitch was there until she saw her cross the room and into another, closing the door behind her.

"I've heard about you," Klaus said, that unsettling smile of his still in place as he stepped towards Damon. "The crazy, impulsive vampire in love with his brother's girl."

"Actually, according to my sister, I'm not in love with her," Damon corrected with a smirk.

Klaus smirked back. "Well, she is quite smart your sister." At that Damon's smirk dropped back to a frown. "Or so I've heard," Klaus added, glancing off towards Sarah and his own sister as he stepped back towards the table he'd been sat at. Before anyone could then add anything to the conversation, Klaus hit a button on his laptop and a video began to play. It was one of a woman screaming in pain, but other than that Sarah had no idea what it was about. A chair was blocking her view of the screen, so she was only getting the audio. But from the grins on both Klaus and Leiah, she knew it couldn't be good.

"In case you didn't already know, like normal wolves, werewolves tend to travel in packs."

At Klaus's words Sarah's heart jumped, her eyes widening in horror as she recognised those screams of agony. The screams of a werewolf in the middle of their transformation. The screams of a female werewolf. And there was only one female werewolf in Mystic Falls.

"No," Sarah gasped, her mind instantly going to Scarlett and trying to work out how Klaus could have possibly gotten his hands on her.

"Need a closer look?" Klaus offered Damon, disconnecting his phone from the laptop and throwing it over to him with the video still playing. Trying to play it casually, Damon held Klaus' gaze for a moment before his eyes flicked down the to the phone in his hands.

He watched in silence for a moment, and Sarah watched him as she braced herself against the door frame. Her jaw tight as her heart pounded against her chest, and the first sight of anxious tears began to form. "Damon…?" Sarah breathed out almost silently, almost not wanting him to answer for fear that she was right and that it was Scarlett's screams she was hearing.

He remained silent. Until his shoulder's seemed to relax a little. "It's Jules," Damon said, gaze flicking up to Klaus. He'd obviously been enjoying their turmoil considering the smirk on his face. Nevertheless, Sarah still let out a huge sigh of relief, the tension leaving her body as she relaxed against the door frame.

"It was a good thing she came back to town with Tyler. Otherwise we would have had to use the cute one," pointed out Leiah as she turned back to Sarah with a flirtatious grin. "And none of us would have wanted that."

Sarah snarled in response, knowing she was referring to Scarlett, but it only succeeded in making Leiah giggle.

"You see," began Klaus, as he started to walk around Damon. Every so often throwing a glance towards Sarah as well. "When you spend a thousand years trying to break a curse, you learn a thing or two. First rule, always have a backup. Backup werewolf." He gestured with one hand. "Backup witch." He gestured with the other.

Damon grimaced, and Sarah held her breath. A similar panic flooding her again as Damon finished Klaus' list with, "Backup vampire."

"I've got that covered too," said Klaus gleefully, as Damon swiftly turned towards the door.

"Sarah, run–" he was cut off as Klaus grabbed him from behind, snapping his neck.

"Damon!" Sarah cried out, knowing that if she fled the Klaus would just use her brother in his sacrifice. However, the point was quickly rendered mute as Leiah charged out of the Alaric's apartment and shoved Sarah agains the hallway wall. "Told you it would get messy." And with that Leiah snapped her neck too, plunging her into darkness.

When she then came to later, Damon was standing over her. She was being held up by his arm while the other held a blood bag to her lips. "Come on, drink up, Sis. You're going to need you strength." She obliged, taking in as much blood as she could. Feeling her strength renew as the blackness around her vision cleared and she sat up on her own. But as she did so, she realised, she hadn't been moved from where Leiah had killed her. She and Damon were both still in Alaric's apartment building.

"Katherine?" Sarah asked, unsure why the name was the first on her lips as she looked up to her brother.

"Don't worry, Sarah," came the slick voice from the doorway to Alaric's. Sarah turned to find the doppelgänger still stood inside the apartment. "I'm still here," she said with a little finger wave.

But that only confused Sarah all the more as she turned to Damon. "But…why didn't he take any of us? He needs a vampire for the ritual and he has three right here." She looked around, still confused and now feeling disorientated as Damon helped her up to her feet.

"I don't know. He must have something else planned," suggested Damon.

"He does," answered Katherine as both Salvatores turned to face her. "I'm sorry. I had to. He would have known that I was on vervain if I didn't do it," Katherine then said, her eyes flicking between the brother and sister.

"Do what?" asked Damon slowly, he and his sister frowning in concern. If it had Katherine worried, then it couldn't be a good thing.

"They made me call her to lure her out. He needed another vampire," Katherine explained while still not giving them an answer.

"Who did you call?" Sarah demanded, that panicked feeling returning to her for the third time in what felt like a matter of seconds. Katherine looked her square in the eye. Something which probably passed for sorrow and regret, swirling inside her in cold harsh brown eyes. "Who did you call, Katherine?" Sarah repeated anxiously.

Katherine took in a slow breath, and then answered, "Jenna."

Sarah could only stare back in shock as it all played through her head, how Klaus and Leiah would have done it. It would have been easy. All Katherine had to do was pretend to be Elena, and then give Jenna some spiel about needing her help right away. Jenna would leave in a panic, forgetting all about Katherine and her identical voice, and walk right into Klaus' arms. And then he'd have his vampire, once he turned her that was. Which he probably already had.

"I can fix this," Sarah found herself saying through heavy panicked breaths, an absent hand running through her hair.

"Sarah…" Damon said softly.

"I can save her," she insisted ignoring him, quickly thinking of how she could. Klaus needed a vampire. She could provide him with one, herself. The only reason he hadn't taken her was because he had Jenna. But if she showed up, she could trade herself for Jenna. Sacrifice herself in order to save Jenna, her friend. Unless he knew something she didn't. But what would that be?

It didn't matter, Sarah already had a back up a plan on how to get around that problem, as she raced down the hall towards the stairs at vampire speed.

"Sarah, wait–!" Damon shouted from behind, but Sarah kept going, down the stairs and out into the streets of Mystic Falls. She had to save Jenna. She might have failed in everything else she'd tried to do today, but she would not let Jenna die. Not like this. She would save her best friend.

She just hoped there was enough time for her to get what she needed.


	42. The Ritual Begins

_Review responses:_

 _Guest (1): I'm so glad you feel that way. I'm crying now too!_

 _Bornkiller9: Here's the first half of it, I hope it delivers. And you never know, she still could. Yes, upon rewatching season 3 I see a bit of that too and I'm aware it gets worse as it goes on. I am planning on toning it down, we'll see if I succeed. Can't wait to for you to see how this story wraps up!_

 _doubtedbus406: I love updating this story, I just wish I could do it more often, but support from reviewers such as yourself is a big motivation and help, so thank you! So glad to hear you're enjoying it, and you can expect another update next week too._

 _Guest (2): Fair enough, thanks for leaving your thoughts._

 _Here we go! Show time!_

* * *

 **Chapter 42: The Ritual Begins**

* * *

It was finally here. The time had come. And Leiah couldn't be happier for her brother. After centuries of preparation and searching, finally his moment had come. He'd be free of his curse and become what he was truly meant to be. A Hybrid. He'd finally be happy.

And when her brother was happy, Leiah was happy to. But she'd be even more happy when she got to experience the chaos that followed. The rise of the Hybrid race. A species which would tip the balance of power in the supernatural world, redefine the rules of nature. It was these moments in history, that Leiah had always looked back on fondly. The ones that brought about the most chaos and amusement for her. After all, what else was an immortal girl to do with her time?

"How are we all feeling then?" Leiah announced her presence, making her way down the hill to the ritual site. It was a clearing near a body of water, somewhere near a quarry, surrounded by trees and a cliff face opposite the lake. In the middle of the clearing, on their knees, were the doppelgänger and her aunt.

Leiah smiled happily over to them, but the doppelgänger only glare back. The aunt had other things on her mind, in the middle of clutching her head. "My head," she groaned from next to the doppelgänger. "What's wrong with me?"

"Don't worry, it won't last," said Leiah with a grin towards Greta. The witch was stood by a stone built alter, spell book in hand, while Leiah was off to the right, unfolding a portable sun lounger so that it was facing the centre of the clearing.

"Do you remember what happened?" the doppelgänger said quietly to Jenna, but not so quite that Leiah couldn't hear.

"You called me. You were so scared…" Then came the moment of realisation for the aunt as she groaned in frustration. "I should have realised that it wasn't you."

"I wouldn't beat yourself up too much," said Leiah, suddenly looming over the pair and making the aunt jump towards doppelgänger. The doppelgänger wrapped an arm around her aunt, but her disapproving eyes remained on Leiah. The Original simply grinned, admiring the defiance in the doppelgänger's eyes, knowing full well nothing else would come of it. She'd resigned herself to her fate, and to try and fight back now would only end badly for her and her loved ones. And she knew that.

"Katerina can be quite convincing when she wants to be."

"Katerina?" the aunt breathed, confused as she looked to the doppelgänger.

"Eh, Katherine's original name," the doppelgänger hastily explained, not giving the point much attention since it wouldn't matter once they were all dead.

Casually, Leiah then reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out a small crumpled up bag with red and white strips. "Go on," she said to the aunt as she unwrapped the top of the bag, reaching in to pull out a piece of popcorn. "You were telling her how you ended up here." Leiah herself of course knew this, but even so, a recap never hurt before the next episode.

She threw the piece of salted popcorn into her mouth, chewing as the two women on their knees stared up at her. One shocked, scared and confuse. The other, with that same annoyance mixed in with anger that wouldn't go beyond a glare.

"The…The second I walked out the house, someone grabbed me." The aunt then looked back up at Leiah. "You grabbed me."

Leiah waved her finger at the incorrect answer. "No, no, no. Klaus, my brother, he grabbed you."

"And he…" the aunt gasped in disgust as she remember.

"Go on. Say it," Leiah said mirthfully. The doppelgänger still glaring at her but not daring to speak up.

"He fed me his blood," the aunt answered shakily.

"And do you know what that means?"

"Stop it," the doppelgänger finally said in a quiet voice.

"It means I'm going to be become a vampire," the aunt said, tears pricking at her eyes.

"That's right," agreed Leiah as she bent down, eagerness on her lips.

"Stop it," the doppelgänger said, louder this time.

Leiah ignored her again, continuing on with her torturous words. "So, you've drank vampire blood." She raised one finger. "Then you died." She held up another. "Now your alive again." A third rose, and with it, so did Leiah's smile. "Which leaves only one step left."

"Stop it, leave her alone!" shouted the doppelgänger.

"Have you felt it yet?" continued Leiah, edging closer towards the aunt as she spoke in a hushed voice. "The hunger. That itch you just can't scratch. I imagine your throat's pretty dry about now. Your head aching… Just imagine what one sip would do for you. Just a drop, and it all gets so much better." By this point the aunt was entranced by her words, on the point of drooling as she stared almost hypnotically back at Leiah. The Original could tell she was getting to her, and she wasn't about to let some loud mouth doppelgänger ruin her fun.

"Stop!" the doppelgänger cried out, going to lunge for Leiah, before the petite blonde Original sent her flying back with a slap. The doppelgänger sailed through the air, landing a meter or so away as she crashed to the dirty ground painfully.

"Elena!" the aunt cried after her. But her gaze was then swiftly pulled back to Leiah, as the Original grabbed her chin and turned the aunt's eyes back towards her own.

"Soon it will over whelm you, you know," Leiah said, captivating the aunt as the doppelgänger struggled to get back up, winded from the blow. "Soon, you won't be able to fight it. You'll feed off anything with a pulse. You'll lose control and you'll kill them." Leiah then turned the aunt's chin towards Elena. Showing her her injured and defenceless niece as she climbed back up. "You'll kill her."

"No…"

Leiah turned her back around. "But I can help you. All you need to do, is feed."

"Jenna, no!" Elena shouted as she tried to run, only for a circle of fire to surround her, leaving her no where to go.

"Feed," continued Leiah, "and everything will be all right. You'll stop suffering, you won't hurt your niece. Everything will be better. You want that don't you?"

The aunt nodded, giving in to the hunger and Leiah's twisted words. The Original smiled, looking over to Greta and beckoning her with a nod of the head.

The witch then approached, smiling herself as she held out her wrist towards Leiah. Then, with care and delicate affection, Leiah bite into her wrist. Taking a little blood for herself before pulling away. Leaving the exposed and bleeding wrist for the aunt to see. That which she craved laid out before her, as Leiah pulled Greta's hand forward.

"Go on, Jenna. Give in," Lieah tempted her, watching as the aunt's eyes became hypnotised by the very sight of the blood. Unable to look away as she tried to fight it, pulling back and yet leaning in towards it at the same time. Her back arched inwards while her head craned towards that which she desperately wanted.

"Drink it. You know you want to," continued Leiah.

"Jenna, don't! Fight it!" cried out the doppelgänger from her prison.

"I can't," Jenna breathed. Slowly, she was leaning in, as if being pulled in by a rope she was still fighting against. But Leiah could see, she wouldn't hold out much longer. The inevitable would happen, and she'd complete her transition. Even so, it was fun to watch her squirm.

Her lips were now over Greta's wrist, the final leap there. All she had to do was bite down and let the blood enter her mouth. "No!" the doppelgänger cried out again, but it was futile. Proven so by the aunt herself as she finally collapsed under the pressure, and fell upon Greta's wrist. Bitting in and consuming the blood. The blood that had now solidified her transformation into a vampire.

"There we go, doesn't that feel better?" said Leiah soothingly as she stroked back the aunt's hair. Watching as the new vampire drank from her first meal. Unfortunately though, she couldn't let her kill Greta. Klaus still needed her, so once the aunt had had enough, she pulled her off and pushed her towards the next circle Greta had set up. With a raised hand, Greta then lit the flames around the aunt, just as she had with the doppelgänger.

"Welcome to team V," Leiah congratulated the aunt, as she looked up from where she'd been shoved. Blood now surrounding her green eyes.

While the doppelgänger then proceeded to reassure her aunt, Leiah bent down to pick up the bag of popcorn she'd dropped while dealing with the new vampire's transition. "Would you like a topping?" offered Greta, holding out her still bleeding wrist.

Leiah grinned. "You're too good to me." She then held out her bag beneath Greta's wrist, as the witch tilted until a thin stream of blood began to dribble down onto the popcorn.

Once she was done, a quick spell had her wrist healed and she returned to the alter to await Klaus. As for Leiah, she made herself comfy on the sun lounger, watching the aunt as she stared on towards her. The blood luring her vision no matter how much she tried to fight it. The doppelgänger kept trying to distract her, but Leiah knew what the aunt was going through all to well. Which made it all the more enjoyable for her as she slowly eat her bloody popcorn. Savouring the taste and smirking as the aunt stared on hungrily, and the doppelgänger glared daggers at her.

It was shaping up to be a good night.

* * *

Using an exposed rusted pipe, Scarlett smoothly lifted up her chin to the ceiling, before lowering her body back down. Her knees were bent, allowing her to keep her feet from the floor, as she closed her arms in on themselves to preform another chin up. There wasn't much else for her to do productive wise. So over the past few days, while in the old haunted witch house with Jeremy and Bonnie, she'd been working out so that she'd been ready for Klaus and Leiah.

"You feeling all right?" Jeremy asked from the floor next to Bonnie. The pair of them surrounded by open books with one in each hand.

Ever since Sarah had told them about Damon feeding Elena vampire blood that morning, they'd all been searching Bonnie's grimoires for a spell that might allow her to survive the ritual without turning into a vampire. So far, there'd been no such luck. And when Scarlett got frustrated, she worked out – and when it came to researching and rereading old boring books over and over again, she got frustrated a lot.

"Yeah… I'm good…" replied Scarlett in between chin ups.

"You sure?" Jeremy asked, a touch of familiar concern to his voice. "It's the full moon after all."

"I know, Jer," replied Scarlett, doing another two chin ups before dropping down to her feet. "But as long as I've got my necklace, I'm in complete control."

"So why all the pull ups?" Jeremy asked, gesturing with his hand to pipe she'd been using.

"Bored," Scarlett shrugged, watching as he smiled a little back at her.

It was the last thing she'd been expecting, but over the last few days, she and Jeremy had grown closer. For one thing they were now able to look each other in the eye again. Something which they hadn't been able to do when they first arrived to help protect Bonnie.

At first Scarlett had thought Damon mad for thinking that she and Jeremy could work things out, just because they were forced to stay together for a couple of nights. But in the end it had done something for them. Through pure exposure to one another, they'd gotten used to one another again. Plus her training sessions with Jeremy had forced them to put their feelings on hold so that he could learn a few tricks that might actually save his life. She'd gone through a few basics with him on fighting, where best to strike a vampire with a stake, the amount of force needed, how surprise would be his best – and pretty much only weapon. And despite the seriousness of it all…it had been nice. To connect with him again. And through those few hours she'd felt their relationship reform into something new. Not the same as they once had – she wouldn't even say it was better. But it was an improvement, which she'd been wanting ever since she'd told him about Mason. There was still a long road ahead, but it was one she'd happily walk down if it lead her back to Jeremy.

Although she'd never admit to Damon his plan had actually worked. That was an ego boost the blue eyed vampire did not need.

"Well, you could come and help us with this research?" offered Bonnie in response to Scarlett. Gesturing to the old dusty books scattered around her and Jeremy.

Scarlett scrunched up her nose, hands resting on her hips. "I'm not exactly good at the whole research thing, remember."

"Yeah, but the more eyes we have looking the better chance we have of finding something," argued Bonnie as she looked back down to her grimoire.

"She's right," agreed Jeremy, as he picked up a closed book and hurled it towards Scarlett. She caught it in between both hands, groaning to herself as she made her way over to join her friends. Dropping onto the floor in front of them, she folded her legs and opened up the grimoire – reminding herself that it was for Elena, Jeremy's sister – and got to reading. After all, with every second counting, she couldn't really say no. Besides, the more they could get through in the least amount of time, the better chance they had at saving Elena from becoming a vampire. She just had to keep reminding herself that she was doing it for Jeremy. And that in an hour or two she'd be done anyway. Because by then Klaus will have completed his ritual, and it would be time to strike.

* * *

They arrived in Alaric's car, parking near the road and a far enough away from the witch house as to avoid being followed. Once parked, Amelia exited from the back of the car along with her brother, Elijah. Alaric and Stefan did the same, before the vampire hunter grabbed a rucksack full of weapons from the trunk of his car. Amelia thought it better not to point out how useless the weapons would be. It was clearly more of a comfort thing for him personally.

Glancing up at the sky while she waited, Amelia took in the beautiful full moon. It was almost sad, that the sight would forever be tainted in her eyes after tonight – more so than it already was. She knew that once she and Elijah dealt with Klaus, nothing would be the same for them again. But they owed it to their family, and they had to get Leiah away from him, before she ended up like the rest. It was painful, she knew it always would be, and she hoped in the moment she wouldn't fail. Family had always been a weak spot for her, but she could no longer see Klaus as family, not after what he'd so cruelly done to her siblings. At one point she'd loved him as much as any of her other siblings, but now, he was merely the monster that had taken them all away from her. She just hoped that image stayed in her head when it came time to kill him once and for all.

They started their walk through the forest, and as they walked, Amelia and Elijah told their companions about the ritual. "The sacrifice is completed in stages as the full moon sets," Amelia said aloud as the four of them strode through the forest, her hands shoved in her raincoat pockets. "First the werewolf is killed, then the vampire, and finally the doppelgänger. Once Elena dies and Klaus has consumed her blood, the curse will be broken and he will become the hybrid."

"So when do we attack?" Alaric asked for the back, his bag of weapons slung over his shoulder.

Elijah answered, "Elena's death will activate his dormant werewolf side and force him to change beneath the full moon. He'll be vulnerable during this transformation. That's when Bonnie comes in."

"And you're sure Bonnie will survive this?" asked Stefan, a hint of skepticism which Amelia could understand. Just because Elena was trusting them didn't mean he automatically did. And she was fine with this, so long as he didn't hinder her and her brother's only chance to put things right.

"Yes," said Amelia confidently, with a glance back to show him her certain blue eyes. "All she has to do is hold him down and peel back the magic protecting him. Through his breaking of the curse, and his initial change from human to wolf, the magic that makes us Originals impossible to kill will be weakened. This will allow Bonnie to give us a chance to kill him. A chance were he will stay dead."

"What about Leiah?"

"It will only take one of us and Bonnie to kill Klaus," Elijah replied. "The other will stop Leiah from causing any trouble. Afterwards, we will take her away and see to her."

"And which one of you is doing what?" asked Alaric.

The two Originals shared an uneasy look which they managed to hide from those behind them. The fact was, they hadn't yet decided who was going to be doing what. As the oldest, Amelia thought it right that she should be the one to deliver the final blow to Klaus, and keep that burden from landing on Elijah's shoulders. That said, she also knew how hard it would be for her go through with it when the time came. Like Elijah she always strove to keep her word…but she and her siblings had made a vow, so very long ago. One that she wasn't sure she could break, even if Niklaus had. Her younger siblings had always left her a little blind to their faults. In someways, even now, she still saw Niklaus as she had when they were human. When he was that timid boy who loved to laugh and paint – despite what he'd now become.

"It's unimportant," decreed Elijah, both he and Amelia looking ahead as the continued on.

A response from those following them was fortunately cut off by Stefan's ringing phone. And after hearing what the caller, Damon, had to say, Stefan and Alaric weren't thinking about what the two Originals were going to do. They were both now panicking over the news that Klaus had Jenna and was planning to use her in the ritual, as his vampire sacrifice. And on top of that, while Damon was now back at the house, getting ready to join them, Sarah had disappeared after finding out about Jenna. Damon had tried to get a hold of her, but she wasn't answering her phone. A fact which Stefan confirmed as the spooky old witch house came into view up ahead.

Amelia could see things were starting to spiral out of control, just as she'd anticipated. It was the way of the world unfortunately, and there was nothing she or anyone else could do to prevent it. No matter what the plan was, there would always be something that went wrong. In this case, it was Jenna being taken, and now Sarah going rouge. And while Amelia was saddened by the news that Jenna would be dying, she was more than prepared to accept that loss, if it meant finally putting an end to Klaus. Her only concern, was that Sarah would try and intervene with Jenna's death and possible ruin the whole plan. She might have been willing to let Elena sacrifice herself, but Amelia doubted the girl would stand by and allow Jenna to be sacrificed unwillingly. Then again, there was a rather obvious solution to that whole problem. A solution that Stefan, it seemed, had already worked out himself.

* * *

"So, how are you feeling now that you're a fully fledged vampire?" asked Leiah, finishing off her bloody popcorn. She was once again up, standing on the other side of the flaming circle that surrounded the aunt, the doppelgänger in her own flaming circle on the other side.

"Jenna, don't listen to her," said the doppelgänger, going as close to flames as she dared. Her aunt was sat down in the middle of her own prison. Arms wrapped around her legs as she rocked herself back and forth, no doubt being driven crazy by her new found cravings.

"I feel… I feel like myself…only…"

"Better?" Leiah offered with a smirk.

The aunt shook her head. "No."

"How is it not better?" demanded Leiah, almost insulted by the aunt's whimpering of the situation. "Everything you were has just been upgraded. You can see, hear and feel things that you never could before. This fire, warmer than any before it. The night, so much more welcoming now that you can see through it. What's not to love?"

"I'm terrified!" cried out the aunt suddenly. To which Leiah responded with a screwed up face.

"Well, if you're going to be negative about it, fine," she pouted, turning away as she thought.

Then an idea struck her, and she turned back with a mirthful grin on her freckled face. "You know, I could help with that terror your feeling," offered Leiah.

"What?" asked the amazed aunt.

"Oh, yeah. See, for new vampires, their emotions are a bit…intense," explained Leiah, as the doppelgänger caught on to what she was doing.

"Jenna. Jenna, look at me, don't listen to her." But her aunt didn't turn around, once again focused on Leiah's words.

"That's why vampires have the switch. All you have to do is flick it, and all that terror goes away."

"How do I do that?" asked the quivering aunt.

"You just have to think about it, and focus. Just envision it all going away. Like flicking a switch," said Leiah, her voice dropping down as she spoke, and looking Jenna in the eye as she waited for her to go through with it. To shut off her humanity.

"Jenna, no. It'll turn you into a monster. You won't feel anything bad, but you also won't feel anything good either. You'd be completely emotionless, devoid of all your humanity and morals," explained the doppelgänger hurriedly, before her aunt could do as Leiah wished.

"But you'd be free," whispered Leiah, knowing the aunt could hear her with her now supernatural hearing. "Free from the pain of your emotions. Free from responsibility."

"No. Stop it!" the aunt shouted, covering her ears.

Leiah chuckled. "That won't work. You can still hear me and we both know it. But if it bothers you so much, try turning it off. Nothing will bother you ever again. Or at least for the rest of your short little life, because tonight you're gonna die. So all you need to ask yourself, is do you want to die afraid and in pain, or numb to it all?"

Then, like the angel opposing her devil, the doppelgänger spoke up. "Jenna, whatever she's saying to you, don't listen. I'm not going to let them use you in this ritual. I'll find away to save you." At that Leiah laughed, her voice raising back to normal levels as she addressed the doppelgänger.

"You can't save her."

"Why are you doing this to her?!" snapped the doppelgänger angrily, now that Leiah was talking to her and not her aunt.

Leiah shrugged back. "Because it's amusing. Because I'm bored. Either way does it really matter?"

"Just leave her alone. If you want to pick on someone for your own sick amusement then pick on me!"

Leiah grinned. "Tempting, Hon. But you're under my brother's protection."

"And what about Jenna?" asked the doppelgänger cautiously.

"She's just another vampire," shrugged Leiah. "You're the important part to this."

"But if she's not important, you can let her go," argued doppelgänger pleadingly.

"Nice try, but she still has her uses."

"But you could use another vampire instead of her."

"You're right," agreed Leiah as she grinned, the dancing light of the flames giving her more sinister look in that moment. "So who should we substitute for her? Your boyfriend? Your best friend? The blue eyed brother? Sarah?" At the mention of her friends the doppelgänger tensed, realising what she'd gotten herself into. "Or should I just grab some innocent soul and use them instead? Is that what you want?" The doppelgänger didn't answer, but her shameful glance down at her feet told Leiah all she needed to know. She might not say it out loud, but the truth was the brunette was thinking about Leiah's offer.

"Because if that's what you want, I'll consider it. But you have to tell me that's what you want first. That you want to trade someone else's life for your aunts–"

"I thought you said you had to leave her alone," the aunt spoke up. Still sat down on the ground, but with a sudden spark of fire in her eyes. As the shrunken woman glared up like a tiny child who'd suddenly learnt they could say no to things they didn't like. Leiah smiled down at her, finding it a little cute.

"You're right. So, given any more thought to flicking that pesky humanity switch?"

"I'm not doing it for your amusement," muttered the aunt as she turned away.

Leiah shrugged again. "Just keep it in mind when the time comes. Believe it or not, I'm only trying to help."

"I doubt it," snipped the doppelgänger with a glare after Leiah. But the short blonde chose to rise above her, smiling back sweetly, as she turned to walk away.

She was no more than a few steps away when they all heard the scream of pain from up the hill.

"Who's that?" asked the startled aunt.

"Our final guest," answered Leiah was a grin. Turning towards the hill in preparation of her brother's arrival with the last ingredient.

"It's the werewolf," said Elena, as from out of the shadows a woman stumbled forward. Her face hidden by her long hair. But from her jagged movements as she staggered down the hill, it was obvious that she had to be the werewolf. A werewolf in the middle of her transformation too. A none to pleased experience, Leiah assumed, judging by the snapping bones she could hear, even without her enhanced hearing.

Behind the woman, was Greta, shoving her until she collapsed onto the ground near the two flaming circles around aunt and the doppelgänger. "What's happening to me?" gasped the werewolf, curling up on the ground as she struggled to breath.

"I cast a spell to slow down your transformation. Your insides are trying to tear themselves free, to complete the transformation," explained Greta with a mirthful grin.

"Oh, you are good," cooed Leiah, stepping up to Greta and giving her quick kiss, before looking back down to the groaning werewolf. "I don't suppose there's anything you can do about the audio commentary?"

Greta grinned back, "Don't worry, you won't have to put up with it for much longer." With a flick of her wrist, another flaming circle formed. This time surrounding the werewolf. The crackling flames just loud enough to drown out the groans of the werewolf.

"Greta, witches are supposed to maintain the balance in nature. It's your duty to them to keep this curse sealed," pleaded doppelgänger, now trying to appeal to the witch stood alongside Leiah.

The Original exchanged a look with Greta, both smirking as they turned back to the doppelgänger. "My duty is to Klaus. And the new order," replied the committed Greta. And that was without the aid of compulsion. But then again, as Leiah and her brother knew, compulsion wasn't the only way to brainwash people. Though what they'd done to Maddox and Greta had taken more time than Leiah would have liked in total honesty. But there was no denying they'd proved their worth.

"Glad to know I still have a dance partner," came the voice of Klaus, who had appeared at the bottom of the hill, just a few meters away. All eyes going to him.

Leiah and Greta smirked in anticipation. The werewolf continued to groan in pain, looking up with painful eyes. The aunt, now a vampire, remained curled up on the ground also, fear in her eyes as she looked to the man who would kill her. And the doppelgänger, the only one standing, stared defiantly back. Just as she had with Leiah, and doing her best to keep up that brave look of her hers.

"Hello, my lovelies," Klaus greeted his sacrifices as he stepped forward. "Are we ready?"

"Not too sure you want to ask that question," said Leiah as if thinking aloud.

"Nonsense, I can see how keen they all are to get started. Just like myself," said Klaus with a grin to each of the trapped woman, before turning to his allies and nodding towards the stone alter. Obediently, Greta and Leiah followed him up, ingoing the continuing screams and moans from the werewolf, and the glare of the doppelgänger – who remained hopeful in spite of her dire situation.

"I trust you have the moonstone," said Greta as they gathered around the alter.

Retrieving it from his pocket, Klaus looked delicately down at the perfectly white stone in his hand. "I spent five hundred years looking for this. I hate to part with it," said Klaus, holding out the moonstone to Greta who very – very – carefully, took it from him. Knowing how precious it was to him.

Making sure she had it securely held in her hand, Greta then glanced up to the black sky above, as if checking the time. "The moon has passed its apex," she declared, looking back to Klaus as she smiled madly. "Remember everything you need to do?"

"I remember," Klaus assured her. How could he forget after all. He'd been preparing for this for over a thousand years.

Greta, knowing it was time to start, then threw the moonstone into the bowl she'd placed upon the alter. Leiah almost squealed when the stone then exploded in a flash of bright sparks, a fire spontaneously forming within the bowl as Greta chanted aloud those familiar witchy words.

"That would be your cue," Leiah said to Klaus, smirking along with him as he made his way towards the first of his sacrifices. She remained behind at the alter, watching out across the clearing as it began.

"Everything I did… I was just trying to help Tyler…and Scarlett," groaned the werewolf towards the doppelgänger, catching Leiah's attention at the mention of her latest crush.

"Are you Jules?" asked the doppelgänger, which probably meant something to her.

"I just... I just didn't want them to be alone," explained the werewolf, before she went back to her cries of pain. Klaus now stood at the edge of her flaming circle with an eager grin of his own.

"Shall we?" he asked, as the werewolf looked over her shoulder to her soon to be murderer.

The flaming circle then disappeared, and Leiah watched with an amused grin as the werewolf tried to stand up. She gave her points of trying, but it was futile. Klaus would be more powerful than her normally, but in this state, stuck between her transformation, the werewolf could barely stand let alone fight. Still, she tried to. Her eyes turning into their werewolf form. Those gold circles surrounded by black.

She ran at Klaus, using all the speed she had under the full moon.

Klaus was faster though. So fast, that the next thing everyone saw was Klaus holding the werewolf's heart in his hand.

Leiah cheered and applauded her brother, as he held up the werewolf's heart like a trophy. While from the flaming circles, the aunt gasped in horror, seeing what would soon befall her.

* * *

"Hey. Hey, I think I might have something," said Jeremy as his eyes skimmed over the line he'd just read.

Grateful for the distraction and glimmer of hope, Scarlett dropped her book and pushed herself up. She'd been lying chest down with her feet held up but had now rolled onto her side so that she could look over to Jeremy. Bonnie, who was sitting next to him, leaned over to get a look at what he was reading. Jeremy pointing to the book as he held it out to her.

"Which one's that?" asked Bonnie.

"It's Emily Bennett's, there's this whole section on spells made specifically for my ancestor, Johnathan Gilbert. Here it is, this one here. A resuscitation spell she was working on."

"Yeah, I saw that too. She just didn't explain what it did, exactly," Bonnie replied with a curious frown at the book.

"Well, maybe Johnathan wrote about it in his journals," Jeremy said as he began searching for his phone, now hidden amongst the scattered books. "I can have Stefan bring them."

"But what's a spell made for your ancestor going to do for Elena?" Scarlett asked.

"The type of spells she was working on related to blood. So in theory, since Elena is a descendent of Johnathan Gilbert and part of his bloodline, the spell could still be used on her. And even if not, it wouldn't take too much effort to adjust the spell I think. I just need to be sure it'll work before I start–" she stopped talking at the sound of the door above creaking.

Scarlett and Jeremy heard it too, all of them looking to the stairs that lead up to the house. "Someone's here," Bonnie whispered, to which Scarlett sniffed the air.

She almost instantly relaxed, as she rolled into a sitting up position. "Don't worry, it's only Alaric and the others," she assured them, as a light shone from the top of the stairs. A few seconds later, Alaric came in and looked straight to Jeremy. And from his heartbeat, Scarlett could tell something was seriously wrong.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Jeremy asked casually as Alaric approached them.

Instead of answering Jeremy though, he looked to Bonnie and Scarlett and said, "The Originals and Stefan are upstairs. You mind if I have a second with Jeremy?"

"Sure," Bonnie answered as she got up.

"Yeah," agreed Scarlett as she copied Bonnie's action. Though she looked down at Jeremy before following the witch out. She had a bad feeling about whatever Alaric was about to tell him. So when Bonnie went outside to meet with Stefan and the others, Scarlett remained at the top of the stairs to listen in and makes sure Jeremy was okay.

"What's the matter?" Jeremy asked Alaric.

"Jeremy… Something happened to Jenna," Alaric explained soberly, as Scarlett closed her eyes to silently curse.

"What–What happened?" Jeremy asked, trying to keep it all in check.

"Klaus took her…and he's turned her into a vampire… So that he can use her in his ritual." The rest after that didn't really matter. It was just Alaric promising he'd do everything he could to get her back and Jeremy saying he'd help before they argued about who was going and why they should. But no matter what, it wouldn't change the fact that Jenna was now a vampire. Then again, maybe that was why they were arguing about who was going, because it was easier to do that than think about what it meant beyond that. About what would happen afterwards if they got Jenna back safe and undead.

Scarlett wanted to go down and help, to somehow comfort Jeremy and make it all better. But they weren't there yet, and realistically nothing she said or did would make it better. She'd just have to settle for being with him in spirit, and when the time came, do what she could to help get Jenna back to Jeremy. Because from the way things were looking, Jeremy could lose his entire family tonight. And after everything Scarlett herself had put him through, she couldn't let that happen. Even if it killed her, she'd get Jeremy his family back.

* * *

"Why did he take Jenna?" asked Bonnie angrily, having just been told what Alaric had Jeremy.

"A punishment for meddling, I would imagine," suggested Elijah, but Amelia would assume there was something more to it. Some twisted logic in his head that would make Jenna the logical sacrifice in place of Elena's friends. But she couldn't be sure of that without knowing who the werewolf was, and since it obviously wasn't Scarlett, that left the choices for werewolves pretty low.

"Klaus was going to use to Tyler and Caroline," Stefan began to explain to Bonnie, catching her up. "But Damon and Sarah rescued them."

"Then we need to go, now. Before Jenna's been sacrificed," pressed Bonnie.

"If you go before the ritual is complete then we will be no help to you," Amelia cut in, before continuing on when she saw the betrayal in Bonnie's angry eyes. "That is to say, we _won't_ be able to."

Elijah then went on to say, "If you try to strip the magic around him away now, it'll take everything you have. There would be no point in peeling it back enough to allow us to kill him, for you would still kill yourself. You might as well do the job yourself at that point."

"Then I'll do it," said the determined Bonnie.

"Bonnie," Stefan said carefully as he stepped towards her. "If you use that much power, you'll be dead. We've already been through this. It's not an option."

"Neither is letting Jenna die," argued Bonnie.

"Well, Stefan would agree with you," said Elijah, as he and his sister looked to Stefan.

After Alaric had gone inside, Stefan had spoken to the Originals about when the vampire would be sacrificed and how much time he would had. By their estimation, they'd have maybe an hour at most, which didn't leave them with a lot of time. But it was enough for Stefan to do what he suggested, if they acted fast.

"We're going to offer another vampire. One that he'll want more," Stefan began explaining to a confused Bonnie. "Me."

"Stefan–" Bonnie began to object.

"There's no time to argue about this. We haven't got time to come up with a clever way out of this – and I won't let you die either. This way we can save Jenna and continue with the plan."

"But you'll…"

Stefan nodded solemnly. "I know."

Bonnie squirmed for a moment, trying to quickly think up an alternative. "No offence, but why can't Damon do this?"

"We don't have the time," stated Elijah simply.

"He's right. He's on his way over but by then it might be too late. I have to go now if we're to stand a chance at saving Jenna," pressed Stefan as he pleaded with Bonnie. Which was when she realised there would only be one reason for him arguing with her about this, rather than doing it without telling her.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Preform the locator spell now," answered Amelia.

Bonnie was hesitant, but with Jenna's life in the balance, she didn't have the luxury of time. "Are you sure about this?" asked Bonnie, needing to see the conviction in Stefan's eyes and know that he was truly okay with this. Amelia did admire that about this group, their dedication to one another, their willingness to sacrifice themselves in order to try and save each other.

"Bonnie, you're life's just starting. I've had my time. Please, help me do this one last thing for Elena."

"What about Sarah and Damon though?"

At that, Amelia caught the first sign of fault in Stefan's determination. But after an exhale, he'd accepted what it meant. "They'll understand." But from what Amelia knew of the Salvatores, she very much doubted that. And even if they did understand, that didn't necessarily translate to being okay with it. But then, they'd all known there was going to be fallout from this night.

Returning inside, Bonnie preformed the appropriate spell to track Elena using Jeremy's blood. A few minutes later, they had the location of the ritual. "They're at Steven's Quarry," Elijah informed Stefan as he and Amelia made their way outside. During the spell Stefan had opted to remain outside, alone with his thoughts. Amelia and Elijah could understand that.

Stefan nodded. "I'll head over there first and you'll follow with Bonnie when it's time."

"Just as the moon hits its final phase," agreed Elijah.

"Remember, Klaus can't know that Bonnie is alive. If he found out he might just back out of the ritual and we'd lose everything," warned Amelia.

"Don't worry, I'm on vervain," Stefan assured them. "And I won't break, not with Elena's life on the line."

He turned then to walk away. To make his way over to the ritual sight on his own, and offer himself up as a substitute sacrifice for Jenna. A mission that would only end one way, with his death. It was suicidal. But extremely noble, just as Elijah said.

"You've very honourable."

But his words seemed to give Stefan pause, as he turned back around stare at both the Originals. "Are you?" he asked carefully. "Because this whole plan is, um…it's contingent upon your honour."

"We won't fail you," promised Elijah plainly.

"Klaus is your brother," Stefan replied. "I know I've wanted to kill my brother a thousand times. But I've never been able to go through with it."

"And what of your sister?" asked Amelia.

"Family's the most important thing to her," Stefan answered back.

"As it is to me. But my question is, has she ever tried to kill you or your brother? Has she ever thought she succeeded?" At that, Stefan only stared black in dedicated silence. Obviously reliving some memory he'd probably rather not in his final moments. But it seemed to have helped make the Original's point, as he looked away in recognition.

"If it helps put your mind at rest, Klaus was not our only brother," Elijah then said, seeing not harm in revealing such sensitive information to a dying man. "Myself and Amelia, we had many siblings. And parents. A long time ago we had a family. But over the centuries, Klaus took them all from us. One by one."

Amelia then took over with, an anger rising in her voice. "Some, like Leiah, sided with him. But when they failed him badly enough he did to them what he did to all the others. Now he's scattered those he's taken across the seas of the world, where their bodies can not be found."

"You want revenge," Stefan realised.

"Sometimes there's honour in revenge, Stefan," explained Elijah with an unsettling smile.

"We won't fail you," Amelia then promised again, the passion in her eyes enough to assure Stefan in these last moments.

"Make sure you end this," was his parting worlds, before he stalked off into the night. For what would most likely be the last time. And as Amelia watched him go, she felt sorry for the vampire. But for one such as him, it would only ever end one way. And this was how it was.

* * *

Standing with his hand outstretched over the alter, Klaus squeezed the last few drops of blood from the werewolf's heart, as the flames beneath flared. "Does that mean it's working?" asked Klaus, the flames reflecting in his excited eyes.

"It's working," assured Greta, as she continued to chant.

"Thank goodness for that," sighed Leiah before locking eyes with her brother. "I'd hate for this to be a giant waste of time."

It was down to his good mood that he laughed then, and Leiah was very much aware of that. But after all their time together, she knew when and how to take advantage of his good moods. And after this was all over, she imagined he'd be in a great mood, for a very long time.

"Now, cast the heart into the flames," ordered Greta.

Doing as told, Klaus threw the heart into the flames, watching them double in size as the werewolf heart all but vanished. All that remained was the blood that was splattered across the alter. At the sight Leiah cheered again, and Klaus laughed joyfully, feeling the curse wrapped around him beginning to peel away.

"Now what?" asked Leiah, eager to see what would come next.

"Now for the vampire," answered Greta, looking to Klaus as his grin grew.

"Leiah?" Klaus asked, holding out his blood soaked hand.

Obliging, Leiah reached back behind her and pulled out a wooden stake. "One sharpened stake, for your convince," Leiah said as she flipped the weapon over, holding the thick end out towards her brother. Taking it, Klaus then turned from the alter, making his way down towards the two remaining prisoners.

And while he did that, Leiah made her way over to her sun lounger. Getting herself comfy for the fight that would undoubtedly follow. After all, she'd heard the doppelgänger speaking to her aunt when she thought they weren't listening. About how she was stronger as a vampire, faster and could run away. What she failed to mention however, was that Originals were ten times as strong and fast as her. The aunt had no chance. But if she was as bold as Leiah assumed, she'd put up a fight. One that might even be entertaining since Klaus was in a good mood. And her brother did love to put on a show.

"Hello, Jenna," greeted Klaus with a smile. The aunt, who'd been crouched, stood up now, turning to fully face her death. But from the next ring of fire, the doppelgänger stood up too, ready to argue some more.

Leiah was already rolling her eyes. She did hate the comedians that came on stage before the main entertainment.

"Let her go," begged the doppelgänger. "I understand that I have to die but she doesn't." Approaching the edge of the ring around her, the flames suddenly rose up, making the doppelgänger stumble backwards as she shielded herself with raised arms.

"Careful, love," cautioned Klaus. Coming close to actual concern in his voice. Though like Leiah, he would know that Greta had specifically spelled the rings so that the doppelgänger would not die. That however, did not mean, she couldn't get singed by those very magical flames.

"Elena, don't," the aunt said, looking back to her niece and motioning her back from the edge.

"No, Jenna," protested the doppelgänger, as if the aunt somehow had a say in the matter. "We can't leave Jeremy without a family."

"Good thing he has that girlfriend of his!" called Leiah from the lounger. "Oh, wait…" she then added after a moment of dramatic thought, earning a glare from both aunt and doppelgänger. She didn't care though, she was getting her kicks, as was Klaus, as they smirked to one another.

"Please," the doppelgänger said as Klaus turned back, once again begging. Leiah let her head roll back as she quietly groaned. This opening dialogue was really starting to irritate her. "I followed your rules. I did everything that you asked. I didn't run. Please."

"Well, that's impressive timing," hummed Leiah, tilting her head to look up at the figure looming over the ritual sight from atop the cliff face. The one who'd just arrived and made his presence very much known upon his arrival. Which meant he was either a distraction, or he was alone and here to make an offer. Suspecting the former, Leiah pushed herself up on her lounger, readying herself to move should the need arise.

"I don't recall you being on the guest list," added Klaus, as he too looked up, having sensed the additional audience member. The aunt and the doppelgänger followed his gaze, the doppelgänger gasping as she recognised the man standing above them. Leiah and Klaus recognised him to, as Stefan Salvatore.

"I'm here to talk," said Stefan simply, staring down at them from his elevated position.

Glancing back to his sacrifices, Klaus smiled as he then turned to his sister. She nodded, a smile on her lips, but a seriousness to her eyes. She knew what he was silently telling her. To keep an eye out for any ill-conceived attempts at rescue. And she was ready. Nothing was going to get in there way, not now, when they were finally enacting the ritual.

Confident that his sister had the sacrifices well guarded, Klaus then said aloud, "Very well, then," before suddenly he was up on the cliff next to Stefan. Striding towards him as casually as if they were old friends. "What can I do for you, Mr. Salvatore?"

"I want you to release, Jenna," Stefan said, turning to face Klaus as he stood firm.

Klaus chuckled. "As I'm sure you're aware, I need her for my ritual," pointed out Klaus as he pointed his stake down towards the ritual grounds.

"You don't need to kill Jenna. I'll take her place," Stefan declared boldly, making Leiah grin from down on her lounger. Now this was the more preferable of his reasons for being her. To save the aunt rather than the doppelgänger. To try and argue for a spot in this, oh so history sacrifice, rather than put a stop to it. But as Leiah knew full well, just because you want to be a part of something, doesn't mean you got to be.

"Oh, I don't know," said Klaus as if uninterested by Stefan's offer. "I rather appreciate the symmetry of three women." He began to walk around to Stefan's other side, all while the young vampire remained still, holding his ground both metaphorically and physically. "Three goddesses. Sacrificed at nature's altar."

Seeing his jaw tighten, Leiah wished she'd brought more popcorn with her, as she watched Stefan turn around, trying to seem as lax as possible in spite of the situation. "Don't play games with me. You'll get what you want either way."

"Oh, but, Stefan, it's all about the games for us," Leiah giggled from her chair, watching as Stefan turned sharply to look down at her, as if just remember she was there. But he'd obviously been listening out, otherwise he wouldn't have heard. "So, really, it's just a question of if you want to play."

Jaw going firm again, Stefan once again looked back to Klaus. "All right fine, I'll play along if that's what you want. I'll let you torture me, I'll put up a fight. I'll even let you drain me of vervain so you can compel me, but let Jenna go," he pleaded in such a heroic manner. It really was beginning to feel like a movie for Leiah. With a hero's sacrifice and all.

"And what if I refuse?" asked Klaus curiously, stepping towards Stefan and lifting the stake towards his heart.

"Then I'll fight you," Stefan declared, meeting Klaus' eye without missing a beat. "And you'll kill me. At which point you might as well use me in your sacrifice anyway and let Jenna go."

"I would say it's a bad idea to announce your plan, but then again, it's a pretty stupid plan anyway," mocked Leiah, but Stefan chose to ignore her, his eyes remaining on Klaus as the Original smirked.

"You're quite the hero, aren't you?" teased Klaus, obviously thinking in a similar fashion to his sister.

"Just make the trade. Me for Jenna."

Klaus considered it for a moment, looking down to see the doppelgänger freaking out now. Like Leiah, he'd been fully aware that the aunt had begun using her new vampire powers to listen in on them all, and had conveyed the just of their conversation to her niece. Now Leiah knew he'd wouldn't be changing his mind. After all, there was more going on the Stefan realised, but there was no reason not to string him along for now.

Holding out his arm towards the slope that lead down the cliff, Klaus said, "After you."

With a seemingly grateful nod, Stefan turned to lead the way down, as Klaus followed him. And as Leiah watched them descend, she couldn't help but think about the old times, as familiar scenes flashed before her eyes.

One thing was for sure, even once the ritual was done, Klaus and Leiah wouldn't be finished with the Salvatore Siblings.


	43. Save Who You Can

_Review responses:_

Bornkiller9: _I will always appreciate you taking the time to leave a supportive review, no matter what, and thank you as always! Now for the Big Finally...before the other big finally!_

* * *

 **Chapter 43: Save Who You Can**

* * *

Stood downstairs in the basement alongside Jeremy, Scarlett watched as Bonnie performed her spell. The spell which in theory was going to save Elena without her having to become a vampire.

As she worked, Scarlett felt Jeremy take her hand, squeezing it tight. She squeezed back, knowing how hard this had to be for him. Thanks to the Gilbert journals that John had brought to them, Bonnie had finally worked out how to perform the spell. But it came with a cost. And that cost was John's life. In order to perform the spell, Bonnie had to transfer John's life force into Elena upon her death.

But even then, they weren't one hundred precent sure on how this was going to work. When the spell had been originally used, as described in the Gilbert journal, it had been to save a dying daughter. Not someone who'd died with vampire blood in their system. But it was a chance, and John had been adamant about it, regardless of how it would end for him. All he wanted was to try and give Elena a chance at a human life.

Scarlett had to admit, she'd been impressed. Almost moved. She probably would have been had he not been such a jackass to her the entire time she knew him. And just because she was a werewolf.

At the same time though, she understood now that it had been coming from a place of love. Love for his daughter and nephew.

That said, she wasn't going to forgive him, even on his death bed.

During the spell, Damon came down, declaring that everyone else was ready and that they had to get going. Jeremy told him Bonnie still had to finish the spell, gesturing to her with her hands held out on either side of John's head, as he sat in a chair before her. At which Damon rolled his eyes and began to pace, nervously scratching himself and almost on the verge of sweating.

It was unusual, Scarlett thought, but after finding out about Stefan's plan to trade himself for Jenna, she could understand. But even then, he'd been acting erratic and touchy ever since he arrived – even going as far as to punch a hole in the wall upstairs. And it probably wasn't helping that he, and everyone else, had no idea where Sarah was. As far as they could work out, Damon had been the last person to see her before she'd took off on her own after finding out about Jenna's involvement in the sacrifice. Since then no one had managed to get in touch with her and like the others, Scarlett was starting to worry herself.

She couldn't imagine Sarah abandoning them. But then she might have tried something on her own, something that might have gotten her killed. The more she thought about it, the more she worried. At the same time though, she remained hopeful that Sarah would come through, she always had before. She just had to make sure she helped with her side of things, so that when Sarah arrived, everything would be ready.

Her thoughts on Sarah snapped along with Damon's fingers, as he said aloud, "Come on, Bonnie, we got a hybrid to kill."

"Just give her a moment," Jeremy said quietly, trying to keep him from distracting Bonnie.

Damon glared back, about to say something when Bonnie stopped chanting. She opened her eyes, looking at them all looking back at her. "It's done," she said.

"That's it?" Damon asked. Bonnie nodded back. "Let's go," he said, turning to jog up the stairs.

After making sure John had recovered from the spell, Bonnie went to follow. But before Scarlett could, she turned back to Jeremy – her hand still in his – and said, "We'll be back soon."

Her free hand found its way up onto his face, but was then pushed aside as Jeremy frowned. "Wait, what? No. No, I'm coming. I need to be there. I need to make sure Elena and Jenna are okay," Jeremy protested, at which Bonnie stopped in her own stride nearby. Her focus on Jeremy.

"Jeremy…" Scarlett began to say.

"No, no more of this, 'trying to protect me,' crap. All right, we've been over this, I have my ring. And I have what you've been teaching me, I'll be fine, and I'm not taking no for an answer." Scarlett knew he wouldn't. There was too much at stake and she completely understood.

She smiled softly up at him, turning his head slightly as she kissed him on the cheek. She felt bad, but she couldn't let him get involved in this. It was just to risky, even for her. But she'd promised to herself that she would save Jeremy's family, even at the cost of her own life. But for her to do that she couldn't be worrying about him. And if she was going to die, she had to know that he would at least be safe.

"I know," Scarlett whispered into his ear, her arms going around him as they hugged one another. "And I'm sorry. But that's why I asked Bonnie to do this."

Jeremy pushed her back in front of him, seeing the sadness and discomfort in her eyes. This was hard for her, after trying so hard to win him back, it was painful to take this step backwards. But it would be worth it, Scarlett knew it. Worth it for him, even if it ruined her.

"Do wha…" Before he could finish he was unconscious, falling back as his fingers lost their grip on Scarlett. She went to grab him but he was still falling backwards, when John quickly stepped in behind to catch him.

"I got him, I got him," John said assuringly, as he began dragging Jeremy back over to the chair he'd vacated. He got him settled and then looked back up to the two girls staring back at him and Jeremy. "Just go. I'll stay with him," John said, waving them both off.

Bonnie nodded, turning to go up the stairs, but once again Scarlett lingered. Watching Jeremy in his unconscious state, as she felt the guilt of having betrayed him again sink in.

She knew there'd come a point when he'd be done with her.

"Hey," John spoke up, catching her attention. "You did the right thing here."

"Like your opinion means anything to me," Scarlett spat back, turning to leave.

"Scarlett…I'm sorry." John said, causing her to pause in her step. "I was only ever trying to look out for Jeremy. But now I realise…you were just trying to protect him too. Because you loved him."

Looking back with a vulnerable look in her eye, Scarlett replied, "I'll always love him. And I'll always protect him… Even if we're not together." And she meant it, before she then turned away, with Jeremy's peaceful face lingering in her mind, as she ran up the stairs to join the others.

"Great, now that we're done with sob speeches, we can go," muttered Damon as he lead the march out. Scarlett remained silent, somber as she fell into step alongside Bonnie, both walking out with the Originals and Alaric right behind them.

"I've got weapons in the car," Alaric explained from the back.

"Bonnie's the only weapon we need. Amelia and I shall deal with the rest," assured Elijah as he and Amelia walked out, Alaric about to follow them when he hit an invisible wall.

He tried to exit the house again, but hit the same problem. He looked around frantically, pressing his hands up against the wall before realising what it was. "Bonnie," he snapped, as the five supernaturals outside turned back to look at him. Each with their own degree of sorrow.

"What is this?" demanded Alaric.

"I can't put anyone else at risk."

"I can't stay here with Jenna out there!" exclaimed Alaric.

"I'm sorry," was all Bonnie could say.

"You can't do this! Damon?" he asked, turning to his friend for help.

"Sorry, buddy. She's right," he said, before walking off with the others in toe.

"No! You can't do this. Bonnie! Bonnie!" Alaric shouted after them, as he futilely slammed his fists against the wall keeping him in.

* * *

"Quite the predicament," announced Klaus as he and Stefan arrived back down at the ritual site. "You know, it's funny, all this talk about preserving family, and here's Stefan, granting your wish," Klaus said in amusement, gesturing to Stefan as the two came to a stop before Elena's flaming circle.

"Stefan…" Elena said sadly, having heard from Jenna what he was planing to do.

"It's okay," Stefan assured her, having accept his fate as he stood willingly between Klaus and Elena. Nothing about him seemed scared or out of place. He seemed utterly content in the moment, before he frowned and looked off to the side. From behind him Klaus did the same, and Elena followed their gazes as she looked back over her shoulder, and gasped.

"Well, this just keeps getting better and better doesn't it?" mused Leiah, as she grinned from her lounger, at Sarah who'd emerged from the trees behind Elena and Jenna.

"Let me guess, you're here to try and save Jenna too?" sighed out Klaus.

With a stern expression of steel, Sarah replied simply, "Yes."

"Sarah, you don't have to do this. I'll take Jenna's place. Just get out of here," ordered Stefan, not wanting to see anyone else die over this, least of all his own sister.

"No, no, no. You both stay right where you are," said Klaus, grin forming as he looked between the two Salvatores, making sure they didn't try to flee. But neither had that air about them, both stubbornly refusing to move while silently willing the other to leave.

"So, Elena. It seems you have plenty of choices," Klaus pointed out, gesturing to his three potential vampire sacrifices with the stake. He then asked the all important question, "Well. Who's it going to be?"

But Elena couldn't answer. Fighting back tears as she looked between three of the closest people in her life. Her family, her lover, and her friend. "No," she said spitefully, glaring at Klaus.

"How about I help you then?" Klaus offered with a smirk. "Maybe take away one of your options."

Before anyone could think about what that meant, Klaus was right behind Stefan, bringing down the stake into the centre of his back. Elena and Sarah cried out, watching as Stefan was forced to the ground by Klaus, as the Original snapped the stake, leaving half of it still deeply embedded in Stefan's back.

But upon realising it hadn't killed him, Sarah let out a sigh of relief, steadying herself as she stepped back into her original position. It was hard to watch her brother in so much pain, but in this kind of situation, she had tread carefully. And that meant staying put no matter what Klaus or Leiah did to try and spook her.

"I have other plans for your boyfriend," Klaus said ominously as he smiled down at Stefan, further confusing Sarah. After all, what could Klaus possibly want with Stefan after all this. He was only here to perform the ritual, only knew about the him, Sarah and Damon because of their involvement with Elena… Or at least that was what she thought until she remembered Leiah.

Looking over, Sarah watched as the short blue eyed Original grinned knowingly at her. _What else was going on here?_ Sarah wondered, as her eyes sifted back to Stefan and Klaus. "I want him alive," continued Klaus. "But for now…" He then grabbed Stefan's head and snapped his neck so harshly that his whole body flipped over before he landed face first on the ground, dead.

"So, now it's a choice between Sarah and Jenna," Klaus proposed, sauntering away from Stefan's limp form, and around the flaming circles so that he stood facing Elena, with Jenna and Sarah on either side of him.

"Actually," interrupted Leiah with a raised hand in the air as Klaus looked back. "I think it's only fair, that since you got to veto Stefan from this ritual, that I should get to veto Sarah." Sarah, like everyone else, stared across at Leiah, frowning as the Original winked at her.

"Well, it seems there's no actual choice at all," Klaus said with a grin to Elena, before turning on Sarah.

"Wait," Sarah said sharply, holding up her hands.

"Relax, darling, I'm not going to kill you. Just put you down for a few minutes," explained the menacing Original as he advanced with his broken stake in hand. Although considering it no longer had a point – as that part was lodged in Stefan's back – Sarah didn't want to be the receiving end of it. She fully expected that Klaus had the strength to stab her with a blunt weapon and actually make it worse because of the thickness. But if her plan worked, hopefully she wouldn't get stabbed at all. She just had to remember who she was here for. Even if it meant leaving someone else she cared about behind.

"You don't have to, I have someone else you can sacrifice!" exclaimed Sarah, as Klaus stopped to roll his eyes.

"Let me guess, it's the other brother," he said wearily, on the verge of getting annoyed with all the time being wasted. "Like I told Katerina, he's no use to me."

"But it's not my brother," Sarah quickly explained, as she snapped her fingers to the trees behind her. At the sound, a woman then stepped forward. An ordinary woman, probably only a few years older than Elena, dressed in casual cloths and with a blank stare on her face as she walked forward. "It's her," Sarah said, gesturing back to the woman who stopped next to Sarah. "She can be your vampire sacrifice."

"And who's she?" asked Klaus, eyeing up the woman he didn't recognise. None of them did.

"She's someone who can replace Jenna in the sacrifice," insisted Sarah, as Elena and Jenna suddenly realised what was going on. Sarah had compelled this random woman, and had brought her here to be turned and substituted for Jenna in the ritual. Sarah was sending an innocent woman to her death, just so she could save Jenna. And while Elena wanted Jenna to live, she didn't want someone else to die either.

"Sarah, no! You can't!" Elena shouted out, but was ultimately ignored.

"But she's not a vampire," pointed out Klaus, another amused grin tugging at his lips. Curious to see if Sarah would go through with what she was implying.

Without hesitating, Sarah then bit into her wrist, and held it to the compelled woman's mouth, as all watched her consume the blood.

"Sarah, don't… You can't… It's not right," pleaded Elena, while Jenna remained in silent shock.

"If it saves Jenna, then I don't care," Sarah said, looking across to the her friend as she finished feeding the compelled woman. "And I'll do whatever it takes. Even if I have to become the bad guy to do."

"Sarah, you're not the bad guy. You're better than this," begged Elena.

"Some days I am. But not today," Sarah said before snapping the compelled woman's neck, as Elena screamed and Jenna gasped. As for Klaus and Leiah, they merely exchanged amused grins, enjoying the spectacle that had been put on for their behalf.

It didn't take long for the woman to reanimate, since Sarah had fed her a lot of her blood. And once she was sat up, Sarah knelt down next to her, pulling a blood bag from out of her jacket. The woman was confused, dazed and disoriented, as all vampires in transition were. But at the sight of the blood, she became transfixed by it, unable to take her eyes off it. That was until Sarah shoved it against her lips, squeezing the bag as the contents were forced into the woman's mouth. There was so much coming so fast, that she couldn't swallow it all, and most of it ended up dribbling down her chin. But it was enough. Enough to complete the transition and turn her into a vampire. One that Klaus could now use.

"There you go," Sarah said, standing up and shoving the woman forward were she collapsed onto her hands and knees between Sarah and Klaus. After looking down at this offering, Klaus looked back up to Sarah, staring at the emotionless mask she'd put on. He on the other hand, made no attempt to hide his enjoyment of the scene.

"Well, that was impressive," Leiah hummed from her lounger, her eyes alight with their usual sense of mischief.

"And ruthless," agreed a strangely proud Klaus.

"Her for Jenna…please," Sarah begged, as the emotion she'd been trying to hold back snuck into her eyes. Showing just how scared she was, how terrified she was of him saying no and condemning her best friend to death. And maybe it was that fear of Klaus that helped sway him, pandering to his ego in someway.

"All right," Klaus said with a sweetly sinister smile, reaching down to pull up the newly turned vampire. "Seeing as you care so much, I'll gladly take this one as a substitute for Jenna.

With a sigh of relief, Sarah replied with a heartfelt, "Thank you."

Klaus merely smirked back, before compelling the new vampire to follow him, as he lead her up towards the alter. "Greta, release Jenna," ordered Klaus, and though the witch seemed a little disappointed, with a flick fo the wrist the fire around Jenna died down into nothing.

"Now, time to put you to use," declared Klaus, turning to face the compelled and trembling woman, who was only just beginning to realise what was going on. His gaze then briefly flicked over to to Sarah, taking a great joy in seeing her squirm – knowing that she's condemned this woman to death for her own selfish reasons. Then, with his grin broadening, Klaus leaned in, and rammed the blunt stake into the woman's heart. And as her skin turned grey, and her veins began to show along her body, Jenna ran at him.

Screaming out in rage and anger for what was happening, Jenna with her heightened and new emotions, couldn't help herself. Because of Klaus, her niece had been through hell these past few months, because of him, she was going to die, and all for his stupid sacrifice. And it was because of him, that she herself had been turned into a vampire. Something which she didn't full understand herself. But what she did know, was that she had speed. And power. And was charging right at Klaus, ready to fight when she was tackled from behind.

She hit the ground face first, dirt flying into her sensitive mouth. The unusually detailed taste made her gag, as she began spitting out what she could. Then, remembering what was going on, she looked back, glare turning to shock and confusing when she saw that it was Sarah who'd stopped her attack.

Before she could get a word, Sarah had her hands on her head. And with a mournful look, snapped her neck.

As Klaus turned, rising from over the body of his dead vampire, he glare down upon Sarah. The Salvatore had thrown herself down upon her knees, after taking care of Jenna, hands held up in surrender as another plea took over her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that she did that. But it's her emotions, you have to understand – and I stopped her. I stopped her and I'll take her away now. Please, it was an accident on my part, and I'm sorry. Just please don't kill her for this. If you have to then kill me, but let her live. Please." Her words came out so fast that Klaus almost didn't catch half of them. All he really got was that Sarah was begging for her friend's life once more, after she'd just tried to ruin his ritual. And yet, with his goal with in reach, his fingers practically wrapped around it. Somehow he found the ability to smile.

He looked over to Leiah, seeing sympathy in his sister's eyes. "Very well, take her away," Klaus said uncaringly, as he waved in Sarah's direction. "No harm I suppose."

"Thank you," Sarah heavies out in relief, momentarily stunned by the fact that he'd been so merciful. But knowing that could change at any moment, she quickly got herself together and grabbed Jenna's limp body.

Throwing her over her shoulder, Sarah bowed her head one last time to Klaus, showing him what he craved, before turning to leave. And as she walked, starting off so purposeful and quick – she slowed upon passing Elena, their eyes connecting across the flames that divided them. After another few short steps, Sarah had stopped, as the two teary eyed women stood looking at each other.

"I'm sorry," Sarah said sadly, wishing there was something she could do for her. But she couldn't, not without endangering Jenna, who was the whole reason she'd come.

"Don't be," Elena said shaking her head, fighting to put on a brave smile as she shook away the tears. "You did everything you could, and you saved Jenna. Thank you, for helping me through this, for sticking by my side even when no one else would."

After that, Sarah couldn't hold Elena's gaze, feeling as if she'd still let her down. It was true, she had stuck by her side through everything, backed her decisions. But it seemed only now Sarah was experiencing the emotional weight of those decisions. The same for Elena. Both while knowing this was coming, could never have known how it was going to feel when the time came.

"Look after Jenna for me," Elena asked, finally getting Sarah to look back with a new found – if small – determination in her watery eyes.

"I will," Sarah promised, before she began to walk again, aiming to vanish back into the tree line where she'd emerged from. Her job done. Now she just had to hope that the others were ready to handle the rest without her.

"Hold on a second, Sarah," Leiah suddenly called out in cheery voice – despite the emotional tone of the situation.

Looking back, Sarah saw that mischievous look again. And that grin that told her Leiah wasn't done playing with her just yet. She gestured to the fallen log next to her lounger, as she smoothly rose from her seat. "Care to join me in the audience for this history occasion?" At the question Sarah glare back at the short girl, wishing she could lash out but knowing full well she couldn't with Jenna still in play.

"Come on," said Leiah in a teasing tone. "You wouldn't want poor Elena to have to go through this alone would you?" At that, Sarah looked back over, seeing the tear stained Elena and remembering that Stefan was still out of it for the time being.

Leiah was right, she couldn't leave Elena to go through this alone. And like she'd said herself, they'd been through this together every step of the way. It almost felt wrong for her not to be here, to bear witness to the moment Elena had resigned herself to ever since learning about Klaus. She had to stay, to support her friend, and give her the strength to finish this. Before the others arrived to finish Klaus.

Slowly, Sarah then began to move towards Leiah, trying her best to ignore the beaming Original as she placed Jenna's body down next to the log. In front so she could keep an eye on her – see if she awoke, and prevent her from trying anything again. She somehow doubted Klaus would be as merciful a second time.

She then sat herself down on the log, hunched over with her hands clasping one another. Only to then find that Leiah had sat down next to her, rather close too. Turning slightly to glare at her, Sarah found herself frowning instead, when she noticed Leiah seemed more focused on her than the ritual.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" Sarah whispered.

"Like what?" Leiah asked without missing a beat.

"Like you know me."

"'Cause I do," Leiah replied with a smirk.

"But I don't remember you?"

"Frustrating isn't it?" Leiah agreed with a raised brow. "Trust me, it isn't much fun for me either."

"So why don't you tell me about how you know me?" demanded Sarah, getting rather sick of these games and looks from Leiah.

She thought Leiah looked sad for a moment, but the look all but vanished as she turned away, hiding her thoughts with a playful grin. "It wouldn't make a difference right now. And besides, you've got enough on your mind without me adding to it."

"Then maybe you could stop with the flirtatious looks too while you're at it," Sarah snapped, before looking over towards Elena. Standing alone in her flaming circle, waiting for her final moments.

"Sorry, Hot Stuff, can't do that while your around," replied Leiah, as Sarah rolled her eyes. Thankfully she got a distraction in the groans of her brother, from the other site of the ritual site.

He'd woken up, but was still sprawled out on the ground unable to get up. Sarah could see him reaching behind his back, trying to grab the broken part of the stake embedded in his back. But from where it was and with nothing for him to grab onto, it would be impossible for him to get it out himself. Sarah briefly thought about going over to help him, but Leiah cut through those thoughts as she said, "Oh, look, Greta's adding the blood of the vampire."

Following Leiah's gaze, Sarah looked up towards the alter to see Greta pouring the vampire blood into the bowl atop the alter. Obviously having collected it while Sarah was talking to Elena and Leiah. "You know, I'm kind glad you saved the aunt," said Leiah quietly, as if it were a secret. "She seems like fun."

"And I'd rather you hadn't turned her into a vampire," said Sarah bluntly.

"Don't blame me," Leiah replied carelessly, still looking up at the alter. "It was Niklaus' blood. Beside, she'll love being a vampire. You do don't you?" she pointed out, turning with another knowing grin towards Sarah. And while sometimes Sarah would agree with that statement, it didn't mean she'd force this life upon anyone… Save the woman she'd just condemned to this ritual.

At her own depressing thoughts, Sarah lost the will to argue with Leiah. She just wanted this night to be over. Her gaze lowering down to the unconscious Jenna, while Leiah looked back up eagerly towards her brother and Greta, awaiting the continuation of the ritual.

It wasn't long. Once Greta had added the blood and finished her chanting, she nodded to Klaus, who with the broadest grin imaginable, he began making his way over to Elena. With each step the flames around her began to die down, until he was stood at the edge of where the circle had been, with Elena stood before him. "It's time," he announced, holding out his hand towards her.

Knowing that he could change his mind and kill her loved ones still here, Elena slowly took his hand. Allowing him to guide her back towards the alter, while trying to keep her eyes of Stefan. He was groaning even louder now, trying to fight, to get up, while his body convulsed in pain. The stake was preventing him from doing much of anything, but he still had to try, even if it was in vain.

"Sarah!" he then started to shout. "Sarah, you have to stop this!"

For a brief moment Sarah wasn't sure. She thought his initial struggles had just been to put on a show, to make sure Klaus didn't think something was up. But hearing the plea in his voice, Sarah was beginning to think that Stefan really wanted her to act. To step in and save Elena from what was about to happen. She could understand his sudden change of heart, now that they were here, with Elena about to die. It was understandable, she was even feeling it herself. The sudden urge to act, to try and save her friend, despite all the previous promises.

Then a hand landed on her shoulder, and Sarah turned to look at Leiah. Her playful grin there as always, but something more cautionary in her gentle blue eyes. "Don't try anything," she warned quietly. "Do it, and I promise you, you'll regret it." With that she lifted her hand from Sarah's shoulder, apparently trusting her not to act. Or maybe she thought she knew her well enough to judge her, Sarah wasn't sure. Either way, she turned to look up at the alter, and Sarah followed her gaze. Both watching as Klaus and Elena climbed up, and turned around to face them all. The still struggling Stefan on the ground, Sarah and Leiah sat on the log, with an unconscious Jenna at their feet.

The moment they'd been waiting for was finally here.

Gently turning the head of his precious doppelgänger, Klaus gave his thanks to Elena, before stepping behind her. Elena said nothing, continuing to be brave as her heart raced inside her chest. She flinched when Klaus brushed back her hair, exposing the right side of her neck. A second later, and Klaus' fangs were pushing their way into her tender neck, as if she were getting an innocent injection. She tried her best to hold on to that imagine, to tell herself it was just an injection, anything to help her stay brave. Before long the darkness started to over come her, her vision blurring as it all got darker and darker. Klaus was consuming her blood with awesome speed, taking it all until she went limp.

After that Elena lost consciousness, but Klaus still continued to drink from her. Needing it all to complete his ritual. And as he drank, Stefan gasped, still fighting just to get up off the ground. Leiah smiled widely, savouring the moment just like her brother. Sarah had to look away after the initial bit. She couldn't watch, not when she'd advised Elena into doing this, helped her achieve this soon to be bitter victory. It had been what Elena wanted, but in that moment Sarah couldn't help the guilt that washed over her, as if it were somehow all her fault. And she couldn't even support Elena in watching her last moments, to make sure she went out peacefully. How badly she wanted this night to be over once and for all.

Then finally, Klaus was done. He'd taken everything he could from Elena.

With blood smeared all around his mouth, his eyes consumed by the substance, he let her go. The dry body of the doppelgänger, falling away like a discarded bag, as she fell upon the rock. Dead.

The flames for Greta's bowl rose up spectrally, spiralling around and dancing within themselves, before suddenly diving into the bowl, never to be seen again. With all the light now gone, save for the moon, the ritual sight became suddenly very dark and silent. Until Klaus gasped from within in the shadows.

Their eyes all slowly adjusted to the new lighting, and as they did Klaus stepped down from his alter. A giddy smile on his face. "I can feel it," he said eagerly, looking up to the full moon hanging over head. "It's happening."

Sarah was vaguely aware of Leiah standing up from next to her – probably showcasing the same excited smile as that of her brother – but like everyone else, Sarah couldn't take her eyes of Klaus. Watching as with a madman's smile, he began the painful transformation of a werewolf. His shoulders were rearranging, snapping back and forth as he went from upright, to hunched over. His hands curling in on themselves as bone snaps echoed through the area. Even his fangs seemed to change into something new, becoming more werewolf like, as the irises of his eyes turned bright gold like that of a werewolf. And yet, Sarah could still see the blood that surrounded them, as if he were still vampire.

So this was a Hybrid.

Then, with a flash of lightning, the whole scene was turned on its head.

Klaus was flung through the are by an invisible force, thrown to the ground as a sudden furious wind began to whirl around them. The trees around shaking with such force that Sarah thought some of them were going to snap like twigs. Even she was blown from her seat, falling down onto her knees – and only just missing Jenna in the process. From next to her Leiah was shouting angrily, but the wind covered up her outrageous screams, as Sarah frantically pushed back her hair, trying to see what was happening.

That was why she heard Bonnie before she saw her. The thunderous, booming chant of a powerful witch, as she descended down the hill to the ritual sight. Her hand outstretched towards Klaus as she attacked him with the power of multiple witches all at once. All over fires began forming from out of nowhere, lighting up the area once more and outlining Bonnie's path down the hill.

Greta turned, outstretching her own hand in a counter spell. But then Damon appeared behind her, quickly snapping her neck before she could enact whatever spell she'd been about to use.

Bonnie continued on, marching past Stefan and the alter and towards the agonising screams of Klaus, as he spasmed out across the ground, still transforming into a wolf while Bonnie peeled at the magic around with such force it was as if his own skin was been torn off.

But they'd forgotten about Leiah, who was growling like an enraged animal from beside Sarah, eyes fixed on Bonnie. The petite blonde – no longer looking so cute and playful, and now more like a vicious animal – went to attack. Running forward only to be jumped from behind and dragged down to the ground.

Her attacker didn't waste any time, bitting down into Leiah's neck and then pulling back. Taking a chunk of skin and even some blonde hair with her. After that she was promptly shoved off, with enough force that sent her flying back into the log next to Sarah, whose eyes were wide with shock.

"You bitch!" cried out Leiah, hand clamped over the bloody wound on the back of her neck, as she glare across at attacker vengefully.

"What happened to, 'Cutie'?" mocked Scarlett, brushing back her own mad brunette hair. Still glaring, Leiah managed to get herself back up and turned around, but after one step she'd collapsed back down onto her knees, groaning in pain that was nearly inaudible beneath the roaring wind. "It might not kill you, but my guess is that werewolf bites aren't any good for you Originals either!"

Having had her shots at Leiah, Scarlett then turned to Sarah. "Come on, we've got to go!" Nodding, Sarah grabbed Jenna, throwing her once again over her shoulder, before the two raced around the ritual site towards Stefan, making sure not to distract Bonnie in the process. When they arrived, Damon was already with their downed brother, having collected Elena's body from the alter. He'd laid her alongside Stefan for the moment, while he pulled the stake out from Stefan's back.

"I need you to get her out of here!" Stefan said to Damon as his brother helped him up.

"What about you?"

Glaring back out across the opening towards Klaus, Stefan replied, "I'm not leaving until he's dead."

"I'll stay with him," Scarlett said.

"All right," Damon said grabbing Elena once more in a bridal style. "Come on, this way!" he called to Sarah, who once again nodded as they ran up the hill. She did however glance back, taking in the battle that almost seemed biblical from atop the hill.

Bonnie in the centre, reaching out with all the power of a hundred witches. Klaus, sprawled out ahead of her in agonising pain. Leiah, of to the side and hunched over in her own world of hurt, while still having enough strength to glare spitefully at Bonnie. And Scarlett helping Stefan stand, as he healed from his wound. The two watching in awe as Bonnie took on Klaus.

It was definitely something, but she and Damon had to get Elena and Jenna away from here. And so, she turned away from it, trusting her family and friends to finish this, while they attended to the momentarily dead.

* * *

Leiah hated being called a sore loser. But the fact was, she hated losing. Hated being bester or outsmart. The only people she usually tolerated it from where her own family – and maybe on occasion a very good looking guy or girl. But losing today had not been an option. And yet, it suddenly seemed to be the case.

In the blink of an eye, she'd gone from celebrating with her brother, to kneeling down on the ground with half her neck exposed, while some bloody witch tortured her brother. But Leiah still had her strength, and still had time before the werewolf bite made her completely useless. She could make out Stefan and the cute bitch of a werewolf off to the side, but they wouldn't be any trouble, even in her current state. And with the witch's focus entirely on her brother, she'd be able to fix this with one snap of the neck.

Fighting the wind that was trying to push her down, Leiah climbed back up, hand still pressed against her neck. With a shake of the head she managed to sway most of her hair from her face, allowing her to see more clearly. Even if she was beginning to see two identical witches standing right in the same spot. It had been a while since she'd had a werewolf bite, and this one had been deep, acting faster on her mind and body. But she could still do this, still save the day for her beloved brother Niklaus.

Once again she went to move, only for both her arms to be pulled away from her and forced behind her back. "I'm sorry, Leiah, but I can't let you intervene" came a familiar voice. A voice Leiah could really do without right now.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" groaned out the maddened Leiah, as she tried to look back, catching enough of her captor's face to recognise her. "What idiot undaggered you!" Leiah snapped spiteful to Amelia, who was stood behind her, holding her back. Normally Leiah would have been able to put up a decent fight, but with the werewolf bite wearing her down, and Amelia's superior hold, she was trapped.

"I know you're angry, but trust me, this is for the best," Amelia said calmly, voice only raised enough to be heard over the wind.

"What is?" snapped Leiah, confused, even when she saw Elijah – the less annoying of the pair – appear next to the witch. And as obnoxiously loud witch ceased her chant, the noble brother stepped forward towards Klaus, still pinned down despite the lack of noise from the witch.

"Elijah?" whispered Klaus, obviously shocked to see him too.

"Hello, brother," Elijah greeted with his usual politeness, while Stefan and the cute bitch stepped forward to flank the witch. But Leiah's eyes were quickly drawn back to her brothers, when Elijah suddenly bent down, plunging his fist into Klaus' chest.

"No!" Leiah cried out, fighting more against her sister's hold, but still to no avail. "You can't kill him!"

"It has to be done, Leiah. I'm sorry," Amelia said, with a rare hint of aggression in her voice, as she pulled Leiah back towards her.

Elijah then proclaimed aloud, "In the name of our family, Niklaus…" He gave a twist at Klaus' heart, just enough to make him flinch in agonising pain once more.

"Don't do it, Elijah!" Leiah shouted out frantically from where Amelia held her, but he ignored her as he prepared himself to rip out his brother's heart. That was until…

"I didn't bury them at sea!" came the hoarse voice Klaus, as he weakly clung onto the life that Elijah was yet to take from him.

Staring back at him, Elijah's face suddenly filled with hesitation. "What?" Even Amelia had loosened her hold on Leiah out of shock, but it still wasn't enough for the younger sister to get away.

"Their bodies are safe. But if you kill me, you'll never find them," Klaus declared, as Elijah turned to look over at Amelia.

"It's true," Leiah insisted before either of them could voice their thoughts. "And don't count on me to help you find them, 'cause he's the only one who knows where they are." It was a lie, Leiah knew exactly where their dagger siblings where. But this was the only way she could save her brother. And from the looks upon Elijah and Amelia's faces, as their eyes searched one another, it appeared to be working. They were second guessing themselves now, the motivations no longer as clear, as they silently spoke to one another.

"Elijah!" Stefan called out, still stood next to Bonnie and the cute bitch. "Don't listen to him."

"Elijah, Amelia," Klaus spoke, grabbing his brother and sister's attention once more. "I can take you to them. I give you my word…brother." He then turned, looking over to his two sisters. "Sister," he added to his promise, and Leiah knew they had them now. The two of them had always bought it whenever they said it was 'their word'. There was a nobility to it, and that had always been Amelia and Elijah's weak spot.

"You let him live and I'll take you all out," warned the witch as she stepped forward, sensing the hesitation in the Originals.

"You'll never succeed and only kill yourself in the process," pointed out Amelia from off to the side.

The witch turned to face her, the determination clear in her eyes. "I don't care," she snarled, and Amelia believed her. Even if the witch failed in killing anyone of them, she'd go out trying. But with this flicker of hope for their family, Elijah and Amelia had no choice.

They looked to one another, and nodded.

"We're sorry," Elijah said, looking to the witch, Stefan and Cutie. Leiah smirked. And just like that, they'd won.

"No!" the three helpless supernaturals cried out, rushing forward to try and stop them, but it was already to late. Elijah had removed his hand from Klaus' heart, instead picking him up. Amelia's hands had released Leiah and were instead now wrapped around her in a familiar embrace. And then the four Originals vanished from sight. Elijah leaping over the flames that surrounded them and vanishing across the body of water, while Amelia took Leiah and vanished back up the hill.

It may not have gone exactly to plan, but one thing was for sure in Leiah's mind. It had certainly been memorable.

* * *

When Jenna awoke, she did so slowly. As if she was waking up from a dream, going as far as to rub the imaginary sleep from her eyes. _Some dream, more like a nightmare_ , she thought to herself, sitting up on what she realised was one of the couches in the Salvatore living room. Sliding her feet from the other end, Jenna sat herself up, hunching over for a moment as she gave her oddly stiff neck a rub. By her age she really ought to stop sleeping on couches, it just wasn't practical after a point.

When she looked up, she found Sarah sat across from her. She let out an awkward laugh, feeling a little embarrassed for being caught napping. Especially with everything that was going on. But then the laughter suddenly stopped when she saw Sarah's posture. Her hands clasped together, rubbing one another, the tightness of her lips and the slight tension in her shoulders. Something had happened. For a brief moment – since the sun was up behind closed curtains – Jenna thought she'd slept through it, the ritual.

"What hap–!" She was cut off as she stood up, a stray ray of light shining through a gap in the curtains and catching her as she rose. It was like someone had been holding a blow torch to her, the intensity of the heat – which all but vanished when she fell back on the couch.

"Sorry! I'll take care of that," Sarah quickly said, running over to fix the curtain as Jenna stared at her brunt arm. Or rather, formally burnt, as the burn mark had already disappeared, her skin once again smooth and undamaged. By the time Jenna had recovered from shock, Sarah was sat back down opposite her once more. "Sorry," Sarah repeated again. "I was hoping to avoid that for the time being."

Jenna stared at her, mouth agape as she looked between Sarah and her forearm, where she'd been burnt. "What happened?" Jenna managed to ask, though patches of it were already coming back to her now. The dream she'd had.

"As we planned, the ritual went ahead last night," Sarah began, to which Jenna was instantly reminded of her niece.

"Elena?!"

"–Is fine," Sarah quickly assured. "She's in the kitchen with Jeremy right now. They're both safe and alive…and human." Jenna remember that now too, how Damon had feed Elena his blood, and how if she died with it in her system then she'd become a vampire. She was glad to hear that that hadn't happened.

Sarah continued, "But it didn't all go according to plan. After Elena's part in the ritual, Elijah and Amelia were supposed to kill Klaus and restrain Leiah. Only they didn't." She paused to glare down at the floor, rather than send any of her anger Jenna's away, as the woman listened intently. "They turned on us and fled with them before we could do anything."

"So, he's still out there? Klaus?" Jenna said nervously.

"Yes," answered Sarah sombrely. "We're hoping that he's gone and taken the others with him. But considering some of the things that were said last night, we very much doubting we've seen the last of them." Then Sarah's tone changed, as she looked back to Jenna, struggling to continue. "And there's the matter of what happened to you."

By this point it had all come back to Jenna. The dream, or rather, what had been her memory of last night. When she'd been kidnapped by Klaus to be used in his ritual. "I'm a vampire," Jenna said quietly, as if saying it made it all so much more real. Tears even began to fall as she covered her mouth with her hand.

"I'm sorry!" she suddenly exclaimed, trying to stop herself from crying. "I know I should be grateful that Elena and Jeremy are alive, but…"

"It's okay," Sarah assured her with an understanding smile. "Your emotions are just heightened right now. In time you'll get the hang of it, but for now especially, it'll be a bit overwhelming. Your emotional state will take random turns and sometimes you'll fixate on things you wouldn't normally. And it's okay to mourn for yourself right now, I understand what it's like."

"So…" sniffled Jenna in between the tears. "What does this mean for me?"

"Well, I'll probably try and help you. Make sure you understand everything that being a vampire means, make sure you know how to keep the nasty parts under control. Like me and Stefan did for Caroline," Sarah explained tenderly, as if Jenna had a lot of options when it came to vampire teachers. The thought actually struck a humorous cord with her for some reason, which in turn cut of the tears for a moment of relative peace.

"Would Stefan be helping you?" Jenna asked, followed by another sniff.

Sarah scrunched up her nose, as if sensing the emotional change inside Jenna. "Nah. He's no fun as a teacher and to be honest with you, he's the cause of all the bad parts of Caroline." Though it wasn't all that funny, Jenna did find herself laughing a little, to which Sarah smiled at her. But just like with the sudden cut off of tears, the same happened with the laughter – like Jenna was a pendulum, being swung from one emotional extreme to the other as she curled up on the couch.

"I think I'm scared," Jenna said quietly, feeling the pendulum begin to drift back into the negative. The fear swiftly making its way through her body and causing her to hyperventilate as her heart began to race like never before.

"What about?" Sarah asked calmly. Knowing that sometimes all it took was talking about ones fears to help calm them and understand them.

"What if I–I hurt someone? Or–Or worse. What if I hurt Elena, or Jeremy, or Ric, or you, or–!"

"Jenna. Jenna! Listen to me!" Sarah cut in over her friend's accelerating freaking out. "What you're thinking right now is totally normal, and you know how I know that? Because I went through it myself. When I first turned I was terrified of what I might do to Damon or Stefan. But as you know, they're both alive and fine, over a hundred years later."

"Yeah, but you're all vampires," pointed out Jenna.

"You're right. But I still could have killed them. I didn't though, because my love for them as my brothers was stronger than anything else I might have gotten by becoming a vampire. It's like my friend Lexi used to say, the speed, the strength, the senses. All of that is nothing compared to the emotional depth we gain as vampires. What we are allows us to feel more any human ever could. So when we get scared, like you are now, it can overcome us and drive us mad. But the counter to that is love. Because, Jenna, when we love…it can be the most powerful feeling."

Sarah smiled, seeing that she was getting through to Jenna. Her heavy breathing returning to a more calm speed, and her focus entirely on Sarah and nothing else – which was ideal for when any vampire went through these emotional roller coasters. In this case distraction really was the best medicine.

"That's why I never hurt my brothers in the beginning. That's why I know you want hurt Elena, or Jeremy, or Alaric, or me, or anyone else you care about. Because you're like me, Jenna. You're love for your family and those you care for, it's just too damn strong." At the praise, she could see Jenna's cheeks flaring from embarrassment, as her smile turned hopeful for the first time.

"It'll be a learning curve for sure," Sarah continued, but never losing her optimism. "And it's always hard at the start. But I'll be here to help you through it and so will everyone else. We won't let this break you, Jenna. And as long as you keep a good diet of blood, I promise you, you'll never hurt the people you love. I'll make sure of it.

"Though, I think maybe for the next few days you should stay here with me and the others. Just as a kind of, settling in period. Until you're comfortable enough to go home to Elena and Jeremy."

"What about Scarlett?" Jenna asked in concern. "Won't she be in danger here?"

Sarah chuckled, "Scarlett can look after herself. Trust me, you'll be no threat to her until we train you up a bit."

And while that put Jenna at ease, it didn't stop another depressing thought from creeping into her mind. "But what if I can't control the bloodlust, and I can't ever go home?"

Sarah smiled confidently. "I have no doubt that you'll conquer this, Jenna. We'll have you home in no time."

Her smile was infectious, or perhaps it was just those heightened emotional mood swings again, but either way Jenna smiled back. Finding another moment of peace until she heard footsteps from the hallway. She turned with Sarah to look, seeing Elena and Jeremy stepping into view past the archway that lead out into the hall.

"Hey, we just wanted to see how things were going," Elena said, awkwardly running her hands down her backside as she looked from Sarah to Jenna. She smiled supportively, but Jenna quickly lowered her gaze despite the friendliness, as if not believing she deserved it.

"Well, I think I can safely say she's not going to rip anybodies head off," Sarah replied.

"Not funny," hissed Jenna.

"I wasn't joking," Sarah shot back, prompting the newbie vampire to frown back at her. "Are you okay with them being here?" Sarah asked, picking up on Jenna's tension, before the aunt looked back over to her niece and nephew, a fearful look in her eye.

"What if I hurt them?" she said back over to Sarah.

"You won't," Elena said confidently, stepping into the room with Jeremy behind her.

"We trust you," Jeremy added in the same tone.

"But I don't trust _me_ ," Jenna pleaded with them, wanting them to run far away from her and not look back. She would never be able to live with herself if she did something to hurt those two. They had become so much more than her niece and nephew since the accident with their parents – her sister. They'd become almost like her children, and she cared too much to let them come near her, a monster.

"Jenna," Sarah spoke up again, as the vampire turned towards the elder. "Breathe," Sarah advised her, and in that one action it seemed to ease everything. The itching of her teeth, the pounding in her ears, the tension in her shoulders and the racing of her mind. And with each breath it got better until she felt, normal.

Then before she knew it, Elena and Jeremy were on the couch with her, flanking her as they wrapped their arms around her. Again Jenna began to cry, but no longer tears of sadness, but happiness instead. Maybe she could handle being a vampire. Or at least she thought so until she noticed Alaric had joined them, awkwardly stood in the archway with a timid smile on his face.

"I–I can come back later," he offered.

"Nonsense, get in here," Jeremy told him, an unrecognisable man to the boy he'd been when Jenna first moved in to look after them. They'd grown so much, and she'd barely even noticed. Maybe that was because they'd been growing up in the supernatural world, the world she hadn't been apart of, until now. Now she was a part of their lives again, more so than ever before. Now she was more equipped than ever to protect her niece and nephew. Just like she'd promised her sister.

"Yeah, come on!" agreed Elena, as Jeremy slid over to make room between him and Jenna.

"Really, I–"

"Please," Jenna said softly, a pleading look in her tired hazel eyes. It quickly won Alaric over, as he bowed his head and came over, dropping down to join the rest of the Gilberts. He then gave Jenna a deep kiss on the lips, and Jeremy began making gaging noises while Elena cooed. After that laughter erupted as they began pushing one another, and from opposite them, Sarah rose to take her leave. She knew Jenna would be fine for now.

"Hey, where you going?" asked Elena, still huddled against her aunt's side.

"To snuggle with my own family," Sarah replied jokingly, grinning back over her shoulder as she left. "Scream if you need me."

Jenna was about half way through deciding whether it was a joke or not, when she lost interest. It didn't matter anyway, all that matter was that her niece was alive and human and that she had those she loved the most all under one roof. So she enjoyed the peace that morning. Until noon hit and it suddenly occurred to her to ask about John.

* * *

Since Jenna didn't have a daylight ring yet, they waited until nightfall before having the funeral. Damon took, Sarah, Scarlett and Jenna to the graveyard, while Stefan went and picked up Elena and Jeremy from their home. Alaric, Caroline and Bonnie came for support. In a way, Sarah supposed it could also be seen as a mourning for Jenna's human life, since she was now a vampire. She didn't say it out loud, though it was the only thing that was going to make her even slightly mournful. She felt bad for Elena and Jeremy over John's death, but she herself did not see it as a big loss to the world.

At least in his death he'd done something good, in giving Elena a second chance at a human life. She was grateful to him for that at least.

Damon had already taken care of everything, having compelled two gravediggers to burry John alongside Elena and Jeremy's parents in one of the two available slots that had been reserved by their estate. It was obvious which one was his from a glance, the freshly turned soil being a dead give away.

They gathered around in silence, while Elena lay down a flower for her biological father. On the surface she seemed to be taking it well, but by now Sarah knew that Elena was good at putting on a brave face. At least Jeremy would be there for her during the nights, that was when Stefan wasn't staying over. Sarah hoped she'd get over it soon. The man didn't deserve that much time mourning over him.

Jeremy and Jenna followed Elena's lead in laying down flowers on John's grave, before Elena then moved onto her parents gravestone. She'd brought another two flowers with her, as had Jeremy and Jenna. They laid those down in front of Grayson and Miranda Gilbert, and that was when Elena started to cry. Jeremy brought her into a supportive hug, of which Jenna joined in. And then Alaric stepped forward, resting his hand on Jenna's shoulder, showing his support for her in visiting her sister's grave. One happy graving family, just like Sarah and her own.

A movement from beside her caught Sarah's attention, turning to see Damon walking off further into the graveyard, now that their business was apparently concluded. A nudge quickly followed from her other brother, who frowned at her before gesturing after Damon. Sarah shook her head, telling him that she had no idea what was up either. Stefan then thought about it for a moment, looking to see that Elena was okay. She was, surrounded by family and friends as they helped her grieve. Safe at last.

He then nodded after Damon, starting to walk as Sarah fell into step beside him. As they walked, the others began to make their way back to the cars.

"We're going to head back to the house," Stefan informed Damon once they were close enough.

His back was to them. "I think I'll skip the coffee and tea cakes."

"Damon, she needs us right now," Stefan said after a moment.

"All of us," Sarah added for emphasis.

"And then what?" Damon asked, still not looking back. "The curse is broken. How does one go about killing an all-powerful wolf vamp, his annoying brat of a sister, and their two-faced older siblings?"

"I have no idea," sighed Stefan.

"But we don't have to worry about that right now," Sarah pointed out. Hoping against the odds in truth.

"Yeah, we do, sis," Damon said sternly as he finally turned back around, a seriousness to his hardened blue eyes. He seemed to be taking John's death worse than Sarah could have imagined. "And we need a plan. Fast."

"I'm not going to let Elena lose anybody else," Stefan said simply.

"I wouldn't make any promises, brother," Damon said, as he started to roll up his right arm sleeve.

"What are you talking about?" asked Sarah, frowning along with Stefan.

"Tyler Lockwood bit me," he answered, showcasing the infectious wound on his forearm.

Sarah's eyes widened in horror, as she quickly snatched ahold of her brother's arm, just to make sure it wasn't some kind of sick joke. But it wasn't, and as Stefan leaned in beside her, Sarah knew. It was real. It was the same as with Rose. Not as big and not as deep. But the signs were all there on his arm. The familiar pus, the boils, the redden skin and a wound that was refusing to heal like it should. And then she remembered the previous night. During the tussle with Tyler, when she'd heard the sound of biting and skin breaking. She'd forgotten about it in the aftermath, but now it all came flooding back to her.

"No…" Sarah gasped in horror. This couldn't happen, not after everything they'd just been through. She couldn't lose her brother.

"It's actually more of a nip, really," Damon said in an odd optimist sort of way, looking at himself as Sarah's head snapped up to glare at him. Hating him for making a joke out of this, but too distort to yell at him. "But there it is."

"We'll find something. A cure," Stefan declared.

"He's right, there's got to be something," insisted a desperate Sarah, while Damon just shook his head and rolled his sleeve back down.

"There isn't," Damon said matter-of-factly.

"Shut up!" Sarah snapped suddenly, hitting him in the arm. Her own tears brimming now. Luckily there wasn't anyone around to see and ask what was going on. But even so, it wasn't fair. After everything they'd done, all they'd gone through, including Damon.

Losing Rose. Finding Andie, a woman he might genuinely have feelings for just as he had for Rose. It wasn't right, he didn't deserve this. _She_ didn't deserve this. To lose her brother and by extension a part of her heart.

"Sorry, Sarah," Damon said, rising his good arm to put his hand on her shoulder, as her lower lip quivered. It was like they were kids again, and he was covering for her when father was angry with her. "But me being the over protective big brother that I am, I was never going to let Tyler Lockwood stick his grungy little teeth into you."

Then it was Stefan's turn to argue with him. "We kept Elena human, right? We found a way when there was no way. We can do this," Stefan promised his older brother, as his forest green eyes meet Damon's scarily serene blue.

"You want to do something for me?" Damon asked, looking between his younger siblings. "Keep this from Elena. Last thing she needs is another grave to mourn."

"And what about us!" hissed Sarah, suddenly feeling selfish as she grabbed a hold of her brother. Damon didn't push her off though, instead pulling her against his chest and wrapping her arms around her in a brotherly hug. Possibly the last she would ever receive from him.

"You have Stefan. And he has you. I'm just the older annoying brother, you'll be fine without," he said, kissing her forehead. But Sarah couldn't believe him. She'd never believe that lie. She needed her brothers, her family. Both of them. To lose them, even if only temporarily, was bad enough, but she couldn't lose them forever. She'd couldn't continue on this plane if half her heart was gone.

"Tell me it's going to be okay?" whimpered Sarah against Damon's chest. Gripping onto him as tight as she could, so that even death would struggle to take him from her.

"Everything's going to be okay," Damon lied.


	44. While My Brother Lies Dying

_Review responses:_

Sarcasm15Key: _I'm so glad, and I hope I can do her justice. Like yourself, I wish we'd gotten more Jenna. Hopefully I can give her a decent arc for the future._

 _Bornkiller9: Still got this chapter and next weeks one and then that will wrap up this book – and hopefully set up a few more surprises for the third book. I have some news on the progress of the next story but I'll put that in the notes for the next chapter. But hopefully it won't be too long before I start releasing the next book._

Raiden Kagutsuchi: _I can understand that. The Endgame is most likely going to be Sarah/Elena (Sarena), but since I've been developing Sarah and Jenna's relationship over the past few chapters, I can totally understand why some people would start shipping them. Maybe down the road I might do a non-cannon one shot or something. But I hope they remain best friends for the rest of the series. I really like the two of them together. So no, your absolutely not crazy._

 _Thanks for the continued support you guys! The final chapter will be released next week so see you then!_

* * *

 **Chapter 44: While My Brother Lies Dying**

* * *

When Sarah awoke the following morning, she was pleasantly surprised to find the kitchen table aligned with a breakfast spread. There were jugs of orange juice, apple juice, water and coffee. Plates piled high in a buffet fashion. Some with slices of fruit, others with meat. Some having scrambled eggs, boiled eggs and omelettes, all spread around the table. There was even fresh bread, croissants, pancakes and even branded breakfast cereals at the far end of the table, along with milk. There was something for everyone.

Hearing a whistle behind her, Sarah looked back to find Jenna entering the kitchen behind her. "Is this how you guys eat every morning?"

Sarah shook her head. "No. This is definitely unusual."

"Who made it?" Sarah could only shrug as Stefan and Scarlett joined them.

"Did either of you do this?" Sarah asked, gesturing to the table.

"No," Stefan answered, just as surprised.

"But remind me to thank whoever did," Scarlett said, mouth drooling as she dashed in to grab a seat on one of the benches. "After eating nothing but canned food for the last few days, this is my kind of welcome home treat," she continued, stacking her plate as she stabbed at every plate of meat with a fork.

Joining her, Jenna sat down on the other side, taking the end nearest the branded cereals. Sarah had started working with her yesterday and again at night after John's funeral. She was still getting the handle on her bloodlust, struggling to pull away once she got a taste. And there had been a few times last night when she'd been eyeing those who were undead. Her eyes transfixed on their veins, as specks of blood drifted into her eyes. But with everyone's help she managed to keep her cool and stay in control. It was a learning curve, and Caroline's speech on the subject had reassured Jenna, even if it was longwinded. But with her stomach still adjusting to the new diet plan, she chose to just have cereal this morning. Besides, it wasn't really wise for a newbie vampire to put to much stock in solid foods while learning blood control. It usually left them feeling a little sick.

While Jenna helped herself to cereal, and Scarlett continued to add to the mountain of meat on her pleat, Sarah leaned over towards her brother. "Do you think it was Damon?"

"Who else could it have been?" Stefan shrugged back.

"But why?"

"I have no idea," replied Stefan, both of them watching as Scarlett and Jenna ate. But then suddenly, Scarlett's chin lifted. Ignoring what was in her mouth, the girl then sniffed the air, frowning as she looked towards the Salvatores and swallowed.

"Anyone else smell something burning?"

"Burning?" Stefan frowned.

"Where from?" asked Sarah.

"The living room," Scarlett said with a nod in the direction. The brother and sister looked at each other, both frowning before it clicked in their head. Simultaneously they both dashed from the room at supernatural speed, running into he living room to find Damon stood before a set of open curtains. They'd previously closed them all for Jenna's sake, but now Damon was stood in the sunlight – burning because he'd removed his daylight ring.

Charging, Stefan and Sarah each grabbed an arm, as they tore Damon from the sunlight and ran into the safety of the hallway. "Get off me," growled Damon, though he put up no fight.

"You're not doing this," Stefan growled back, both he and Sarah holding him against the wall.

"Just did," Damon shot back, but it lacked his usual conviction. Almost like he'd give up. "You both know what happened to Rose. It's better this way, for all of us."

"For you maybe," Sarah snapped, angrily shoving her brother for trying to take the easy way out. "But that doesn't matter 'cause you're not dying toady." In another flash of supernatural speed, Sarah and Stefan had Damon down in the basement, shoving him into the cellar before they locked him in.

From the floor, Damon rolled over, looking up at his younger siblings through the bars of the door. "What's the plan then, Wonder Twins?"

"We're going to save you, and then you're going to apologise for trying to kill yourself," Sarah declared, though the shake in her voice gave away her uncertainty. She was scared, sacred of losing her brother, and they all knew it. Stefan shared it, and apparently, Damon had resigned himself to it, in spite of his little brother and sister's wishes.

"Good luck with that," groaned Damon, flopping back against the dirt floor.

"We've got Bonnie looking for something, anything. Even if to just slow it down for now," Stefan explained, a similar determination to his sister. But just as much fear and uncertainty seeping into his voice.

"Why can't the two of you just tell me goodbye and get it over with?" asked Damon, before he abruptly shot up, coughing fiercely before blood began to burst out. Sarah had to look away in distress, but by the time she'd turned back, Damon was on his back again, groaning in pain with blood around his mouth and hands.

"Lie still. Conserve your strength," Stefan ordered, before taking Sarah's arm and leading her away. They weren't going to be doing him any good by arguing with him. Best thing for them to do right now was let him rest. Considering the funeral last night and the full breakfast buffet this morning, Stefan doubted his brother had gotten much, if any sleep last night. And he'd need some if he was going to hold out long enough for them to find a cure to this thing.

As they ascended the stairs into the hallway, they found Scarlett and Jenna waiting for them. Obviously having heard everything, judging by the frown on Scarlett's face and the concerned look on Jenna's. "What's wrong with him?" asked Scarlett bluntly.

"Yeah, is everything okay?" Jenna added, a little dazed by the sudden commotion.

Sharing a look, the two Salvatore sighed as they took various defensive stances. Not the kind for fighting, but rather for giving news they'd rather not give. News they were still coming to terms with themselves. "Damon, he…he got bit the night of the ritual… By Tyler Lockwood."

Jenna wasn't entirely sure what this meant, still learning the dos and don'ts of vampirism, but Scarlett understood immediately as her eyes widened. "Is he going to die?" Scarlett asked in a small voice.

"No," Sarah said firmly.

"We're not going to let that happen," agreed Stefan, more in control.

"So, what's so bad about Tyler bitting him?" asked Jenna nervously, not sure if it was the right time to ask or not.

"Tyler's a werewolf, like Scarlett but not – but that's not the point…" explained Sarah rather quickly, struggling to get it all out as she edged closer towards hysteria. Until finally she had to stop herself. Taking a breath before she completely broke down. Too much was going on for her to do so now, she had to stay focused, for her family's sake.

Thankfully, Stefan picked up on the explanation for Jenna. "If a werewolf bites a vampire, they die."

Jenna gasped, "Oh, my God."

"But we still have time," Stefan stressed to them all. "It's a fast acting thing but it can still take a day or two. So we're looking for a cure."

"Is there a plan then?" asked Scarlett.

"I'm going to meet with Bonnie right now to find out," explained Stefan, before nodding towards his sister. "Sarah's going to stay here and keep an eye on Damon for now. But he shouldn't be much of a problem while we have him locked up."

"I guess, I'll stay here with you, if that's okay," Jenna offered Sarah, to which the rave haired vampire nodded gratefully. It wasn't like Jenna could do much else, at least while the sun was up.

"Caroline's dragging me, Jeremy and Elena to this movie thing in the town square–" Scarlett began to explain.

"Go," Sarah said, nodding. "We can call you if we need you."

"Plus, Damon doesn't want Elena knowing, and to be honest, I think for now that'd be for the best. If you don't show up, they'll think something's up and come asking. For now, let's just try and keep this quiet," pleaded Stefan, to which Scarlett nodded.

"Sure, but if anything comes up–"

"We'll call," promised Stefan. He then gave them each a look, before making his way out of the house to go and meet Bonnie. As for the girls, they returned to their breakfast, but with much less enthusiasm than had first been seen.

* * *

The last day and a half had not been pleasant for Leiah. The bite the cute bitch had left on her neck, was taking forever to heal. But worse than that, was the werewolf venom making its way through her system. And while it couldn't kill her, she was still subject to all the nasty side effects. For over thirty-six hours, she'd been forced to endure horrible hallucinations, random memory flashbacks, a sharp increase in her bloodlust and agonising pain throughout her whole body. And even when she did drink blood, it came right back out on the floor.

She was just grateful when she finally managed to get to sleep. Once she did the time passed quickly, and bar a few nightmares, the experience was relatively painless from that point on. So much so that when she awoke the next day, she was pain free. The bite on her neck had finally healed, and even her bloodlust had subsided enough for her to control it. She was still hungry, and would happily eat, but at least she was no longer acting like a crazed alcoholic.

However, her good mood dropped when she rolled over in her bed, finding her unwanted sister sat at her bedside.

The rest came back to her after that, the stuff that she'd chalked up to the werewolf venom. The disaster that had been Klaus' ritual, and how Amelia and Elijah had almost ruined everything for him. Only to then be persuaded to give Klaus a second chance, after the mention of their siblings. They'd helped saved them from the witch and then split up, Amelia taking Leiah back to the teacher's apartment to rest while Elijah followed Klaus in his new wolf form. What came after was foggy memories of Amelia holding her down and trying to help her. A sharp contrast to the calm woman sat in the chair next to her bed now.

Behind her, Leiah spotted Katerina, sulking against the wall. Clearly deeply concerned about it all. But still there, still compelled to obey Leiah, at least until she stepped outside the apartment.

"How are you feeling?" Amelia asked.

Leiah scowled back spitefully, before flopping over onto her other side, her back to her older sister. "I see not much has change since we last met, then," sighed Amelia regretfully. Not that she was one to talk in Leiah's opinion. The woman had barely changed over the millennia they'd been on this planet. Her hair style was more or less the same, always tying up her long her hair to look more superior. The same could be said for her fashion sense in that stupid raincoat, and the way she sat in the chair with her hands on her laps, pretending to care about her when all she wanted to do was boss her around. Leiah knew her sister all right.

"I guess your right," Leiah spat back, as she glared intently at the wall.

 _Just wait until Niklaus comes back,_ Leiah thought to herself. _Then they'd make the bossy boots twins sorry they'd ever came back into their lives._

* * *

The movie wasn't due to start for another couple of hours, but despite that the town square was already filled with people. All having brought their own blankets and picnic baskets for the occasion. All smiling happily, laughing and talking, oblivious to anything that had happened last night. It was almost surreal to Scarlett, as she made her way through the square with Jeremy and Elena, that none of these people knew of the supernatural battles that were going on around them. Or even the battle going on between her and Jeremy right now.

"I can't believe you knocked me out," he grumbled for the umpteenth time.

"Jer…" Elena whined, as sick of it as Scarlett. Only she could talk back were as Scarlett couldn't. She didn't exactly have a leg to stand on. She could point out it was technically Bonnie that knocked him out, but she figured she wasn't going to be winning any points with Jeremy for that one.

"No, Elena. It's not okay. You and Jenna were in danger and I should have been there."

"She did it for your own protection. Right, Scarlett?" Elena asked, to which Scarlett shot Elena a glare for dragging her into this. No matter what she said, she couldn't see it helping things between her and Jeremy. As far as he was concerned, knocking him out and leaving him behind the night of the ritual had just been another betrayal. Not as serious as the Mason thing, but enough to wash away all the progress they'd made while isolated in the witch house.

"Well, she shouldn't have," Jeremy said before Scarlett could say anything. Not that she had anything to say. "I mean, what was the point in teaching me all that stuff about defending myself if you're still just going to leave me behind?" he asked as he turned towards Scarlett.

"Look, Jeremy, I said I was sorry. I got scared, nervous, whatever, and I just wanted to know you were safe. Was it right or fair...probably not. So all I can say now is sorry, and that I promise not to do it again," Scarlett offered, brushing her hair from her face as she looked at Jeremy's harsh expression.

"Scarlett, you did the right thing," Elena insisted.

"No, Elena, I didn't. I took away his choice. Which is the exact same thing you've been fighting for with Stefan and Damon this whole time," Scarlett pointed out with a glance to Elena, before looking back to Jeremy with an apologetic look. "I get it now, at least a little bit. I am sorry, Jer. And in future I will try to step back and let you make your own choices. Whether they make me scared or not."

They stared at each other for a moment, having stopped in amongst the picnickers, until Jeremy's expression cracked. He let out a sigh, head dipping to avoid giving it all away, before he looked back up and nodded. "All right," he said softly, meeting Scarlett's blue eyes. "So, you'll let me make my own decisions from now on?"

"I'll try," Scarlett offered with a weak smile. But it didn't seem to convince Jeremy. "And if I start worrying I'll talk to you," she added, taking his hand, which seemed to satisfy him.

"Okay then," Jeremy said, still holding Scarlett's hand as they began to walk again, searching for an open patch of grass for them to lay down the blanket Elena was holding.

"So, how's Jenna holding up?" Elena asked after a moment.

"She seemed good this morning," explained Scarlett positively.

"I still don't see why she won't take the daylight ring from Bonnie," said Jeremy.

"She wants to get herself under control first," Elena explained.

"Yeah, but Caroline got hers right away," Jeremy argued.

"Everyone's different, Jer," Elena shrugged back with a sad smile. "Caroline needed it to feel normal. But Jenna just wants to know we're safe. And for her, right now, the best way of keeping us safe is for her to isolate herself. That means no daylight ring, no invitation in to our house. She wants as many barriers as possible between us and her until she's ready."

"Well, I think it's silly," Jeremy sighed.

"But it's what she needs to feel comfortable. So, we're going to give her space for now, and distract ourselves from all the weird in our lives," explained Elena, as they finally found a spot to lay down their blanket.

"By watching a girl movie," Jeremy groaned, reminded of what they were doing.

"Hey, as a girl, I resent that. It's not like I like this movie either," argued Scarlett.

"Have you even seen this movie?" asked Elena, as they each took a corner and lay the blanket down on the grass.

"No. But Sarah says book adapted movies suck," Scarlett said as if that justified her opinion.

"Which is why I didn't invite her," Caroline proclaimed, joining the group with two whicker baskets of food and a bright smile. "So who's hungry?" Although, no sooner did the question leave her mouth did her eyes shoot to Scarlett. The werewolf grinned back teasingly.

"Okay, this one is yours," Caroline said, dropping one of the baskets on the girl's lap. "The rest is for those of us with table manners, and who try to avoid indigestion on a regular basis. Also, if you eat it all now, you're getting nothing from this basket later, so you've been warned." Scarlett just continued to grin mischievously back, as she stuck her hand into the basket to see what Caroline had brought her.

"Are we really doing this?" groaned Jeremy.

"Yes, we are really doing this," Caroline shot back. "We're taking a page from Scarlett."

"Huh?" said Scarlett with half a sandwich already in her mouth.

"Not you. That Scarlett," Caroline said, pointing to the screen where the movie, 'Gone With the Wind,' would eventually be shown. "You're pages would all be about how to get heart burn and fit as many marshmallows in your mouth as possible."

"Did you bring marshmallows?" asked Scarlett, prolonging her chewing just to annoy Caroline.

"Don't even think about it. I'm not listening to you say, 'Chubby Bunny,' throughout this movie. In fact, you know what, give me back that basket," Caroline decided, snatching the basket away from Scarlett, who instantly began to complain while Elena and Jeremy laughed. At the very least, it was a distraction. And that was something they could all use after everything they'd been through.

* * *

Most of Sarah's morning consisted of sitting with her brother. He didn't say much, asleep for most of the time. The rest he spent mumbling to himself, caught up in some hallucination. Just like Rose had been.

Sarah couldn't help herself from seeing the comparisons. Comparing Damon's state to Rose's, trying to mathematically work out how much time he might have based on the degree of his symptoms and what Rose had been like. She gave him some blood to drink, but as expected most of it wound up on the floor, mixing in with his own blood.

When he finally was conscious enough to talk she had to leave. He tried to get to let him out, and when that failed, he tried to get her to come in and comfort him. She wasn't an idiot though, she knew when she was being played. But sometimes even knowing isn't enough. Because Damon was good at manipulating her, hitting the right notes to lure her in like a siren. By the time she pulled away, tears were streaming down her face and Damon was shouting after her angrily, banging against the door until he fell back down, groaning in pain.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Sarah swiftly shut the door, cutting of Damon's groans and replacing them with her own small whimpers. If she didn't focus her hearing, then she didn't have to listen to him. But it would be a few minutes before she got herself together again. This whole thing was hard enough without her brother guilt tripping her.

"Hey," came Jenna's soft voice. Sarah turned from the door she was still leaning on, finding her friend reaching out to her. Placing her hand on Sarah's shoulder. "What's happening?"

Sarah turned, brushing at her tear stains as she did. She needed to be strong. Not just for herself but for Jenna. Because despite what was going on with Damon, Jenna was still a new vampire, and she needed someone calm and sensible to keep her on the right path. And while Sarah might not fit that qualification right now, she could at least fake it until it was all over.

"Nothing. Damon's just-just angry and getting worked up," Sarah said, failing to keep the tremble form her voice. "It's fine. He'll be fine…" The tears were coming back, as Sarah thought about the alternative. Her eyes connected with Jenna's, and the facade she'd been trying to put on fell away.

"I'm scared, Jenna."

Sarah then felt the first of Jenna' vampire strength, as the woman pulled her into an embrace, squeezing her tightly. It was something Sarah could bring up later, but now she didn't care if it hurt. She just really needed a hug.

"It's okay," Jenna said as she pulled back, her hands remaining on Sarah for support. "I know it's scary. I'm still scared too. But whenever I've been scared about…what I am now, you've been there to help me through it. So I'm here for you, like you were for me. 'Cause we're friends after all."

And there it was. A ray of light in the otherwise bleak world. In spite of everything, or perhaps because of everything, the void that had been between Sarah and Jenna had shrunk down to nothing. They were almost back to where they had been before, before Jenna learnt about everything. Only it was better now, because she did know. And in that moment it clicked for Sarah, giving her something to grab onto. Her friend.

She smiled at Jenna, before pulling her into another hug and whispering, "Thank you."

The embrace was cut short however, when Sarah's phone beeped from her back pocket. She took it out, finding a text from Stefan on her screen. She said so to Jenna, before unlocking her phone to read the full message. "He's got a lead!" Sarah exclaimed hopefully.

"What is it?" asked Jenna eagerly, looking down at Sarah's phone as she held it out.

"Something the witches told Bonnie. It has to do with Klaus, so he wants me to meet up with him so we can confront him."

"But won't he and his crazy ass siblings just kill you?" pointed out Jenna.

Sarah thought about it for a moment as she replied to Stefan's text. "No, I don't think so. During the ritual they could have killed us even if they weren't willing to trade us for you in the sacrifice – but they didn't. And there's something weird going on with them, especially Leiah."

"What do you mean?"

"She keeps saying she knows me, like we've shared history together."

"Do you?"

"No that I can recall," Sarah sighed as she sent her text to Stefan, telling him she was on her way to meet him. "Could you do me a favour and keep and eye on Damon while I'm gone. I know you're still adjusting and I shouldn't leave you but–"

"Don't worry about it," Jenna insisted. "I've got enough control I think to survive a few hours alone with your brother. Besides, it's not like I can even go outside until nightfall anyway."

"Thank you," Sarah said again, giving Jenna a hug before running out the door.

Grabbing her bike from the garage, Sarah quickly got her gear on before racing into the centre of Mystic Falls, meeting Stefan at the town square. She'd wondered why he wanted to meet here, but then remembered the movie and Elena. He'd been supposed to join her for a normal day while Sarah supervised Jenna, but that had been when they were keeping up the lie about Damon being fine. Now, as Sarah arrived, she saw that Stefan was telling Elena everything and pointing out that if she wanted to say anything to him she should do it now. Acknowledging this, Elena then left the square as Stefan spotted Sarah, and made his way over to join her.

"So, we're looking for Klaus?" Sarah said, sparking up a conversation as they walked.

"Yeah. I'm now hoping he hasn't left town."

"Knowing our luck, he probably has," groaned Sarah.

"Well, the best place to start looking is Alaric's. That's were Klaus seemed to set up base and Alaric's not been back since."

Sarah agreed with him, as they began making their way towards Alaric's building. Once there, Sarah remembered they still had to be invited in, and called Alaric to do so. When they reached his door, they found it unlocked. Alaric then invited them in, and once they both put a hand over the threshold, they thanked him and hung up.

Cautiously, they then proceeded into the apartment, only to stop when they saw who was waiting for them. "Bit late for a get well card," said Leiah from the bed, the usual grin on her lips as she eyed the two intruders playfully. "But I'll take what I can get. And you can tell, Cutie, there's no hard feelings. I understand, it's just business."

"Leiah, that's enough," Amelia reprimanded, to which the younger sister rolled her eyes as she climbed off the bed.

"Whatever you say, _Sis_ ," Leiah replied, bumping deliberately into Amelia as she passed her, heading into the kitchen where Katherine was stood in silence.

"I must say, I'm surprised to see you both," Amelia said, turning back to Stefan and Sarah, still stood at the front door, unsure of how to proceed.

"We're here looking for your brother," Sarah said, leaving it at that.

"Why so?" Amelia asked, only to met with two green eyed glares.

"We'd rather not say," Stefan replied stiffly.

"Of course, I understand."

"I'd hope so," snickered Leiah as she poured herself some coffee. "You're the one that stabbed them in the back after all."

Deciding it best to ignore her sister, Amelia continued on, "Niklaus and Elijah are out at the moment. I'm not sure when they'll be back."

"But you're welcome to wait here with us," offered Leiah with another grin. "We could talk about old times, Sarah. Or maybe talk about that dead girlfriend of yours, Stefan." At that Stefan charged. Not genuinely though, he was just doing what Leiah wanted him to. Playing into her game to keep up the pretence about Elena. Obviously his emotions would be running high if Elena really was dead, so he had to act like that was the case, and let Leiah take advantage of the hypothetical situation.

But since Leiah had been the one to initiate the move, she was ready for it. Dropping her coffee cup down on the island before vaulting over and hitting Stefan low. He went down, and Leiah swung around, mounting Stefan as he dropped to the floor. "You know, I hear sex is a great way to get over a dead girlfriend. What's say we test it out?"

With a growl, Stefan pushed Leiah off of him, before flipping back up to his feet and running at her again, only to get sidestepped and shoved into the wall as Leiah laughed. She was clearly having fun, and after the past few days of suffering from a werewolf bite, Sarah imagined the girl was keen to have as much fun as possible, in as short a time as she could cram it into.

Unfortunately for her, Amelia stepped in before it could continue. Standing between her sister and Stefan, as she pushed him back against the wall. "That's enough, Leiah," warned Amelia in a raised voice, her blue eyes heating as they bore into Leiah's defiant ones.

"What, just because you feel guilty about back stabbing them, I don't get to play. I fail to see how that's my problem, _Amy_." The next thing Sarah knew, Amelia had abandoned Stefan and had Leiah pressed against the kitchen island, even prompting Katherine to jump back in fright. Sarah couldn't recall seeing Amelia like this, this angry. Maybe during the dinner party incident she might have been, but she didn't recall anyone mentioning anything like this. A rage in her eyes as she bared her tightly clenched teeth. Holding her sister down with a steel like clamped hand against her throat.

"I've just spent the last two days looking after you, you ungrateful child," Amelia snarled, in the most angry tone Sarah had ever heard from her.

"Well, I never asked you to," Leiah snapped back, before finding the strength to shove Amelia off her. "But then again, you always know best don't you, damned what I want."

"Grow up," snapped Amelia.

"How about instead you just get lost!"

"Sisters, please."

Sarah jumped around, finding Klaus and Elijah stood behind her, having silently entered the room. She'd been too preoccupied with the squabbling Original sisters to notice them. But now that she had, she quickly backed up to her own brother for protection, feeling reassured when his hands caught her from falling backwards.

"My apologises for this, unsightly insight into our private lives," Klaus continued, grinning in the direction of the two Salvatores. "I hope my dear sisters haven't done anything inappropriate in my absence. But then, if you will drop by unannounced…"

"We need your help, for our brother," Stefan said, stepping ahead of Sarah and focusing his attention on Klaus, while Sarah tried to watch every other Original and Katherine at the same time. It wasn't the most comforting of spaces for her, surrounded by her mortal enemy and four all powerful Originals vampires – including one that was now classed as a Hybrid.

"Well, whatever it is, it's gonna have to wait a tick. You see, I have an obligation to my brother," Klaus explained, gesturing back to Elijah as he continued to grin. "It requires my immediate attention." As he made his way into the kitchen, Elijah stepped towards Stefan and Sarah, though kept a fair distant between them.

"You both understand how important family is, or you wouldn't be here. My brother gave me and Amelia his word that he would reunite us with our own," explained Elijah, as Klaus suddenly appeared behind him with a sinister smirk.

"And so I shall," declared Klaus, as Elijah turned only to get stabbed in the heart by a silver dagger. A dagger Sarah recognised along with everyone else. The dagger that could be used to kill the Originals, so long as they remained inside them.

From next to Sarah and Stefan, Amelia screamed in anguish, her voice overpowering everyone else's shocked reaction. But before she could even think of what to do next, Leiah spun her around and rammed another identical dagger through her sister's heart. The action only further surprised, Sarah, Stefan and Katherine, as all three stared with wide surprised eyes.

"Sorry, Amelia," Leiah said quietly, something like understanding in her cold blue eyes, as her sister reached for the dagger through her heart. But it was too late. Like Elijah, neither had the strength to fight back, as their skin turned grey. Their veins began to show, the blood stopping in their bodies, and as the light left their eyes, they went limp in their siblings arms.

Klaus then let Elijah go, watching him collapse onto the floor, while Leiah more gentle lowered Amelia to the ground. Sarah watched her, wondering what was going through the blonde's head, when suddenly she and Stefan were up against the wall once more. Klaus before them, with a hand on each of their throats. Now more stronger and powerful than anything Sarah had ever come across, as she squirmed along with Stefan in his hold.

"Now, what am I gonna do with you two?" asked Klaus, eyeing the brother and sister as they stared back at him. "Let's start with you," Klaus decided, eyes settling on Stefan as his grin returned. "Leiah," he called. "This ones all yours," he said as he shoved Sarah aside. She stumbled away, unable to stop herself as Leiah appeared in her path, catching her and throwing her on towards the bed. Before she could get back up, Leiah was up on the bed, feet planted on either side of Sarah as she loomed over her.

"Stay there, please," Leiah warned with a smile. "I'm trying to be considerate, but cause any trouble, and I will make this uncomfortable for you."

"Like how?" snapped Sarah, though remained on the bed. But upon hearing her brother's groans of pain, she looked over to see Klaus shoving a stake through his chest. Naturally Sarah went to get up, but Leiah's foot pushed her back down. She looked up, ready to fight, until she saw the stake Leiah held in her hand. She got the message and lay back, while Leiah smiled sweetly.

"Good girl."

* * *

When the knock at the door came, it was getting close to sun down. But even so, Jenna wasn't keen to try her luck. She'd been scorched by the sun a few times since becoming a vampire – most because of her own forgetfulness. Of course that would change once she had a daylight ring like the others, but she wanted to be ready before then. Which meant she had to invite whoever it was to come in without opening the door herself.

"It's open!" she called, taking cover behind the corner in the hallway, watching for any rays of light that came in. None did, but she heard the door open and close as the guest came in. She peered around, smiling when she saw it was Alaric. More importantly, Alaric with a bottle of booze in hand.

"Hey," Alaric said with an awkward smile. The one he'd been wearing ever since the truth came out. About his wife being a vampire, him a vampire hunter and how he'd been helping her niece and nephew with all the crazy supernatural stuff going on in their lives. She hadn't properly thanked him for that yet, but at the same time, she'd rather he'd told her than keep her in the dark, so maybe she'd hold of on the thank you.

"Hey," Jenna replied, remaining by the corner. Part of her still frightful over hurting him. She felt fine though. Her senses were in check, unable to hear the blood pulsating through him or the alluring beat of his heart. Plus she'd had some blood after inviting him over, just to be safe. She had only intended to have one bag, but it quickly turned into two and a bit before she was able to get a grip of herself. But it meant she was good for when Ric arrived, so she guessed it was worth it for the momentary slip up.

When the silence began to stretch out for to long, Jenna awkward added a, "Thanks for coming." Nervously brushing back her hair as she did.

"No problem," Alaric replied, holding the bottle in both hands as he turned it over.

"I just…I just don't think I should be alone with anyone right now, even Damon," Jenna said lamely, feeling her cheeks heat up. It was like being a teenager again, awkwardly tip toeing around the guy she liked, despite the fact they'd already been going out. Everything about her previous self really had been heightened – even the stuff she thought she'd gotten over.

"Jenna, you can be honest with me." Her heart stopped, think somehow, she'd been caught. Her cheeks, if they could turn red, were probably the colour of a fire truck now – even if Alaric had already known about her feelings and shared them. Man, it was like everything was reset because of this vampire thing.

"I know you just wanted the booze," he said with a grin, tossing up in the air before catching it.

They both laughed, Jenna feeling a little normal again for a moment – but also perhaps laughing a little too hard to. "Yeah, thanks for bringing that."

"Well, I've been told it helps with urges and what not. And if your best friend's dying, the least you can do is share one last drink with him."

"Right," Jenna sighed, remember how close Alaric and Damon had gotten since he came into town. And suddenly feeling very saddened by it all. "Are you okay? I mean, what with Damon and everything?"

"Well, I'm hardly the priority," Alaric said, walking into the living room to grab some glasses, while Jenna remained by her corner in the hallway, still a little scared to move in case it somehow broke her concentration. "And of course I'm worried about him, that's why I'm here." He grabbed three glasses that were already laid out on the bar in one hand, holding the booze in the other. "But I'm confident Stefan and Sarah will figure something out. I mean it's their brother, and if they need me then I'll be there. But to be honest, I'm pretty happy just seeing you…and supporting Damon through this difficult time."

"Right," Jenna quickly agreed, as Alaric came back over to her. "Well, he's down here," she said, opening the door that lead down to the basement and leading them down. When they reached Damon's cell, they both looked in to see him staring at his bitten arm. It was the first time Jenna had seen the infectious werewolf bite, and it did not look good. If she'd seen anything like that before finding out about the supernatural, she'd have freaked and maybe even screamed. Even now she still had to look away, grimacing at the disgusting sight of his boiled arm, as he himself poked at it.

"Well, that looks bad," Alaric said, grimacing himself as Damon rolled down his sleeve.

"It feels worse," Damon assured him, as Alaric set up one of the three glasses on the space in between the bars. He then handed the other two glasses to Jenna, as he opened the bottle. "My subconscious is haunting me. Please tell me you have something for that," Damon groaned, looking over from where he lay against the wall.

"A double shot?" Jenna suggested, as Alaric finished filling the glasses.

"Good idea," agreed Alaric, doubling the height of Damon's drink. He then watched Damon slowly get up and stagger over towards the door, before turning towards Jenna, finding one glass empty and the other against Jenna's lips as she downed it. It was only when she finished she notice him staring at her.

"Sorry," she said nervously. "Cravings."

"Looks like I'll be the sensible one tonight," Alaric chuckled, pouring a double for Jenna and a single for himself. Quickly taking the glass from Jenna before she had a chance to down it.

"Oh, by the way, I found this on the floor," Jenna remembered, as she pulled out Damon's ring and placed it next to the glass in between the bars.

"Thanks," Damon said weakly, as he put the ring back on and sipped at his drink. "So, my dear siblings asked you to keep watch?"

"Not like I've got anything better to do," pointed out Jenna, as she drank half her double shot, admittedly feeling her tension leave her, if only a little at a time. She was beginning to realising that vampire or not, alcohol was still useful. Maybe even more so actually, now that she was a vampire. Although, she had to admit, it would have suited her far better to have become a vampire back in her partying days. She could have consumed a lot more drink that way.

"Besides, you could do worse than us," added Alaric, taking a sip.

"Suppose so," agreed Damon as he walked away, only to then hunch over as he groaned in sudden pain. A coughing fit followed and most of his drink ended up being spilt before he stood back up, having recovered. "Still," Damon began as he wiped his mouth with his free hand. "You should both want me dead." Jenna began shaking her head, seeing where this was going as she got Ric to give her a refill. Though this time he only gave her a single shot. Even if she was a vampire, she was still a new vampire. Better to pace herself. "I left you behind last night, Ric."

"Yeah, you did," agreed Alaric as he took a drink. "And I'm mad, but I don't want you dead."

"But if I hadn't you could have saved Jenna from becoming a vampire," Damon argued as he turned back around. His goal painfully obvious.

"No, he couldn't have," Jenna said as looked into the cell. "It had already happened long before you guys even knew what had happened to me."

"Sorry about that, again," Alaric apologised, to which Jenna smiled at his sweetness.

"It's okay."

"But it's my fault you got turned into a vampire in the first place," Damon continued, taking a step towards them and almost collapsing. "If I hadn't interfered with Klaus' ritual then–"

"Then it could have been Caroline who was killed instead," Jenna cut in, having been told by Sarah. "Trust me, Damon. While I'm not thrilled about becoming a vampire, it's far from the worst thing that could have happened. And I in no way blame you."

"Then you're an idiot," Damon growled, before moving back to Alaric. "And you. Shouldn't you be a lot madder with me. This is the second girlfriend of yours that I've turned into a vampire after all. Remember Isobel?"

"That was her choice," Alaric said, though from the frown on his face, Jenna could tell her was trying to suppress his emotions on the subject. In truth Jenna was trying to do the same. After all, thinking of Isobel only reminded Jenna of the betrayal she'd gone through with all her friends. And she was Ric's ex on top of that, who'd handed him over to Klaus to be used as a host body – she could feel her anger starting to build. Perhaps the alcohol hadn't been such a good idea. For what she'd been told, she was more of a party drunk, but that didn't mean she couldn't get violent. And with her heightened emotions as a vampire, there was no telling how out of hand she could get.

Then suddenly Damon was up against the door, his hand reaching through the bars to grab Alaric by the throat. "Kill me. Please," he begged in a weak voice, his arm trembling despite the strength with which he held Ric. And while he couldn't get out of it, Jenna realised just how weak Damon was when she pried her boyfriend free. Clawing her fingers around Damon's, she pulled them loose enough for Alaric to slid out, and then shoved Damon back into the cell. He stumbled, before collapsing on the ground, apparently using a lot of strength in that last act. And with Jenna just being a new vampire and all, he was clearly very weak if even she could over power him. But the victory did little to calm the racing blood inside her.

"Don't tempt me, Damon!" Jenna warned, her voice deep as she glared down at him through the bars.

"Jenna," Alaric said, catching her attention as she swung around, snarling at him until she saw his raised hands. "Jenna, just take a breath." Unbeknownst to her, the blood then left Jenna's eyes and her fangs shrunk away with her anger. "Sorry," she said to them both, taking a few deep breaths until her anger subsided.

"It's okay, nobodies hurt," Alaric assured her, stepping towards her even when she stepped back. Worried she might lose it again and this time hurt him over Damon.

"I'm hurt," Damon groaned from the cell.

"He's delusional," Alaric cut in, still stepping towards Jenna. "But you only did what you did to protect me. Remember, it's just like Sarah said, you care about family and your loved ones. So it was just an emotional rush when you saw Damon grab me, that's all. You're still in control, everything things fine."

Nodding along with what he was saying, and willing herself to believe it, Jenna allowed Alaric to step closer until he was hugging her. She did however pull away, when she realised how close her mouth was to his neck. It was still a weak spot for her. She could be in the same room as humans but not right up against their veins. That wasn't healthy for any new vampire.

"I could use some blood," Damon groaned out from cell.

"Sure," Jenna called back, though her eyes remained on Alaric's, before she broke contact and made her way further into the basement to where the fridges full of blood where. Alaric followed her, walking in as Jenna opened up the fridge, only to then be over come with the urge to feed.

She quickly stepped back, hand covering her mouth as she tried to control it. But just like back at the ritual site, it was too tempting, too alluring to ignore. Especially with a fresh blood supply in Alaric. And seeing the blood fill her eyes once more, with an animal like hunger, Alaric threw up his hands once more. "Jenna… Come on, Jenna, you can beat this."

"I…I…can't…" Jenna squeezed out, closing her eyes and trying fight the urge to rush Alaric and rip his throat out. To take his blood and drain him dry, to fulfil her urges and taste her sweet sweet reward.

"Just remember who I am. Remember your emotions. What you feel is stronger than the bloodlust." When her eyes suddenly flew open, he was right in front of her. His arms at his side in a relaxed way, as if he had nothing to fear from her. "Jenna, you've got this." And as she swallowed the lump in her throat, she felt the rush subside and let out a breath of relief, as she fell against Ric.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You're doing great. And soon, all this will be behind you." She hoped that was true. But none more so than when she looked up, and saw who was standing in the doorway behind Alaric.

"Eh…Ric," Jenna said nervously, as Alaric turned to see what she saw. The sheriff stood with a gun pointed at them both.

"Where's Damon?" she said calmly.

"You know, now's not a good time, Sheriff. Trust me," Alaric said calmly, while Jenna remained hidden behind him. She'd heard about the Sheriff and the founders council from the others. About how they hunted vampires. Vampires like her, and killed them. Least to say, she was feeling a little boxed in and scared suddenly.

Before the subject of her could come up however, another voice from down the hallway called out to the Sheriff. "Sheriff, over here!"

"I wouldn't go in there," Alaric warned.

"He's right, just leave him alone," Jenna added, though not as bravely.

"I just want to talk to him," the Sheriff said, stepping out and closing the door behind her as Alaric ran for the door.

"I wouldn't go in there!" he shouted after her, trying the door only to find it locked. "Damn it!"

"Move, I'll get it," Jenna declared, suddenly filled with courage now that the Sheriff was gone from sight, and mind apparently.

"No, no, no. You break that open when I can't and they'll figure out your a vampire," Alaric pointed out, now standing between Jenna and the door.

"Yeah, and if I don't break it open then they'll kill Damon for being one," Jenna argued in turn. Her courage and determination building with heightened rush of emotions. She'd made a promise to Sarah after all, a promise to look after Damon in her absence and keep him alive until she got back. And she wasn't about to let the Sheriff or anyone else take away Sarah's brother before she got back with that cure. She wouldn't let her down, not after everything she'd gone through for her and her family. Now it was time for Jenna to do something for her.

At least that was what she thought until she heard the commotion from beyond the door. Her hearing focused automatically, hearing the officers going for their guns and failing to fire them because Damon was too fast, knocking them and their weapons aside before racing from the room and out into the night.

"Or…not," Jenna added with a worried look to Alaric, as they both heard the Sheriff and her men running out after Damon.

* * *

On screen, Scarlett looked around in dismay at the dying and wounded soldiers around her. On the picnic blanket, Scarlett sat beside Jeremy, her head resting on his shoulder as she let out yet another bored sigh. "I told you to stop that!" hissed Caroline with another of her dagger like glares. From in between the two, Jeremy and Bonnie grinned. While Caroline was content to watch the movie while they waited for news, it was obvious Scarlett was not. And had hence found other ways to amuse herself.

"Sorry. I'm just so…" Scarlett forced a yawn. Stretching one arm as she snuggled against Jeremy's side, inhaling his scent. It had been a while since she was able to do it this close. She missed it.

"You're just trying to ruin Scarlett for me!" Caroline continued to hiss, practically leaning over Bonnie now.

"No. I'm just bored," Scarlett replied, returning Caroline's glare as the two locked eyes.

"Round number four," Bonnie muttered to Jeremy. He laughed as his phone began to ring, quieting as he answered it.

"Alaric, hey."

"Who's there with you?" Alaric asked urgently.

"Eh, Scarlett, Bonnie and Caroline. Why?" Jeremy frowned, while Scarlett and Caroline listened in curiously.

"What about Elena?"

"She went to go and see Damon and Jenna," Jeremy answered.

"She what?!" Scarlett heard Jenna shout from the background, alarmed.

"Listen, the cops just showed up here looking for Damon. They've locked Jenna and me in the basement, but Damon got out and now they're chasing. He's in a real bad shape, Jeremy, and getting worse."

Jenna then spoke up, loud enough for Jeremy to hear her as well as the others eavesdropping. "Jeremy, I want you to find your sister and get somewhere safe, somewhere were me or Damon can't get in." Even with a delusional Damon on the lose, Jenna still considered herself more of a threat to her niece and nephew. Sarah was going to have her work cut out for her.

"But what about you, how are you going to get out?" Jeremy asked, before Jenna's effortful screams came blaring down the phone, followed by the snapping off wood and metal.

"I think she's got that part covered," Alaric answered for her, before hanging up.

Jeremy looked to everyone to explain, but since two out of the three had already heard it he wasn't sure on how to streamline the information. But Scarlett did, "Damon's got out."

"Alright," Bonnie said as they started getting up. "Me and Caroline will look for Damon. Jeremy, you–"

"No! I'm not being sidelined, not again," Jeremy protested.

Scarlett took his hand, turning him towards her. "Jer–"

"No!" Jeremy snapped, pulling his hand from hers. "You said you were going to let me make my own choices–"

"Jer, you're coming with me to look for Elena," Scarlett explained, watching as he deflated, realising that he was now being included.

"Scarlett…" Caroline said uneasily, her eyes shifting between the werewolf and Jeremy.

"It'll be fine. If we find Elena – or Damon, we'll call you and meet up," Scarlett said, which put Bonnie and Caroline a little more at ease. After all, they were still older than both Jeremy and Scarlett. Maybe only by a year, but for them it probably made them feel more adulty. And if anything happened to Jeremy – their best friend's little brother – when they could have prevented it, they'd never forgive themselves. Scarlett understood, because she felt the need to protect Elena sometimes for that very same reason.

"Okay, stay in touch," Caroline said, as she and Bonnie walked off.

Turning to Jeremy, Scarlett asked, "Which way did your sister go off in?"

"That way," he said pointing, already leading the way as Scarlett gathered a scent. There was still enough of her presence left over on the blanket and in the air that Scarlett was able to confirm that Jeremy was right. Of course, she knew the trail would lead to her car, but they had to start somewhere. So she quickly caught up to Jeremy as they began searching around the square for Elena.

* * *

From across the room, Stefan fought to stand up straight. But he was only barely standing, and that was in part because Klaus was holding him up. Still, he had the strength to speak, even if it came out hoarse. "The witches said you had a cure. Make us a deal. We'll do whatever you want, just as long as you give us the cure."

Abruptly Klaus pulled the stake from Stefan, letting him fall to the floor as he healed. Again Sarah felt the urge to go to her brother's aid, but with Leiah's foot still pressing down on her chest she didn't have much of a choice. All she could do was watch her brother gasping on the floor, while Klaus made himself comfy at the kitchen island. Pouring himself a glass of blood.

"Trouble is, I don't know if you'd be any good to me the way you are now. You're just shy of useless." He shot a smirk towards Katherine, watching her squirm from within the kitchen. He then took his glass of blood, and made his way back over to Stefan, crouching down to his level.

"Now, let me tell you about someone useful. This one vampire I heard about, crazy bloke, always on and off the wagon for decades. When he was off, he was magnificent," Klaus explained announcing each word individually at the end. Then he stood up, continuing his story. "1917, he went into Monterrey and wiped out an entire migrant village. A true ripper. Sound familiar?" Klaus asked, grin growing as he took a drink of blood.

Composing himself, Stefan looked up at the Hybrid. And with a casual reluctance replied, "I haven't been that way in a very long time."

"Well, that's the vampire I can make a deal with," Klaus said without any budge to his tone.

"What about me?" Sarah asked, prompting Klaus to look over.

"You?" He smiled. "You've got talents for sure, but your not your brother here."

"Then why am I still alive if you don't want me?" asked Sarah curiously. The thought suddenly occurring that she might have just sighed her own death sentence.

"I would have thought that was obvious. Because of her," Klaus said, gesturing to his his sister, still stood over Sarah.

"You can thank me later, hot stuff," Leiah said with a wink.

"While we're here, Leiah can decide what happens to you. But once we leave town, I'll just be wanting your brother's talents. You'll be staying behind for now," Klaus explained, smiling almost fondly down at Stefan, who stared up in confusion.

"What do you mean, 'when you leave town?'" Sarah asked, only to then feel Leiah's finger pressing down on her lips. The Original was now on her knees, properly straddling Sarah as she shushed her quietly.

"What did I tell you about causing trouble?" Leiah said playful, but with a clear edge of warning to her tone. Backing down for now, Sarah went back to watching in silence, as Stefan forced himself to stand opposite Klaus.

"Like I said, whatever you want. But first, prove you have a cure," Stefan demanded.

Surprisingly, Klaus just smiled back, before looking to his sister once again. "Leiah," he instructed.

With her grin broadening, Leiah rolled off Sarah, landing on the bed beside her with a bounce. She quickly got up into a siting position and pulled Sarah up to join her. And while the raven haired vampire frowned, Leiah commanded. "Katerina, please make your way over to Niklaus' side."

Still pretending to be compelled, Katherine had no choice as she removed herself from the corner of the kitchen she'd been hiding in. "You'll enjoy this," Leiah whispered eagerly, as Katherine came to a stop at Klaus' side. "Now hold out your arm towards him." It seemed that was when it clicked for Katherine, what was about to happen. But her choice on whether to blow her cover or not was taken away from her, when Klaus grabbed her arm and bit into her. And as a Hybrid, she was more than sure what would happen when Klaus bit a vampire. A theory which was made fact, when they all saw the mark on Katherine' forearm. A bite mark which wouldn't heal, infected veins already spreading outwards as her skin began to bubble and flare angrily. It was working even faster than a normal werewolf bite.

As Klaus then realised her, Katherine began to panic, staring down at the bite as she mumbled to herself. Sarah couldn't help but smile a little, at the sight of the worst woman alive getting what she deserved. A slow and painful death.

"Couldn't have happened to a nicer gal, could it?" Leiah said sarcastically, chuckling along with Sarah as they watched Katherine freak out in her own little world. And as Sarah enjoyed the moment, she became aware of Leiah, watching her. She turned, her happiness fading into further confusion as she saw a fondness in the blue eyes of the Original. A longing.

"Oh, do be quiet," grumbled Klaus towards Katherine, before he bit into his own wrist. Turning back at the sound, Sarah and Leiah watched, the previous moment forgotten, as Klaus held his exposed wrist to Katherine and she drank his blood.

And then, the bite on her arm healed. As if it were any other wound inflicted upon a healthy vampire.

"You want your cure? There it is," Klaus said, like a man who knew he held all the cards. Because he did. The only man in the entire world, with the cure to a werewolf bite. With in him he held the power to decide who could live and die. That was power, and they all knew it.

"Your blood is the cure," Stefan said in defeat, seeing that it wasn't something they could steal so easily. And knowing that, a little bit of hope died inside Sarah. Because it meant they truly were at his mercy, and would have to do whatever he wanted. All just to get a chance at saving Damon.

"Gotta love Mother Nature," Klaus said with a grin, as he placed his hand on Stefan's shoulder, and turned him towards the kitchen island. "Now, let's talk, you and I."


	45. I am Broken

_Review responses:_

Bornkiller9: _I've got quite a few changes planned for the third season, so hopefully those will go down well. Sarah is going to have a different experience to Stefan in the third season but it will tie in because they are brother and sister and then there's Elena to consider. But it won't just be Sarah doing the same thing as Stefan. I think that would be dull, but they will over lap and she will react differently to him to certain things._

 _And here we are, at the end of another book. And this was waaaaaaaaay longer than the last one. Like I'm kinda shocked. It's over double the word count! I'm honestly amazed I managed to write it all. But here it is, a year and a half after it originally started, the final chapter – and then it's on to the next story. However I have a few things to say before then._

 _1st, I'm still planning the third season. I'm someone who likes to write it all out in bullet points and have the entire plan before me. I make changes along the way, but that's just how I've done this series. And it has taken me longer than expected to write everything down and go through all the episodes to make sure it all works. And because of some of the changes I've made there's other things I have to consider in terms of character actions. For example, I'll be changing some of the things Damon does in series 3, because a lot of his motivation comes from his romantic love for Elena...and you'll see what I mean later on in this chapter. But as I'm sure you'll understand, it's like a domino effect, so I'm trying to be careful and not force anything._

 _2nd, I'll be splitting series 3 into 3 separate books. That way it won't end up being as long as this one and it will hopefully be more digestible and less intimidating to new reads._

 _And that's all I really wanted to say. I have started writing the next story but as I've said, I like to have my plans. And once I've sorted out everything for the first arc in series 3 then I'll try and get as much done as possible. Hopefully it'll only be a month or two before the next book starts being uploaded, I don't want to keep you guys waiting too long, but at the same time, I want to have a steady upload schedule like I had with this one. If you guys are desperate and don't mind waiting weeks if possibly months between chapters then let me know and I'll start uploading as soon as I have something finished and ready to go._

 _And then there's the most important bit. THANK YOU! I know I say it all the time, but it's only because you all read and review and favourite and follow this story that I continue to write it. Every word you write in your reviews gives me a reason to sit back down and keep going and I love you all for that. I love writing this series and playing with the characters in this universe. But there'd be little point if you weren't all reading it and enjoying the story with me so thank you so much for coming back again and again and joining Sarah, Scarlett and me on this story._

 _Here's to the end of this story, and the starting of the next! Take care of yourselves until we meet again!_

* * *

 **Chapter 45: I am Broken**

* * *

"This is a waste of time, she's obviously not here," argued Jeremy, as he and Scarlett made their second lap of the square. At first he'd been happy to be helping, thinking he was finally getting taken seriously. But after a while he'd begun to think this was just another way of sidelining him, of fixing him up with a bodyguard, A.K.A. Scarlett. It didn't help when Scarlett suggested taking another look around the square after they'd found nothing. That was when Jeremy felt his suspicions to be true. That she was just keeping him out of the way while Caroline and Bonnie did the real work.

That wasn't the case. The truth was Scarlett was picking up Elena's scent. But with the sheer mass of people she kept losing the fresh scent and mixing it up with another. She tried to explain that Jeremy, but he wasn't as patient as he'd once been. Not as trusting.

"Her car's gone so she's gotta be somewhere else," he continued to insist.

Finally sick of his complaining – and his attitude that she wasn't taking this seriously enough – Scarlett turned on him. "Jeremy, I get it. You're anxious and worried. But I'm telling you, I smell a fresh scent here, in the centre of town."

"Wouldn't be the first time you lied to me," he muttered, looking off. Normally when he made a clear jab at her for what had happened with Mason, Scarlett let it go. But apparently this was the one that broke the camels back, as Scarlett's face contorted into an angry glare.

"I'm not lying, Jeremy," Scarlett growled, barely holding back the anger to her tone.

Not that Jeremy seemed to notice, as he snapped, "How can I be sure anymore?"

"I get you don't trust me–"

"Understatement," Jeremy muttered loudly.

"But I meant what I said, Jeremy. I'm going to let you make your own choices. Even if they are stupid ones."

Scarlett went to resume the search, but Jeremy grabbed her and turned her back around. "Hey, I'm trying to help my sister here!"

"No, you're picking a stupid fight with me!" Scarlett shouted back, her point made clear by the volume of her voice. "If you really wanted to find her, you'd let me do my thing."

"And how do I know this isn't just you trying to keep me out of the way again!" Jeremy snapped.

Scarlett glared back at him, her mouth open in outrage. "Are you serious, Jeremy! Are you that paranoid now that you actually think I'd leave your sister in danger, just to manipulate you?"

He stepped towards her then, his eyes a harsh cold brown as he looked down into her fiery blue. "I really don't know." And were once Scarlett might have backed down at that, this time, she didn't. She held his gaze angrily, refusing to let him get away with this. She would forever be sorry for what happened with Mason, forever tormented by that moment, but she wouldn't take this. She wouldn't let him insult her to this degree, to think she would abandon her friends and leave them to die for any reason, was unthinkable. It was becoming clear where they stood, that he would never trust her again and only continue to make these snide comments whenever they hit a bump. And if she wanted to stay with him, she have to take it.

Realising that, her heart ached. Not because of his words, but in realising that this was the new reality. She had ruined their relationship, but he wasn't willing to try and repair it. She could understand why, but clearly he wasn't going to let go either. He was going to make her cut the cord, so that he could blame her for that too, drag it out even if it made them both miserable. There was never going to be a happy end for them.

But she couldn't deal with that now, they had more urgent things. But afterwards… Afterwards they'd end things. For good. It was the only way out of this cycle, at least that Scarlett could see.

Then, a scent drifted in to her noise. A scent she knew well, and she turned, taking another sniff. Her eyes widened as she confirmed who it was, and then she saw him through the crowd. "Damon," she said, as Jeremy followed her gaze, seeing the vampire too. But he wasn't acting like his usual self. He was hunched over, staggering to get through the crowd and coughing all the way. Scarlett could see he'd gotten worse, and the fact that he was talking to a statue, thinking it was someone else, wasn't helping.

"Rose…?" he murmured, and Scarlett then remembered the vampire he'd fallen for – at least that was what Sarah had told her. The one who'd been bitten by a werewolf, just like him.

Jeremy was moving towards him before Scarlett, and once she saw him ahead, she swiftly followed. There was no telling what Damon might do. Right now the hallucinations might be calm and peaceful, but from what Sarah had told her about her time looking after Rose, things could turn violent fast. She had to be on her toes until the others arrived.

"Damon!" Jeremy called out, stopping as the blue eyed vampire weakly turned towards him and Scarlett.

"Jeremy…? Scarlett…?" He started to fall, but both Jeremy and Scarlett stepped forward to catch him.

"We've got to get him out off here," Scarlett said, looking around to see how much attention they'd drawn. And more importantly, if there was anywhere they could go.

"The Grill's nearby, it should be quiet just now," pointed out Jeremy. Scarlett presumed he was right because of everyone watching the movie. She nodded, putting up no argument as they began to move through the crowd, across the square, and into the Grill.

Inside it was quiet. Scarlett would have even said it was closed had the door not been unlocked. All the chairs were stacked on top of tables, but the lights were still on, so maybe they were only closed for the duration of the movie. Either way it was a quiet place to wait for the others, with no one around to question them yet.

"Call the others, let them know where we are," Scarlett said to Jeremy, taking Damon's weight with ease as Jeremy pulled out his phone and called.

"Hey, it's me. We found Damon, we're at the Grill." He made his way around to the other side of a table, while Scarlett let Damon go. He seemed stable enough to stand now, though had one hand posed above the edge of the table in case he needed to catch himself.

It all seemed fine until Scarlett caught an intruder's scent. She turned, her eyes going wide when she found the Sheriff – Caroline's mom – pointing a gun at her and Damon. She remembered now, being told that the Sheriff apparently knew everything. Knew about all the vampires, her daughter being one of them, Damon another, and Scarlett the werewolf. Evidently, her hatred for vampire was stronger, as the gun moved onto Damon and fired.

But Damon was gone before the bullet could connect, fleeing the restaurant. And yet Scarlett still smelt blood.

She turned, following the line of the Sheriff's shot…to find Jeremy with a hole in his chest.

"JEREMY!" Scarlett cried as he fell backwards.

In a blink she was beside him, on her knees, watching his whole body tremble as he stared up at her with those fading brown eyes. He was in shock. So was she. She didn't know what to do. She wasn't a vampire, she couldn't heal him with her blood. She was just a werewolf, with no power to prevent death in any way. She was powerless as she watched him die before her, grabbing onto him as if that might somehow stop him from leaving this Earth.

From behind, she heard the Sheriff say into her radio, "I've got a gunshot victim at the Grill. Get the paramedics here." She seemed to be in shock as well, but was keeping it together far better than Scarlett.

Taking his hand, Scarlett began to frantically ramble, her brain on autopilot as she tried to will Jeremy to heal. "Jeremy. Jeremy, stay with me. It's going to be okay, I promise, it's going to be fine. Just don't leave me, please. Please, don't leave me. I'm sorry, I'm sorry for everything, but don't go, just hold on. Help's coming." He squeezed back, but it was weak. And Scarlett felt her heart stop along with Jeremy's, as his head dipped backwards.

"Get away from him, Scarlett," ordered the Sheriff, the same shake to her voice as before.

"You shot him!" Scarlett snapped, turning back to see the gun now aimed at her. But she didn't care. It made no difference to what was happening to Jeremy. He was still dying, if not dead already. After everything they'd done, after everything she'd tried to do to protect him. It ended like this. It wasn't fair.

Ignoring the Sheriff and her gun, Scarlett went back to Jeremy, stroking his face and trying to get him to respond to her. "Jeremy? Jeremy, talk to me? Please, say something, anything! Tell me you hate me, tell me you want me dead, I don't care just say something, please! Jeremy!"

"Oh my God," gasped Bonnie, having arrived with Caroline.

"Mom, what did you do?" gasped Caroline, running over to Scarlett's side with Bonnie behind her.

"I–I was aiming for Damon," answered the Sheriff, conflicted now that her daughter had arrived. She even went as far as to lower the gun, still firmly held in both hands. But Scarlett's priority still remained with Jeremy, as she grabbed Carolin's arm so tightly, she was almost certain she'd broken the skin with her fingers.

"Save him, Caroline!" Scarlett begged through the tears. "Save him please!"

"I've got it," Caroline said, quickly biting into her wrist and feeding Jeremy her blood. "Come on, Jeremy. Just drink. Go on, drink," Caroline said quietly, as the other waited in silence. But after a few seconds, there was no change. The blood was going in, but the bullet hole was still there, and Jeremy's once colourful brown eyes were now duller than ever.

"It's not working," exclaimed Scarlett in a panic.

"What about his ring?" Caroline suggested, pointing to it.

"It won't work, she's human," Bonnie explained, as Scarlett finally saw how she could have saved Jeremy. If she'd killed him before the shot did, then he would have come back. But it was too late now, he was gone, and there was nothing that could bring him back, not even vampire blood. He was gone.

"No…" Scarlett gasped, as Caroline and Bonnie looked sorrily towards her. "No…Jeremy…" She reached over, taking his face in her hands. The tears coming in full force as she squeezed her eyes shut in a desperate attempt to hold back all her emotions. But then she cried out, unable to hold it in as she bent down to embrace him one last time. To inhale is already tainted scent. Taint with the stench of death.

"I'm sorry, Jeremy. I'm so sorry!" she said into his chest, in between the sobs as she felt Caroline warp and arm around her. And there they sat for minutes. Scarlett crying, holding Jeremy. Caroline holding her. Bonnie watching over them, dealing with her own sadness. And the guilty Sheriff who still hadn't decided how to act yet.

And then Jenna and Alaric came running in.

"What's going on–?" Jenna froze, seeing Jeremy on the ground. The bloody hole in his chest, and everyone gathered around in tears. She didn't need an explanation for that.

"Oh, my God," Alaric gasped from beside her, as grief took over Jenna like a tidal wave dragging her out to see. She had little to no control over her emotions and this was too much to bare. She ran to her nephew, landing on the opposite side of Scarlett as she grabbed him.

"Jeremy? Jeremy, stop playing around and wake up," Jenna demanded, refusing to accept the situation.

"Jenna…" Alaric said slowly, coming up behind her.

"He's not dead!" Jenna snapped at him and everyone else, even a crying Scarlett. "He can't be! Feed him some blood."

"We already tried–" Caroline explained.

"Then try again!" Jenna shouted out, her own tears boiling over.

But then she looked down at Jeremy again, her arms beginning to tremble as they held him in her arms. Her breathing becoming heavy as she fought to control herself. "Who did this to him?" asked Jenna in a low voice.

"I–I was aiming for Damon," the Sheriff said again, only more quietly. Jenna's gaze swung towards her, as enraged blood filled her eyes.

"Jenna, no–" Alaric got out, but by then Jenna had the Sheriff up against the wall, her throat in her hands.

"You killed him!" Jenna roared, her full vampire features coming out as her anger consumed her.

"Jenna, stop!" Alaric shouted, grabbing her from behind and trying to pull her off the Sheriff.

"You killed him! You stupid idiot! You killed him!" Jenna continued to shout, smacking the Sheriff as she wildly threw her own limbs about in an attempt to strike the her, while Alaric dragged her back. "You were supposed to protect him, and you shot him!"

"Stay back!" the Sheriff ordered, her own panic showing as she aimed the gun at Jenna, the vampire.

"Pull the damn trigger, see if I care!' Jenna snapped, Alaric now struggling to hold on as Jenna began tapping into her superior strength. "It won't stop me! And then I'll kill you for what you've done! I'll drain you dry!"

"Jenna, listen to yourself!" shouted Alaric, managing to turn Jenna around and force her to look at him. "This isn't you, it's the bloodlust. You need to calm down."

"How can I be calm!" Jenna shouted, tears flying as she suddenly fell into Alaric's arms. The fight suddenly abandoning her as depression settled in instead. "He's dead, Ric. Jeremy's dead."

"I know. I know," Alaric said softly, holding Jenna despite the danger of her tearing into his neck. He knew her, he trusted her. And right now, he just wanted to be there for her.

"Alaric, back away from her," the Sheriff ordered, still trying to maintain some sort of control over the situation.

"Put the gun down, Sheriff," Alaric replied with a stern look. "Or this will only get worse." And maybe it was because he was human, or maybe it was because of the seriousness in his eyes, but the Sheriff listened, as she holstered her gun. Her own sadness taking over as she looked down towards Jeremy. Scarlett still clinging to him, her tears fallen on his dead body.

"Please," Scarlett continued to whimper. "Please, come back. Please. I'll do anything. Just don't go. Don't leave me. Jeremy…"

"I think I can save him." Suddenly all eyes shot towards Bonnie. The witch stood ridged as she stared down at Jeremy. "But we have to go now."

"Go where?" Alaric asked, loosening his hold on Jenna so that she too might turn and stare at the witch.

"Just pick him up, and follow me," Bonnie said sternly, no room for questions in her voice.

Alaric nodded, bending down opposite Scarlett to take Jeremy, when the Sheriff spoke up. "No, no, no, no. You can't move him. This is a crime scene."

"If you think I'm listening to you–" Again Jenna went to lunge at the Sheriff, her vampire features still out and looking like she was about to tear into the Sheriff's neck this time. But luckily Caroline got in between them, one hand enough to push Jenna back before she turned to her mother.

"Mom, you need to let them go," Caroline said to her plainly – as a fact. The Sheriff stared back, as if seeing her daughter in a new light. And as she backed down, the blood faded from Jenna's eyes, as everyone calmed for just a moment.

But then Alaric went to pick up Jeremy and Scarlett shoved him back. "No!"

Alaric quickly rolled back up, motioning everyone back and showing he was okay. Then, he slowly approached the emotional werewolf. "Scarlett, we have to move him. It's our only chance of saving him."

"I…I want to carry him," whimpered Scarlett, sounding like a timid child, as she stared down at Jeremy.

"I know. But you can't, not like this." Alaric paused reaching over and placing his hand on her shoulder, as she looked over to him. "I'll be careful with him. You can trust me," he said with a tender smile.

While they had been talking, Jenna moved behind Scarlett, placing her own grief-stricken hands on the girl's shoulders. And when she looked up and saw that Jenna trusted him, Scarlett relinquish her hold on Jeremy. Entrusting him to Alaric. The teacher then carefully picked him up in his arms, while Jenna held onto Scarlett, and Scarlett her.

"All right, Bonnie, lead the way," Alaric said, before they followed Bonnie out.

* * *

Taking the knife, Klaus tightly gripped the blade with his hand. So tightly that he began to bleed, the red blood oozing out of the gaps between his fingers, as they dribbled down and dripped into the bottle beneath. He kept loosening and tightening his grip, fighting off the healing process so that he could get as much blood as possible into the bottle. Still sat on the bed with Leiah, Sarah watched, as Klaus slid the blade from his grasp. His hand already healed, as if nothing had happened.

"There it is," Klaus said, sat at the island with Stefan, as he picked up the small bottle full of his blood. The cure to a werewolf bite. "You want to save your brother? How about a decade long bender?" he asked with a grin, looking down the island to Stefan. Who was eyeing the bottle just like his sister, both trying to think of a way to get it and flee.

"Uh-uh-uh," came the quiet rhythmic tap of Leiah's voice. Her hand on Sarah's arm. "What you're thinking, right now, that would be one of those troublesome things I can't protect you from."

Sarah turned, finding Leiah in her causal position on the bed next to her. But despite her playful demeanour, her eyes were deadly serious.

"What does it even matter to you, if I live or die?" Sarah whispered back, while Klaus continued to talk to Stefan.

Leiah leaned over, close enough to Sarah that she could easily make out the faint freckles on the girl's face. A face which was currently halfway between a pout and intense thought. Looking deep into Sarah's eyes with her own narrowed blues. "To be honest," Leiah began, reaching forward to brush a strand of Sarah's hair behind her ear. "Keeping you alive is becoming a bit of a pain. But to answer your question, it's not you I'm trying to save. Strictly speaking."

She shrugged, looking back over to Klaus and Stefan, despite knowing Sarah was still staring at her. Her mind full of questions. "Are you ever going to give me a straight answer?" Sarah asked, no longer whispering.

Leiah's eyes darted back over to her. A grin sliding onto her lips. "Maybe someday." Then her eyes went back of the kitchen island, and Sarah turned too, watching Klaus as he turned around in his seat to face them.

"Let's all have a drink, shall we? Leiah." Using her supernatural speed, Leiah dashed over to the fridge. From where Sarah was, she couldn't see what was inside when Leiah opened it. But when the Original pulled her hand back out it was full of blood bags.

"Nik," Leiah called, throwing the first bag to him. He caught in one hand. Ripping off the top to pour it into a glass.

"Stefan," Leiah called next, throwing the second to him. He caught it in both hands, though his eyes remained on the smirking Klaus.

"And you, hot stuff," Leiah added with a wink to Sarah as she threw the last bag. Sarah caught it, moving towards the edge of the bed before Leiah was once again in front of her, preventing her from standing up. "Mind if we share?" she asked, holding a straw in each hand. "Still don't think I'm fully healed from that werewolf bite Cutie gave me." Again she dropped down onto the bed next to Sarah, this time sitting at the edge. She then punctured the bag with both straws, positioning one towards Sarah and the other towards herself – as if they were sharing something as trivial as a milkshake. She even made slurping noises as she drank, smiling in delight when she pulled away.

Across the room, Klaus took a drink from his glass, watching as Stefan took a drink from the bag he'd been handed. And while they drank, Sarah uneasily drank from her shared bag. Trying to figure out what all this was about.

"Finish it," Klaus ordered Stefan, his smirk gone along with his playfulness. He was being dead serious. But still Sarah couldn't work out why. She watched her brother squirm for a moment, before taking another sip at the bag. But she knew he could handle it. His control had been built up to handle this, thanks to the practise he'd had with Elena and her blood. Now he was able to drink from any blood bag in moderation and remain in complete control.

"All of it," Klaus said, encouraging Stefan to hurry up. Again Sarah frowned, not understanding as she watched her brother drink. He held the bag up, taking it all in this time. Chugging it back like he was in a drinking contest. Squeezing the bag until he got everything out. Then he crunched it up, and dropped it on the island. His eyes still locked with Klaus'.

Playful Klaus was back again. "Good, uh?"

Stefan nodded, knowing his role in this little game. "Yeah," he complied.

Klaus swung around in his chair again, looking over to the bed. "Ladies, how are we feeling about the blood tonight?"

"Okay," Sarah said, still frowning with the blood bag in her hands.

"Leiah?"

Leiah replied, "I'm good. But Stefan's still looking a little thirsty. Maybe we should get him another."

"What a good idea, sister," agreed Klaus, looking back over to Stefan with a grin.

"I'm fine," Stefan said calmly.

"Nonsense, it's no trouble. What's a bag of blood between friends. Leiah, get the man another drink." Again she was at the fridge in the blink of an eye. Taking a blood bag and throwing it to Stefan. He caught it, but after looking it over, sat it down on the island in refusal.

"I said I'm fine, thanks."

At that, Klaus' playfulness vanished again. "You wanted a deal," Klaus reminded him. "You do everything I say, and I save your brother. That's the deal." He nodded to the blood bag before Stefan. "Drink."

"What's the point of this–" Sarah was cut off as she stood, Klaus' hand around her throat and almost lifting her off the ground as he suddenly appeared before her.

"The point," Klaus snarled. "If you must know, is to remind Stefan of what he truly is." He dropped Sarah back onto the bed coughing, as he turned back towards Stefan. "Now, drink," he commanded. And after a moment of hesitation, Stefan put the bag to his lips, and squeezed. Forcing as much of the bag into his mouth as he could. Drinking it all until he was once again finished and Klaus was smiling. "How about another?"

Leiah quickly threw Stefan another bag, and as order Stefan began to drink from it again. It was at this point, Sarah figured out what Klaus was up to. The control Stefan had mastered, it only held up as long as he didn't indulge in too much blood. That had never been an issue before, because unlike Damon and Sarah, Stefan was against feeding on people. He never did it. So he only drank from blood bags, and since they didn't hold much, even if he took it all, it was fine. Because between finishing that bag and getting the next, he could regain control. But now Klaus was forcing him to break that control, to keep drinking over and over, to give into the urge he'd spent forever fighting. And if it kept going like this, bag after bag, all Stefan's progress would be gone.

"How much do you plan on feeding him?" demanded Sarah, robbing at her sore throat.

"Not much," answered Leiah, opening the fridge all the way to reveal it was completely crammed full of blood bags. More than enough to shove down Stefan's throat until his control broke. And seeing that recognition on Sarah's face, Klaus smiled, while Stefan closed his eyes and drank from the next bag.

"Katerina, take over would you?" asked Leiah, abandoning her position at the fridge to make way for Katherine. The five hundred year old vampire had been stood quietly in the corner again, but now that Leiah had commanded her, she had to continue her compulsion act. "Every time Stefan finishes a bag, throw him another one."

With Katherine at the fridge, ready to throw Stefan another bag once he was finished, Klaus took his seat back at the island. And Leiah took her seat back at Sarah's side. Snatching another drink from their blood bag, as she slurped once more. It was like a well oiled operation, and Sarah could do nothing but watch, as her brother slowly transformed back into the ripper he'd once been.

* * *

After all getting into Alaric's car, Bonnie directed him to the witchy house. The whole way over Scarlett and Jenna frantically asked her what she was planning to do, but Bonnie kept silencing them, trying to focus and gather her strength for what was to come. Whatever it was, she seemed to think it was going to take everything she had to pull it off.

When they then arrived, Bonnie was first out the car, running ahead inside to get everything set up. Scarlett remained behind, waiting with Jenna while Jeremy was unloaded by Alaric. Once he had him, Alaric lead the way inside. But were he and Scarlett cross the threshold, Jenna was forced back.

"What's going on?" Jenna exclaimed, pressing against the invisible wall that normally prevent vampires from entering houses. But this house had no owner, which confused Scarlett. However, it did have inhabitants, as Alaric reminded them.

"It must be the witches. They must not want you here because you're a vampire."

"All right, go on, I'll wait out here," Jenna said, looking up spiteful, as if the witch spirits were looking down upon her.

"Jenna–"

"Just save him!" she snapped, hitting Alaric with a pleading stare. He nodded, continuing on as Scarlett followed him swiftly down the stairs.

In the basement, Bonnie already had some lanterns lit, providing enough light to see by. Everything was still as it had been the night of the ritual – sleeping bags rolled out, canned food stacked in the corner, candles littered around the room along with open grimoires. While Bonnie had been coming back to work on a cure for Damon, none of them had cleared the place out yet. Maybe in case they needed to use it again as a safe house…or for something like this.

"Is this even possible?" Alaric asked as he placed Jeremy down on the ground.

"There's a spell for it if they'll give me the power to use it," Bonnie explained, flicking through a grimoire in her hands until she found what she was looking for. She quickly read it over then dropped the book down on the floor next to Jeremy, as she knelt down at his side.

On his other side, sat Scarlett. Still teary eyed and whimpering as she held Jeremy's cold hand. It still shocked her the lack of life from him. No heartbeat. No breathing. His body becoming colder. Even his scent was becoming worse by the minute, at least to Scarlett's sensitive nose.

She knew this was their only change to bring him back, to save him. It was all on Bonnie and the witches that surrounded them. And Scarlett needed them to succeed. She couldn't lose Jeremy. She just couldn't.

"Bonnie, please, bring him back," Scarlett pleaded, looking over to the witch.

"I will," she said determinedly, before leaning over and taking a hold of Jeremy's head in both hands. Her eyes then closed, and she began to chant a new spell. One Scarlett hadn't heard before. She repeated the phrasing over and over like she did with her other spells. Her voice growing in volume as the unlit candles around the room suddenly caught alight.

"Come on, Jeremy," Scarlett whispered to herself, while she and Alaric watched for any sign of life. "Come back to me."

Bonnie continued with her chanting, the candles flickering all around them. But then she stopped chanting, and Scarlett's head swung towards her. She couldn't hear anything form Jeremy, no heartbeat. She couldn't have brought him back already, it couldn't be that easy could it? And the anguishing look on Bonnie's face wasn't making her any more comfortable. "What is it, what's wrong?"

"They're angry at me for coming back here. They don't wanna help," Bonnie said in defeat.

"But they have to!" Scarlett shouted at Bonnie, before looking up to the invisible spirits surrounding them. "Please! You have to save him!"

"They said there'll be consequences," Bonnie said, more distant this time.

"He's just a kid," Alaric said, as if reminding the witches.

"Please!" Scarlett cried out again. "Bring him back. You don't understand, it was an accident, he wasn't meant to die. Take me, trade myself for him! I don't care what it takes just bring him back, I'm begging you, please!" But no response came, and from the tears in Bonnie's eyes, it didn't seem like their answer had changed.

Reaching over, Scarlett grabbed Bonnie's arm, breaking the witch from her far off daze and forcing her to look Scarlett in her watery blue eyes. "Please, Bonnie, save him. You said you could save him! I don't care what they say, or what it costs. Just bring him back." She was exhausted by this point, still crying when she really shouldn't be able to. She was breaking more and more with each second. She needed Jeremy to come back, the hope, the uncertainty, it was killing her. She just wanted it to end, and for him to live.

And with her plea, the defeat fled Bonnie's eyes, replaced by a fiery determination once more. Her tears feel free, but no more followed as the witch turned her focus back to Jeremy, and returned to her chanting.

Instantly the flames around the room doubled in size. At first Scarlett thought it was a good sign, but then the room started shaking, maybe even the whole building. The witch spirits apparently so desperate to stop Bonnie that they would bring the entire building down to stop her. To stop her from saving Jeremy. No, Scarlett would stop them, she'd make sure Bonnie got her chance to do the spell, even if she had to hold the whole damn building up by herself.

And as the rage raced through her body, at the thought of the witches standing in between her and Jeremy, she felt her eyes glow. Her neck coiled, as if a snake reading itself to pounce. Then her head lifted, looking up and rising with her extending neck, as she roared like wolf. A powerful roar that seemed to fight the shaking building. Bonnie seemed unfazed by it as she continued her chant, but Alaric was grimacing and covering his ears between the battle of the forces.

But despite Scarlett's passion, when her roar died down, the building didn't stop shaking. It kept going. The flames on the candles growing in heat, threatening to burn them alive as blood began to dribble out of Bonnie's nose and mouth. She was trying her hardest, using everything she had, but she alone wasn't enough. She needed the witches help, and they weren't going to give it.

Scarlett felt her heart break then. Head dropping as more tears came, falling onto Jeremy's cold hand, still held firmly in her grasp. But there was nothing she could do now. She'd begged, she'd howled, but they weren't listening. The vampire blood had been too late, and Bonnie had done everything she could. But it was over now. Jeremy was dead.

"I'm sorry…" Scarlett whispered to him, amidst the shaking room and Bonnie's chanting. "I should have done a better job of protecting you." She squeezed his hand, willing him to squeeze back one last time. But there was nothing. "I'm sorry for what happened with Mason, and for keeping it from you. But I always loved you, Jeremy." She looked at his pale face, imagining those brown eyes of his looking back at her. "You were my first love, Jer. I'll never forget that…or you." After that, she broke down crying again, unable to keep it together. She was in such a state, she didn't even notice when the shaking stopped abruptly, and Bonnie finished her chanting.

No. The only thing that snapped her out of it, was feeling Jeremy's hand squeeze back.

"Scarlett?"

Her eyes opened, looking down at him as he blinked his own eyes open. But then his eyes widened as Scarlett pulled him up and threw her arms around him in a strong embrace. "Jeremy! Oh, thank you. Thank you, thank you!" she said aloud, mostly to the witches before pulling back from Jeremy. But only for a second so that she could kiss him. And he didn't shy away from it either. Both quickly getting lost in it as they pulled at one another, both desperate to hold on to the other until finally they had to let each other go for air.

"Wha…What happened?" Jeremy asked breathlessly, as he looked at the tear stained Scarlett. She couldn't answer, too overcome with joy and now crying for a whole other reason. So Jeremy looked over, seeing a relieved Alaric smiling back at him, and a bloody nosed Bonnie doing the same with her own tears.

"You came back," Scarlett said, pulling him into another hug. "You came back," she sighed in relief, before looking back up and whispering, "Thank you," once again.

They sat down in the cellar of the witch house for a long time. None of them brave enough to move. At least until Alaric remember Jenna, and run up to check on her. She was fine, having heard it all and patiently waiting outside the house, sat down against its wall. Alaric then sat with her, the two embracing each other in relief, while Scarlett held Jeremy, refusing to ever let him go again. That way, if someone shot at him again, it'd literally have to go through her to get to him. And Jeremy, didn't complain once. Not even when he and Bonnie finally decided to move. In fact, he even carried Scarlett bridal style up the stairs. Though when he began to wobble on the final step, Scarlett disembarked and steadied him. Bonnie then pointed out he might need some time to recover, but nothing sleep and a good breakfast shouldn't fix. Although Scarlett suspected their might be other side effects, she didn't ask about them, not now. She didn't want to ruin the moment.

And then they went home. Alaric dropped Bonnie off, made sure she got in okay and then took Jeremy home. And since Scarlett was still refusing to let go of him, she went in with him too. Jenna remained outside, waiting for Alaric to drive her home, but her boyfriend went in under orders to make sure Jeremy and Scarlett got settled.

Then after a tricky changing of cloths, Jeremy and Scarlett made themselves comfortable on his bed. Jeremy sat up with him laptop resting against his legs, while Scarlett lay beside him. Her head on his shoulder and her hand tightly grasping the material of his clean shirt, as she inhaled is scent. His blissfully alive scent.

For a while she lay with her eyes closed. Ready to fall asleep with him. But when his incessant tapping of keys got to be too much, she opened her eyes to see what he was doing. "Why are you searching, 'Back from the dead,'?" Scarlett asked, reading what Jeremy had typed into the search engine.

"I'm just seeing if I can figure out what's wrong with me. I feel…different, weird," Jeremy tried to explained, staring at his laptop screen.

Scarlett leaned over, purposefully taking a loud inhale of his scent. "Your scent's still the same," Scarlett pointed out, putting her head back down on his shoulder and smiling. It might have made him chuckle, but to her, it was sign that he was fine. After all, her nose could pick up the differences in scent when someone became a vampire and when a werewolf triggered their curse. Surely if there was anything extremely different about him, then her nose of all things would pick it up? But he smelt the same as he had before all this, and Scarlett couldn't be happier.

When his laptop then stated to ring because of a video caller, Jeremy quickly answered it. A window then popped up on the screen with Bonnie in the centre. A smaller one in the corner showing Jeremy and Scarlett looking back at her. "Hey," Bonnie greeted, just as tired as they were. "Just wanted to check on you, make sure you were okay."

"I'm alive, thanks to you," Jeremy pointed out with a smile, as Scarlett curled in closer to him. Taking another sniff of his scent to reassure herself. "I, uh…know it's not a lot…"

"But thank you," finished Scarlett, smiling thankfully at Bonnie. Thanks to her, Jeremy was still alive. She'd done the impossible, and Scarlett would never forget it.

"Well, you can both thank me tomorrow," Bonnie suggested with a grin. Before then playfully adding, "And the day after that. And the day after that." They smiled back at her, before they all started to chuckle, all just thankful to be alive.

"We will," Scarlett promised.

"That'll do for now, I guess," teased Bonnie. "Good night, you guys."

"Night, Bonnie," Jeremy replied, before the window closed. He then looked down at Scarlett, smiling as she smiled up at him. Then they both reached towards each other, kissing one another gently before pulling away. Their own silent good night as Jeremy closed the laptop and got ready to go to sleep. At least until Alaric knocked on his open door.

"Hey, guys. Jenna's asked me to spend the night, just in case anything else comes up. Is that cool?"

"What, does she think we need a babysitter?" scoffed Jeremy.

"Yes," came Jenna's voice from the open window.

They all looked over, Scarlett and Jeremy jumping, while Alaric smirked, having known it was coming. She wasn't inside the house, rather sat on the window ledge outside. Though it didn't look the most comfortable of places as Jenna looked over her shoulder and into her nephew's bedroom.

"Seriously, why don't you just–" Jeremy began to invite her in, before Jenna held up a finger to him and cut him off.

"Don't," she warned. "I'm not there yet, Jer. I need you and Elena to be safe from me until I get the hang of this vampire thing." She then looked over to Alaric, grinning when their eyes connected. Something which neither Jeremy or Scarlett missed. "So until I do, he's going to be staying here. Keeping an eye on you and bossing you around and what not." She smiled when her nephew and Scarlett chuckled at this.

"Yeah, sure, it's fine with me," Jeremy said over to Alaric, who nodded back in appreciation.

"All right."

"So, how long do you think this will last?" Jeremy asked, looking back over to her aunt, as the amber blonde shared another playful grin with Alaric.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe a week?" she suggested.

"And maybe the week after that," agreed Alaric.

"And the week after that," repeated Jenna, as the two quickly began to repeat themselves over and over again. It wasn't hard for Jeremy or Scarlett to work out they were being teased.

"You two are the worse!" Jeremy laughed, as he and Scarlett grabbed a pillow each to throw. First Scarlett threw hers at Alaric, but he ducked back out into the hallway for cover as the pillow harmlessly hit the door. But when he poked his head back in, he saw Jeremy throw his pillow at Jenna. She however, quickly dropped down with her new vampire speed, easily dodging the pillow as it flew out the window and into the garden below.

"I'm keeping this by the way!" Jenna called up as they all laughed. As if they were all normal, just for a moment.

* * *

Blood bags now littered the floor of Alaric's apartment. The plastic remains crumpled up and discarded with a few stray drops of blood across the wood. On the island in the kitchen, sat a small pile. But Stefan was no longer sat at the island. The more blood he consumed, the more animal like he became. He became so vicious in how he devoured the blood, that during one bag he actually fell out of his seat. A few bags after that, and Klaus threw a bag away from Stefan, watching him chase after it like a mutt, before chomping into it in the middle of the room.

It was during moments like this, Sarah understand Lexi's dedication to getting Stefan off of human blood. While Sarah always believed Stefan could control his bloodlust like the rest of them, this was the uglier side. Even when she or Damon gave in to the urges, it never became this bad. The blood was never as addictive as Stefan made it out to be. That he'd become a literal animal, just so he could get a few drops. And as he sat on the floor, ripping at another blood bag, Sarah couldn't help but think of her friend once more. And how she wouldn't be around to pull him back this time.

True, there had been that incident a couple of months back when he first drank Elena's blood. But they'd managed to fix that after it became clear he couldn't handle the lust. This was different. Because he wasn't fighting the urge this time. He was giving in to it. Because that was what Klaus wanted. And while he held the cure that would save Damon, Klaus got what Klaus wanted.

"You're very cooperative," Klaus said with a grin, retrieving another blood bag from the fridge. He then sauntered over to Stefan, hunched over on all fours and breathing rabidly. As his eyes locked onto the blood bag in Klaus' procession. It was sad for Sarah, to have to watch her brother descend back into this madness. Into a place were he had no control over himself. But for Damon, she had to remain seated, and do nothing.

"It's almost as if you're enjoying it," mused Klaus, throwing the blood down in front of Stefan.

Sarah watched, fully expecting her brother to tear the latest bag apart, when he finally fought back. He shoved the bag back towards Klaus' feet, glaring up defiantly at the Hybrid. "No more," he heaved, fighting the urges he'd now given in to. And once he'd gone into that hole, voluntary or not, it was never easy to get out. But he was experiencing a moment of control for now. Maybe the urges had settled because of all he'd consumed, but with Stefan, Sarah knew it wouldn't last for long. He had to make a stand and fast if he was going to, while he still had control of himself.

"No more until you give me the cure."

At this development, Klaus grew unhappy. "Well, that's not going to happen until we finalise our deal." He then bent down to Stefan's level, picking up the blood bag and holding it out as an offering. "It's your choice, Stefan. You can either remain here living your life in Mystic Falls, or you can embrace what you truly are, leave town with me, and save your brother's life."

"If you take him, you take me," Sarah spoke up from the bed.

"Not an open invitation, love," Klaus said with a sideways glance.

"Oh, come on, Nik," sighed Leiah. "What's the harm?"

"She's not coming, end of discussion," Klaus said sternly.

Leia shrugged, apparently not bothered, judging by her demeanour. "Fine. But you could be a little nicer to her." She made a show of examining her nails as she continued to speak. "After all, you are breaking up her family. And we all know how much family matters to each of us."

Once more, Sarah turned to frown at the Original, who paid her little to no interest as she continued to examine her nails. But Sarah could tell the precision to her words, that while they had been meant to provoke something in Klaus, they had also meant to do the same for Sarah.

She continued to stare, trying to will Leiah to answer her unasked question. But in the end, they all got distracted, when Stefan snatched the blood bag from Klaus. His self control broken, as he tore into the bag, squeezing its contents up and into his mouth. So quickly that some of it even dribbled down his chin, adding to a puddle that had already formed on the floor beneath him. And while Klaus and Leiah grinned enthusiastically, Sarah looked to her bother with pity. Knowing he now had a long road ahead of him, to get back to where he'd been just a few short hours ago. And it wouldn't be easy.

"That's the spirit," Klaus said, pleased with the progress as he stood back up to his full height. "And since you seem keen to hold up your end of our deal, I'll hold up mine."

"You're just manipulating him," snarled Sarah spitefully. Her fingers digging into the edge bed, and ripping it, as her fists tightened

"Careful now, Sarah. More accusations like that, and it might ruin all the progress we've made so far." His grin broadened with her silence, knowing he had her beat. All she could do was tighten her lips, as she continued to glare at the twisted monster stood opposite her.

"Quit it, Nik," snapped Leiah, as she stood. Striding in between the two and breaking their contact as their eyes followed her. "I told you, she's going through a lot. Now leave her alone."

"Whatever you say, sister. I'll entrust you with the cure then," Klaus replied, watching as Leiah took the bottle from the island and smiled over to Sarah.

Lifting herself off the bed, Sarah stood, waiting as Leiah made her way back over, only to then take a turn and stop before Katherine. "Katerina," Leiah said looking into the vampire's eyes. No sign of compulsion in the Original's blue eyes. "Be a dear and take this over to Damon." She held out the cure, and Katherine stared back in shock, realising what this meant for her. As did Sarah and Stefan.

"You want me to leave?" Katherine asked, needing to be certain in her mind for the compulsion to be tricked.

"No!" Sarah and Stefan cried out.

"Yes," Leiah whispered seductively, as Katherine took the cure from her with a smile. Having finally succeeded in escaping Klaus and his sister.

Before anything else could be said, Katherine fled the room, with the door left wide open. And since she had the only cure to save her brother, Sarah bolted after her on instinct, running for the door. Only to then be cut off, as Leiah sped into the doorway. Her elbow leaning against the frame with her head propped against her head, a stratified and playful grin on her lips. "What's the matter, Sarah?"

"She's not going to take the cure to him!" Sarah exclaimed frantically.

"Really?" gasped Leiah in mocking wide eyed dramatics. "But, I compelled her. I mean, it's not like she's on vervain, is she?" And as Sarah watched the grin break out on the Original's face, a look back to Klaus confirmed it.

"You both knew…the whole time."

"We're not idiots. We've been around for a while," Klaus pointed out with a smirk.

"And when you're a master of compulsion like us, you tend to notice the signs," Leiah added, bringing Sarah's attention back to her.

"But then, you let her leave with the cure, knowing she won't take it to Damon?"

"Good thing you're here to chase her down then," Leiah said, stepping aside and gesturing out the door.

But Sarah didn't move. She instead looked back, to Stefan. On the floor, at his lowest low, covered in blood and still drinking, even now.

Her nightmare scenario. Save one brother, but lose the other.

"Don't worry," Leiah said soothingly, stepping up to Sarah's side. Her fingers methodically running along Sarah's shoulder, sending uncertain sensations down her back. "I'll keep an eye on Stefan. I promise you, he won't die under my watch." And strangely, Sarah actually found herself believing what Leiah was saying. Or perhaps it was just her subconsciousness trying to make the decision easier on her fragile head. Because while she might lose Stefan now, she could always get him back. But the same couldn't be said for Damon.

"Go," urged Leiah. The flirtatious glint in her eye returning. "I'll see you again, Sarah Salvatore."

And with no other choice, Sarah vanished out the door after Katherine, and the cure.

"And next time, I'll tell you everything."

* * *

Jenna walked back into the Salvatore house with a smile. Everything was okay. It had been a close call with Jeremy, when the Sheriff shot him, but he was alive. Safe and sound. She'd made sure of that. And he had Alaric and Scarlett there to keep an eye on him until tomorrow night, when she could check up on him again. She would have liked to spend the night with him, but sitting on that windowsill wasn't doing her butt any favours. Plus, Jeremy needed sleep. Not his aunt pestering him to make sure he was okay. Alaric and Scarlett could fill that role.

And she'd gotten word from Elena that she'd found Damon and brought him back to the Salvatore house. Another reason to come to her temporary home. To keep an eye on Damon and keep Elena safe. She'd tried to get her to go home via text, but her niece wasn't having it. But after her encounter with the Sheriff, Jenna wasn't as afraid of herself any more. Even though she'd been angry – more angry than she'd ever been in fact – she hadn't fed on her.

She'd come close, but thanks to Alaric she'd pulled it back. She by no means thought she had the bloodlust down and under control. But she was more confident in what Sarah had told her before. That as long as she kept a health diet, she'd be able to resist feeding, especially off her loved ones. With that thought in mind however, Jenna considered taking another blood bag before going up stairs, just to fuel up.

The basement door she'd broken still lay discarded on the floor. Something she imagined she'd be helping to fix tomorrow, but it had been worth it. She might not have done a lot tonight, but she'd been there, and that might just have been enough.

Taking a blood bag from the freezer, she closed the lid before drinking. Like the previous times, once she started, she struggled to stop. Gulping and gulping as she tilted the bag back and squeezed its delicious contents down her throat. Then came the tricky part, 'cause while she consumed it felt like heaven. But when she stopped she suddenly came crashing down, feeling the addictive need for more. That was why she'd closed the lid to the freezer, providing an obstacle to her next hit, and giving her a chance to fight for control.

She focused, just like Sarah had instructed her. Thinking off all the reasons not to feed and doing her best to ignore the supernatural itch. It took a few minutes, and there was a bit of back and forth, but eventually, she pulled herself back. The veins beneath her eyes returning to normal, as the blood disbanded from her eyes. She was back to normal. The urges pushed down and fulfilled for now. She could go up stairs and be with her niece.

Discarding the empty plastic bag in the trash, Jenna made her way up the stairs, hearing Elena and Damon from what she knew to be Damon's room. She was still getting the hang of all the new strengths she had, and like with most of them, the real problem was turning off her sensitive hearing.

"There's still hope," Elena insisted to Damon. "Come on, you can't give up. Stefan and Sarah will be back any minute with a cure."

"I've made a lot of choices that have gotten me here," croaked Damon, as Jenna saw him through the open doorway, sprawled out on the bed with Elena sat next to him. His pail face resting against her shoulder. Neither had noticed her yet, so she came to a stop at the doorway, watching them as they continued.

"I deserve this. I deserve to die."

"No," Elena argued, looking down at him, his blue eyes closing. "You don't. Think about your brother and sister. They still need you."

"No, Elena, they don't. They've out grown me." He was getting weaker, more distant. Jenna could sense time was running out, but she didn't know what to do, other than glance at her phone for any news. Her screen was blank.

"Damon–" Elena tried to argue.

"But that's okay," he continued, Elena cutting herself off the moment she saw his lips move. She didn't want to talk over what might be his last words. "It means they'll be safe, when I'm gone." He seemed to doze off for a moment, before coming back. "They have each other. And you have Stefan."

Elena grimaced, coming to a topic she'd rather not address. But since these might be Damon's final moments, she couldn't bring herself to try and avoid it. No matter how uncomfortable it might be.

"I'm so sorry, Elena. I've done so many things to hurt you."

"It's okay," Elena said softly. "I forgive you."

"But not anymore," Damon continued, apparently having not heard Elena's words. "One way or another, after today, I won't get between you and Stefan anymore. Because, while I love you too, it's not the same." Elena was taken aback by this, staring at Damon as he continued, too tired now to open his eyes. "Sarah was right. I thought I loved you, because when you came into my life, everything got…better. But I realise now…the love I have for you, is the love for a friend." He tried to open his eyes then, but only got them halfway open before they fell shut again.

"Thank you. For making my life better."

Elena reached over, holding his cheek in her hand. "Your friendship made my life better too. Thank you."

"Well, it's me you should be thanking." Jenna jumped, eyes widening as she turned to find Elena stood next to her. But not the Elena she knew. Just looking at her she could see the difference in personality. The wavy hair instead of straight, the dress sense, and the arrogant way she stood next to her. "After all, I'm the one who brought the cure," the copy continued, holding up a small red bottle, filled with a strange blood.

"Elena?" Jenna gasped, staring at the mirror imagine, as it turned to her, smirking.

"Not quite, Jenna," she said as she sauntered into Damon's room, while Elena rose from the bed. "By the way, sorry about the whole vampire business." And then the memories came back to the forefront of her mind. All the times she'd been compelled by Elena. Told to stab herself, to spy on her family and friends. The woman who had said she wasn't Elena, but instead…

"Katherine."

The vampire looked back over her shoulder, stood before Elena as the human glared. The two faces side by side and identical in almost every way, bar the emotions they were currently sporting. "Not bad," Katherine congratulated. "I'd say either all your memories have come back now, or Sarah's crash course on all things vampire really stuck."

"Where are they?" snapped Elena, Katherine turning back to face her. "Where are Stefan and Sarah?"

"Stefan's a long story. But Sarah…"

She grinned, before saying, "Hello," right as Sarah appeared at Jenna's side, panting heavily. "Finally caught up?" Katherine asked, looking back over to Sarah. "There wasn't really a need to, I had a debt to pay." She then walked past Elena and over to Damon, carefully pouring the cure into his mouth. And all while Sarah's eyes remained on her, waiting for her to betray them like she always did.

"Katherine?" Damon said after swallowing the cure.

"Don't be so surprised," Katherine replied with a smirk. "But that's us even now." She stood back up, throwing the bottle to Elena before striding across the room to Sarah and Jenna. "As for you," she continued with a grin to Sarah, who only continued to glare. "What's say you and I hit the road?"

"Why the hell would I do that?" Sarah asked.

Katherine shrugged as if it were obvious. "I've not only been avoiding Klaus for over five hundred years, but I've been keeping tabs on him. I could help you find him."

"And why would she want to find him?" asked Jenna. But Sarah understood what was being said, even if no one else did.

"Well, Sarah, you want to tell them or should I?" asked Katherine, once again revelling in Sarah's suffering.

But when Sarah refused to answer, instead locking her jaw and glaring spitefully at the smug Katherine, Elena stepped towards them. "What's she talking about, Sarah?"

Still Sarah didn't answer, her fiery green eyes trying to set Katherine alight, but to no avail.

Turning around, Katherine then provided the answer. "In order to get that cure for Damon, Klaus made a deal. A deal with Stefan. He'd hand over the cure, but only if Stefan gave up everything to leave town with him. And since I just gave Damon the cure, I'm sure you know which option he picked."

Leaving Elena shocked, Katherine didn't waste any time in turning back around to Sarah. "So, what's it going to be? Stay here and cry about your broken family? Or come with me and get Stefan back?"

"If she goes, I go," Damon spoke up from the bed, trying and failing to sit up.

"Sorry, offers only open to her," Katherine shot back, her gaze quickly returning to Sarah as she grinned.

She was playing her, and Sarah knew it. Using her biggest weakness and fear to try and manipulate her. To get her alone. But at the same time, she had logic to what she was saying. It made sense for her to be able to track Klaus, because that would be the best way to avoid him. And after all this, it couldn't be denied that Katherine had successfully avoided Klaus for five hundred years. Which meant she might actually be her best shot at getting Stefan back.

"He's not gone yet," Sarah threw out feebly, but Katherine saw right through her.

"You know he is," Katherine said, advancing towards her, closing the space between them. "You can feel it, can't you? So, why don't I make this simple. Come with me now, or not at all."

"No," Sarah answered.

"Are you sure?" Katherine raised her brow. "I might be your only chance at ever getting him back. Come on, Sarah, think about it." She reached forward, Sarah tensing as both Katherine's arms found their way behind her neck. Her fingers interlocking as she drifted closer towards Sarah. "You, and me. We're Stefan's best chance. And what about Leiah and all those unanswered questions? I can help you, Sarah, but only you. And all you have to do is come with me."

The temptation was too great. Sarah couldn't fight it. Her world was falling apart around her, her family dividing once more. She had to take this chance, had to get her brother back. And she would have agreed, giving in to Katherine once more, had she not then leaned in for a kiss. Sarah didn't fight it, her mind to preoccupied to notice, but Jenna did. As her left fist shot out in a quick jab catching Katherine in the unsuspecting face.

"She's not going anywhere with you," Jenna snapped defensively as Katherine glared back, fully aware she'd had Sarah until Jenna intervened. "I might be new to this, but I know all about what you've done to her, how you hurt her. And as her friend, I refuse to let her go anywhere with you."

"And how are you going to stop her?" Katherine shot back.

"She just did," Sarah answered, the spite returning to her eyes.

Katherine's annoyance showed for a second, then vanished behind a cool mask as she shrugged. "Fine. I know when I'm not wanted."

"Somehow I doubt that," muttered Jenna, as Katherine shoved her way past the two and out the door.

"But if you change your mind, Sarah. Come and find me. Alone." Then Katherine vanished, leaving Sarah with a gut turning feeling. What if she'd made a mistake? What if the time it took her to realise it was all the time Klaus needed to vanish along with Stefan? Perhaps then even Katherine wouldn't be able to find them. But she'd sure as hell string her along for as long as she could. The two of them, forever travelling, searching. It would have been Katherine's dream. And realising that, Sarah knew she had made the right choice. Because even if Katherine could lead her to Stefan, she'd do everything she could to keep Sarah for as long as possible.

But once that thought quietened, another took its place. As she thought about what Katherine had said. How she knew Stefan was already gone. Because Katherine was right, Sarah did feel that way, as if she'd already lost Stefan. When she chose to secure Damon's life over standing by Stefan. Had that been a mistake? Or did Katherine only come here because she knew Sarah was following her?

Her mind was racing with questions, like it usually was after a visit from Katherine, but she ran from the room, needing one answer over all the others. She needed to know if Stefan was still at Alaric's.

"Sarah?" Jenna called after her friend, as she raced out the house at vampire speed. Damon and Elena called to, but it was just as futile.

Damon tried to get up once more, but only fell back on the bed. He was getting better, Jenna could already see the colour return to his skin, and the infected bite mark receding – but he still needed rest.

Elena tried to run out too, but Jenna caught her and pushed her back into the room. Cutting off her objections as she said, "You'll never catch her."

"But she needs me, Jenna!" Elena insisted.

"I know, but so does Damon," argued Jenna, which put a stop to her niece's struggling. "I'll go and make sure Sarah's okay, you just stay with Damon." She waited for Elena to nod before letting go of her. And once she saw her return to Damon's bedside, Jenna ran out after her friend, hoping against the odds that everything would turn out okay. But she was fairly certain they'd exhausted all their luck with Jeremy coming back. And like Sarah, Jenna somehow knew, that they were already too late.

* * *

Stood alongside Niklaus, Leiah stared down at the open coffins before them. The one in front of Klaus, holding their brother, Elijah. While the one in front of Leiah held their sister, Amelia. Both with the daggers still in their hearts. Completely still, skin grey and lifeless. Just the way Klaus liked them. And sometimes, Leiah preferred them like this too. But like usual, it was never easy saying goodbye to her siblings like this. Even if it was for a short time.

"I suppose you kept you word in the end," pointed out Leiah, looking up to Klaus. There was little humour in his eyes as he stood over Elijah in the warehouse. While this was his way of punishing them, it hurt him in his own way. Though having been on the receiving end of a dagger herself, Leiah sympathised with her older brother and sister, more than Klaus.

"Yes," agreed Klaus quietly, as he closed over Elijah's coffin. "After all, I have reunited them with the rest of our family." He then closed over Amelia's coffin, before looking to the compelled workers. "Put them with the others. We're leaving town tonight." Silently, the two men got straight to work, lifting up Elijah's coffin first and loading him into the back of a truck. A truck filled with other similar coffins, but each was unique in its own way. For instance, Leiah knew the exact coffin she would end up in, if she ever pushed Klaus too far. She also knew which of her siblings resided in the other coffins. All occupied now, save her own, and one other.

Her eyes lingered on that other empty coffin for a moment. Her thoughts drifting to whom it belonged to. She missed them.

But then she turned away, as Amelia was loaded onto the truck, turning along with Klaus to face Stefan. He'd made his choice, and was now coming with them on their new adventure. However, at the moment he was distracted, reading a text he had on his phone, that he would soon have to discard. They didn't want anyone following them.

"Did Sarah manage to catch up to Katerina then?" asked Leiah, genially curious as Stefan looked up.

"Yeah," he said putting away the phone. "Damon's cured now, thanks to you."

Klaus smiled, "Glad to be of help."

A flash then went off, both men turning towards Leiah who had pulled out her phone to take a photo of the two. "'The makings of a beautiful friendship,' how's that for a title?" asked Lieah, showing the photo to Klaus.

"Maybe save it for a better photo," suggested Klaus, his grin broadening as he looked back to Stefan. "I'm sure there will be plenty." And Leiah was confident there would be, once they got started.

"So what exactly is it you want with me?" asked Stefan, studying Klaus with the odd glance to his shorter sister. But both just grinned back at him.

"All will be explained in time. Once we leave this tragic little town," Klaus promised, reaching forward to rest his hand on Stefan's shoulder in a friendly gesture. Silently, Leiah snapped another photo, but this time left the flash off. She knew Klaus would get annoyed with her constant photographing, especially if it continued to ruin his centre stage moments. But over the past few years, she'd master her subtle photo taking skill, so that Klaus didn't even realise she was doing it. And then afterwards, he was always grateful for reminders.

"Then are we done here? Can we go?" asked Stefan, not so much eager, but willing all the same.

"Almost, there's just one more thing," Klaus said, glancing over to his sister.

With a grin, Leiah raised her hand into the air, and snapped her fingers. Then from behind a stack of crates, a young girl stepped out, having been compelled by Leiah ahead of time. Klaus and Leiah made room for her, and she came to a stop in between them, visibly scared as she looked at the three people stood around her.

"A little bon voyage gift, from one vampire to another," Leiah explained with a smirk, as she and Klaus brushed the girl's hair back, revealing her neck. And as her heartbeat increased in fear, Leiah saw Stefan become transfixed. His own breath quickening as his lips parted. A little drool escaping as his eyes filled with an uncontrollable hungry. The way they had back at the teacher's apartment.

"And also a test," added Klaus, as his irises began to turn gold, and his eyes filled with blood. His hybrid features coming out, while Leiah brought out her own vampire ones. "You see, I want to make sure you honour our deal." And then, he and Leiah bit into each side of the girl's neck. Not deep enough to kill her, but enough to draw significant blood. And while Leiah revelled in the taste for a second, she knew the purpose of this, and pulled away along with Klaus. Blood now dribbling down the girl's neck. Blood which Stefan couldn't take his wide compelled eyes off of.

"By the way, I didn't compile her to behave," Leiah said in a hushed tone, grinning wildly while the girl next to her whimpered in fear.

"Well, that shouldn't matter, Sister. Because a real ripper, enjoys the hunt," Klaus snarled, before shoving the girl away.

She then screamed, seeing her chance for escape and running for her life, basic instinct overpowering everything else. And while she ran, Klaus and Leiah watched Stefan, stand silently before them. The gears turning in his head, an internal brawl occurring right before their eyes. They saw his eye twitch, his vampire features slowly emerging, until finally he just gave in.

He appeared in front of the screaming girl. She stared back at him, to afraid to turn and run. Stefan then reached out, his hand touching her blood covered neck. And with the mere touch, the feeling of blood on his fingertips, he turned into the monster. His mouth widened in a hiss, his fangs fully exposed, as he lunged forward and dug in. Only to then violently drink until the girl hand nothing left. But even then he tore. Chewing at the flesh until it couldn't hold her together anymore, and her head snapped clean off. Falling to the floor as Stefan dropped the now headless corpse.

Now frozen by what he'd done, Stefan slowly looked up. His breath still heavy, as he found Klaus and Leiah stood before him. Both with proud smiles. "Now we can go," Klaus informed him.

* * *

The door to Alaric's was open as Sarah charged in. "Stefan?" she called out, feeling her heart sink as she found what she'd been dreading. An empty room.

She was too late. They were already gone.

There was still more she could do though. She could look around the apartment for clues to where they would have gone next, or to where they might be heading after leaving town. There had to be something. It might even take a few days of combing through everything, but she'd find something, a lead, anything for her to pull at and see if it led to her brother. Perhaps even Leiah left some clue behind that Klaus didn't know about, in hopes of luring her after them. While Klaus didn't want her, it was clear Leiah and her still had business to settle.

Sarah started looking around the room, but nothing stood out to her. She shoved aside the blood bags, scanning the surfaces. Nothing. She began opening up the cupboards, the drawers, even the fridge. Nothing out of the ordinary. But that was fine, there was still more to search through, something would turn up. She pulled of the bed sheets next, since that was where she and Leiah had spent most of their time while negotiating. If she did hide something that would be the obvious place. Still nothing. But it was so obvious that Klaus would know, so she would have had to have hidden it somewhere else. All she had to do was look deeper. So she started flipping furniture over, searching underneath. Breaking things open, tearing apart cloths, all things she'd reimburse Alaric for once she found her lead. He would understand, and she didn't have time to ask. With missing people you always had to act quickly before they got further away. She was running out of time already, too much wasted on Katherine and her mind games, on running all over Mystic Falls. She just needed one lead, something to point in her the right direction. She tried behind the TV, throwing the screen on the floor and finding nothing on its back as it shattered.

"Sarah!" Jenna shouted, staring into the room from the door. Her eyes wide. And it was only through her eyes, that Sarah saw what she'd really been doing. She thought she'd been looking for a clue. But now she realised there wasn't any. There was only Alaric's things. Things she'd destroyed in a subconscious rage.

Tears streamed down her face, as a hand reached up to cover her whimpers. She'd wrecked the room, but it didn't matter. None of it did. She collapsed to her knees, in the centre of the destroyed apartment. Wanting nothing more than to turn it all off. To rid herself of these feelings of anguish, loss and heartbreak.

Jenna quickly rushed over to her, enveloping her in an embrace, but it meant nothing. She'd lost Stefan, her brother was gone. Her family was broken once again. The nightmare she'd feared since Katherine first returned to their lives had come to pass. History had repeated itself. Sarah had lost the one thing she treasured most in this world. Her dream turned reality, was once again a dream. And this time, there was no turning off her humanity. She was trapped in the emotional ocean of her sadness. Drowning as she clung onto Jenna, her only raft in the vast emptiness.

* * *

The year was 1871. Well over five years since Sarah became a vampire. Life was not ideal, but it wasn't all bad. While Damon had abandoned her, she still had Stefan. And Lexi. The one who kept them both going. She helped Stefan with his blood free diet, and she helped distract Sarah from the absence of her brother. Though the two subjects were kept very far apart. Which wasn't always easy when on the road together. Since leaving Mystic Falls, the trio had never stayed in a town or village too long, mostly for Stefan's sake. The woods were the best place for him, free from people and human blood, allowing him to adapt to his new animal blood diet. Sarah had tried it once herself. She couldn't stand the stuff, and wished her brother would just drink like her and Lexi. Then life would be more bearable. But he refused, resulting in constant arguments which Lexi always had to break up.

Over all Lexi seemed in favour of Stefan's method of control, but she herself couldn't practise it either. It suited him, and since it kept away his ripper side, Lexi was satisfied. But to avoid temptation, whenever she and Sarah needed to drink, they left Stefan behind. On the rare occasions they had to bring him along, they drunk only what they had too, and kept the fun to a minimum. Something which Sarah always complained about when Stefan was there and resulted in more rows.

Honestly, after six years, it was getting old. But Sarah couldn't see anyway around it. She couldn't do Stefan's diet, and neither could Lexi. The only way they'd ever stop arguing was if Stefan got a control of his bloodlust. Something which he was too scared to try now. Part of Sarah wanted to blame Lexi for that, but the other part couldn't dream of saying that to her closest and dearest friend. Especially when she helped her recover after the nightmares. The ones where the Bitch came back from the dead.

Thankfully, that night had been Bitch free. The three of them had taken up residence in a cottage on the outskirts of town in central America. Because Lexi lacked a daylight ring, most of their activity was restricted to the night, and when they did sleep they tried to do it during the day. But they'd travelled a lot over the past few weeks, most of the time without sleep. As vampires they didn't need it as much, but they still needed it. And as such when they'd found this place, they'd slept through the day and the night.

In fact, as Sarah woke up, she could see the drawn drapes coming alight, as the sunlight shone from behind. Luckily the cottage already had drapes for every window, which made it ideal for Lexi, who lived in constant fear of sunlight. For that, Sarah was always thankful to Emily, who gifted her and her brothers with rare daylight rings. Enabling them to walk in the sun, unlike many other vampires. In truth she suspected Lexi was jealous, but she hid it well. Plus she got her own back by continually sending Stefan and Sarah to the market during the day. Making odd demands for food which could never be fulfilled, even after hours of searching. In part, Stefan and Sarah suspected it was just so Lexi could get a break from them and their arguing. They both acknowledged it couldn't be easy, playing parent to them both. At times they were surprised Lexi didn't just up and leave them, but whenever they mentioned it to her, she seemed appalled at the notion.

Stretching out on the bed provided for her, Sarah rolled over to where Stefan was supposed to be. She expected to find him already awake, since he didn't sleep as much as her or Lexi. He was constantly waking in the middle of nights, jittery and fidgety, and generally aggravated. Sarah imagined it was because of the lack of human blood, but whenever she suggested it, he only got mad at her, as she did in turn. But he hadn't woken her last night as he had in the past with such antics, and his bed was empty that morning.

Again this wasn't unusual, Stefan often went for walks on his own in the woods, especially during the day time. During that time, Sarah would either keep Lexi company, or – pear Lexi's orders – follow Stefan to make sure he wasn't breaking his diet. During which more arguing usually occurred. When this happened, Stefan usually left a note to let them know where he was and that he'd be back soon. But instead of a single sheet of paper, Sarah saw a full envelope on his made bed. Sealed and everything.

Curiously, she reached over, breaking open the later and pulling out the sheet of paper inside.

 _Dear, sister,_

 _The past few years have been challenging for us both, though for different reason as I'm sure you're well aware. I myself have been struggling with this new life of ours. I battle daily with this beast inside of me, this need to feed. It remains a constant itch from within, and I'm sorry to say you're not making it any easier._

 _I understand you yourself have you own issues. The nightmares you refuse to talk about, except with Lexi. I feel further from you then ever, especially since all we do now is bicker. It has become clear to me, that this can not go on. It's not healthy, for either of us. We're doing more harm than good to each other's lives. I'm dragging you down, keeping you from living this life your way. And you provide a constant temptation for me, the allure of giving in to my inner demons. I wish I could be like you, to drink without consequence, but I can't. We're not children anymore. I'm not sure we're even siblings at times. And w're certainly not a family, not without our dear brother._

 _I miss him as you do. And now, I will miss you, as I have no doubt, you will miss me. I'm sorry to leave like this, but it's for the best. Please keep in mind, it is only temporary. Until I am committed to this new life and comfortable enough to come back. I have complete faith, that Lexi will look after you. She's better for you than I could ever be._

 _Once again, my deepest apologises for leaving like this._

 _Until we meet again, Sarah._

 _Your brother,_

 _Stefan._

The letter fell from Sarah's hand, landing on her lap as if it were a falling tree.

She began to tremble, having gone into shock. Her breath caught in her throat. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

Things hadn't been great for sure, but Sarah had never believed them to be that bad. So bad that her own brother would leave her behind. Considering her more of a hindrance than a sister. To see her as something making his day to day life harder, providing more annoyance than pleasure. Yes, she'd argued with him almost daily, but Sarah could never have imagined her life without Stefan in it. He was her brother…the second brother to abandon her.

What was wrong with her? What made her brothers despise her so, to the point that they couldn't stand to be with her, that they'd rather be alone than be together as a family. She began to cry then, her tears wetting the paper on her lap, as her hands covered her face. It was hurting, more so than when Damon left because now she had no one. Her family was well and truly shattered now, her former life well and truly dead. _She'd_ taken it from her, taken everything and left her like this. A monster her brothers couldn't stand to be around.

The tears kept coming in silence, unheard by the still sleeping Lexi across the room. Maybe if she'd been awake, she could have done something, soothed her in someway. But in that moment, Sarah felt nothing but loneliness, and a pain unlike any other. A pain from her broken heart, one which was too much to bear, worse than anything she'd ever experience in her life. And in that moment, something in the back of Sarah's head clicked.

And then there was no pain. No heart ache. Just nothing.

Her hands lowered down to her lap, the tears abruptly stopping but still there on her cheeks.

She picked up the letter in her hands. Staring down at it with her now cold detached eyes. She felt nothing from it. It was just a piece of paper. Written on by Stefan and cried on by her. She remembered being sad a moment ago. In fact, with the distance now, she could remember more clearly. The anger mixed in with the sadness, but overpowered by the tears she now casually wiped from her face. There was just a sort of…bliss to everything now. A logic that allowed her to see and think clearly. Without getting distracted by whatever her emotional state was.

It was better, Sarah decided. Better than the alternative anyway.

And now, she felt more free than she ever had before.

There was, however, one nagging itch, that she'd have to take care off…


End file.
